Stocking dilemma

[MumofWombat]

This may seem like a little thing but I've genuinely spent time thinking about this and can't decide what's the best thing to do.

This Christmas we will be in the country with my PIL, BIL, SIL and their 4 boys (all older than our DS). My nephews will get say 2 gifts from Santa, but they tend to not be the small things. When my brother and I were growing up, our stockings would have lots of little things in it (think underwear, pens, pencils, a comic, a character toothbrush, a small toy, chocolate coins, a satsuma, etc all individually wrapped). I want to do that type of stocking for my DS but I very strongly suspect I'll get comments from the inlaws.
There's a big bit of me that wants to dig my heels in and continue the type of tradition I grew up with. I emigrated to live in Australia with my DH 2 1/2 years ago and every Christmas I have got desperately homesick. My first Christmas here I was undermined with trying to continue with a couple of my traditions (honestly just a few things, 35 degrees heat does make some christmas traditions just silly!) from home, which made the homesickness worse (and may not have helped with some resentment).
Should I suck it up and just fall in line with all the ways of my DHs family or should I do what I want to?

[Pancakeflipper]

Not sure why the family would be negative about the stockings ( though my parents never did them either).
You could do a stocking for everyone.
You could do a stocking for all the kids (you could speak to their parents first and tell them what you are doing so they don't pull faces on Christmas morning)
You could just do 1 stocking for your son and he opens it with you in your room on Christmas morning when he wakes up.

I love stockings and would always want my kids to have one.

[Petsinmypudenda]

Stick with your traditions, they are what makes christmas.


If they say anything just shrug and suggestbthey do christmas elsewhere next year if they dont like how you do it

i hope dh is sticking up for you.

[loubielou31]

Dig your heels in. You can enjoy Christmas anyway you like where ever you are.

Is it your DS's first Christmas? If it is then just explain that when you were little children left a stocking out and Father Christmas filled it with lovely things so that is what DS will be doing. Don't ask anyone about it just explain that this is what happens. If it's not his first Christmas then presumably he's used to getting a stocking and so you have to continue.

If the problem is the other children then tell their parents that this is what you do and if they want to their children could also leave a stocking out and maybe Father Christmas would fill theirs too (don't offer to do one for them). We always opened our stockings all sat on our parents bed so if the others don't want to join in you could do this.

We've spent the last two years living in Germany where children leave their shoes out on the 5th December and St Nicholas fills them with sweets. We're back in the UK now but I shall be continuing with this anyway. I don't care what anyone else does.