What, exactly, are the 'stockings' in your house?

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When I was a child, we had actual socks. Knee high socks that would fit a 10-12 year old. The younger children borrowed said socks from the eldest. With hindsight, no doubt they got so stretched out of shape that they weren't much good afterwards, not that we thought about it at the time.
I have seen suggestions for 'stocking-fillers' that to my mind would be way too physically big.
Do most people now use shop-bought Santa stockings that can take much bigger stuff?
I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach?

We use Santa sacks, which is what I had growing up as well. They get a small present from us under the tree, write to Santa for one thing and then Santa brings everything else in the sack. So this year, they have books, socks, sticker books, slinkies, playdoh and a jigsaw. Little stuff that will keep them busy but not necessarily sock sized.

Ma da's then ma brother s' football socks when I was growing up. My own family have their own stockings .

Pair of old tights. Which is what my dd's have too. They know if I'm a bit broke as they only get one leg filled with presents as opposed to a good year when they get both.
My two step sons traditionally had posh bags with their names on. So I've got them some this year as it's their first Christmas morning with us for three years. The youngest still believes so trying to think of way to explain the discrepancy in present receptacles!

I had a couple of stockings when I was little. A hessian one for the end of my bed and a larger fluffy one that went downstairs. I thought it was MASSIVE but found it a few years ago and it really wasn't by today's standards!

My DC have stockings that were knitted by my DM. She put bloody bells on them so sneaking them into bedrooms is a nightmare! They're not enormous. Biggest thing to fit in them is one of those toot toot cars.

They also have red velvet sacks with their initials on them which Santa leaves downstairs with any larger gifts. This is where things like books/jigsaws/games go. Then one present from us and one from their sibling under the tree.

When we were growing up my db and I each had one of my dad's handknitted welly socks. They were large, thick, and had holes in the toes! Stretchy enough to hold small presents but nothing huge. In memory of that I asked an elderly neighbour to knit my dc their Santa stockings. She deliberately knitted them without turning the heel 'so Santa could get more in'! The dc are now 20 and 23 - still using eth same stockings and we think of her every time we get them out (she passed away about 12 years ago).

Had big woolly socks that were Dad's merchant navy issue as kids. My children have stockings, all bought second hand in charity shops over the years, some really fancy ones! They stay downstairs. Main presents go under the tree.

I've never heard of anyone using an actual sock / stocking or pillowcase before. When we were at home my mum had made gorgeous red velvet stockings with a white fur trim and bells. My parents still use them.

In my own home now we have some nice faux fur ones this this.

I didn't grow up in the U.K. so find it strange how many consider stocking for just the children. Where I'm from everyone in the family had a stocking and they were always hung by the fireplace or propped up next to it. They would be the first thing people opened by the tree before the main presents. I also find it strange that it seems custom to have them at the end of your bed in the U.K. Christmas is about spending time with family, so feel it's a bit strange to have the children opening stockings in their rooms on their own (I do understand many bring them into the parents bed to open though). I much prefer opening them all together downstairs by the tree. I want to see everyone's faces while they open them up and by the tree just seems so much more Christmassy.

When I was younger we used my dad's old football socks. After my parents divorced, my mum bought us lovely knitted style ones with patterns like trees/stars/bells on. I liked them and it was nice knowing which was mine, but I have fond memories of the misshapen football sock.

My DC have personalised minky ones that are fricking huge. Fine when they were little and got big toys, but they're 9 & 11 now so filling them is trickier. Not helped by them making the selection box packaging smaller. Those old cardboard selection boxes with have filled it out nicely.

Sky remote for scale.

@BertieBotts
To me, stockings are not for proper presents, they are for little silly novelty things. Like a kind of starter to take the edge off the ravenous excitement before parents have had a chance to come to!

Perfectly explained. I think parents who start off with huge sacks or even 'all' the presents coming from Father Christmas may regret it if they find in later years times are hard financially and they have to find a way to explain why FC didn't give them much this year.

We never had elf on the shelf, or Xmas eve boxes, both of which are (IMHO) modern nonsense driven by the consumerist need to get people to spend spend spend. 🤑 😉

Adding the picture helps 🙄

I have hand made stockings with their names embroidered on for my kids. When I was little my sister and I had a hockey sock each

These are the embroidered ones I have for the kids embroiderly.co.uk/collections/personalised-stockings

As a child we had stockings we hung up, but they were the size of an ordinary women’s ankle sock and too small to fit much so there was an accompanying festive plastic bag. We got all kinds of random stuff in them - memorable items included a bottle of tipex, multipacks of crisps, novelty soap, a set of playing cards (every single year, for each child, we could have opened a casino) and a massive bag of cotton wool balls. It was great, you never knew what you’d find in there!

My children have shop bought stockings, appropriately the size of an A4 piece of paper. They get a chocolate Santa, a book, a couple of small toys/fidget type things, the next year’s calendar, a new set of pens and a couple of snack bar type items to eat while waiting for grown ups to get up in the morning. It just about all fits in and anything that doesn’t just goes on the side.

Velvet bottle bags with our initials on them from B&M. They are specifically for little things wrapped in tissue paper and opened on Boxing Day.

Mine too. From Woolworths. Very attractive designs in felt, I think. A pillow case seems odd to me -I’ve never heard of that - and way too big. DH had one of his dad’s actual socks when he was a child, which seems a bit too small to me.

Does anyone as old as me remember vintage christmas stockings these?. We had these a few times. They were full of little cheap toys etc.

Sorry link went mad. these

We had my dad’s old stockings - no longer in use. I discovered when I was older that there was actually a pair of each so that we could put one at the end of ours beds and DM & DD could stuff the other in peace and the swap then round.

For my kids, we do exactly the same thing, which two old pairs of DH’s kilt stockings.

I love that they’re actually stockings. I love the way the bulge with all the presents sticking out of them. Happy memories!

As children we had knotted long socks that a mountain climbing relative of my mum’s had brought back from the Himalayas. Our children have normal sized stockings that fit the usual chocolate and a few small toys etc.

I remember Cadbury used to do chocolates in a net stocking like that!

A pillowcase or pillowcase sized sack is for everything, not just 'stocking gifts'. Ours held all presents from our parents and FC, main present, small presents, and chocolate orange together.

Ah, I see.

We used my dad's wellington socks. We had great fun every Christmas Eve rifling through his sock draw trying to decide which would hold the most!

My kids have felt ones from John Lewis bought about 10 years ago
They aren't huge...about 30cms high

My aunt made everyone felt stockings with names on, that would have been late 70s. And in later years we'd have a plastic bag for the overflow.