Christmas stockings

[rabbitheadlights]

So usually I wrap up the kids presents in individual piles, there's a mad half hour where they rip them open and it's all over! This year I want to do stockings for them to open first, then maybe breakfast and presents after. My question is what kind of thing do you put in your kids stockings ?

Head over to the Christmas section of Mumsnet and you will find a gazillion stocking threads with great suggestions

There is a whole Christmas topic that has tonnes of ideas, suggest you look there!

We make presents last the whole day, my DD would be overwhelmed otherwise.

Despite the fact that I’m 34 and have a child of my own, my mum still does a stocking for me! It’s basically the same as it’s always been, chocolate coins, bath stuff, socks and a couple of other bits and bobs!

We all have a stocking...
Dive in about 7.

Cooked breakfasts +crepes.
Open gifts about 10.

We do stockings and it has all the boring bits in it, pants, socks, smellies and sweeties.

Plan for this year is:

Soft toy poking out the top
Choc coins
Little slime kit
Scented pencils
Squishy bling bag
Hatching unicorn egg
Cat shaped sticky notes
Choc reindeer
Name necklace
Satsuma in the toe

I didnt realise there was a Christmas board, apologies. Thanks for your replies, I just worry that by wanting to save the better gifts for later, the stockings will be rubbish and the kids will be disappointed.

We do stockings in our bed as soon as all the kids have woken up. It’s little things like choc,stationery, little Lego figures, little novelties etc
Then we go down stairs where they have a little pile of present also from Santa - so normally the main present and then a couple of other ones that wouldn’t fit into stocking - annual, board game, etc
Then we have breakfast and get dressed. Then we open the presents under the tree. These presents are opened one at a time so draws it out and means everyone can other people reactions etc.

Any present that is small enough goes in stockings here, but we are still in single digits. That will change when they go from toys to tech - a phone food in a stocking!

DS is really into Disney Cars, so he got several of them in his stocking last year. Kept him occupied for ages.

This year he’ll have Cars, a mini stamp set, probably something like chocolate coins, a T-Shirt with his favourite cartoon characters on, and I’m looking for a game that’s small enough to fit!

@BrieAndChilli that sounds like the kind of structure I'm looking for. Its usually just a free for all and I want a more calm affair. Do you find that after the main presents though, that they aren't really bothered about whats under the tree?

I usually pile them up with the "main present" at the bottom of each pile.

@patchworkElmer what about travel games like travel uno, snakes and ladders etc?

DS is only one but his (biggish) stocking will contain most of his gifts tbh

• several books
• colouring pens
• duplo set
• Thomas jigsaw
• elf squishmallow
• small chocolate reindeer

DSD will be 9 and her stocking will contain

• whoopee cushion
• yoyo
• make your own perfume set
• make your own bath bomb set
• scratch art
• slime
• chocolate Santa
• probably the ubiquitous lush bath bomb

Whatever other presents fit will also go in there tbh. Don’t go by value here, go by physical size. Don’t really understand giving kids toothbrushes and pants and such as a present, those are basic items a parent should provide as standard IMO. Stockings should be fun!

Not really but under the tree presents are from family etc and so often something they really want is still under the tree!
Plus we give them money to buy each other and me and DH presents and they really enjoy giving those out and watching them be opened. (When they were 3,4,5 we took them to Poundland and let them pick anything as didn’t have to worry about the cost, then as they got older we would take them somewhere like home bargains and give them a fiver per person. Now they are age 9, 12 and 13 they get money and as they have bank card etc they order stuff online or we go to the shopping centre and they know what shops they want to go to etc.

Thats a lovely idea re poundland etc will definitely do that with the younger ones if restrictions allow

@rabbitheadlights good idea! Thank you.

@PatchworkElmer judging by the other stuff you mentioned I assume your DS is quite young. How about dobble? It’s ina little round tin and requires no reading skills.

We do stockings at 7am ish, have breakfast, get ready and then open main presents at 10ish onwards. We then give a table present after dinner to each guest.

As for stockings specifically, I put in things like bath bombs, fluffy socks, stationary, little toys (like Hatchimals), chocolate coins, sweet tubes, audio CDs, magnifying glass, magnets, etc etc.

In our house stockings were from Father Christmas and anything under the tree was from family/friends. We could open our stockings as soon as we woke up but downstairs under the tree was to wait until we'd all had breakfast, lit the fire, walked the dog, etc.
Children really do not care what is in their stockings. The thrill and excitement of opening the gifts from Father Christmas is so extreme that it really doesn't matter what's in the stockings. The big presents under the tree were the things we'd asked for and were from family.

Presents go in the stocking, unless they don't fit. I buy chocolate, but not things specifically for a stocking.

I appreciate some people love stockings but they seem to be either be full of landfill or stuff like toothbrushes, choc coins and new underwear. Dull! So I'd let them have the thrill of ripping into their pile of gifts first thing and then enjoy playing with them throughout the day.

I love stockings. My favourite Christmas memory is from when DS was very young, too young to really get Christmas yet but old enough to like the presents (about 2-3 years old I think).

He opened the presents in his stocking and every thing he opened (book, small game etc) I had to read to him or play with him there and then before he opened the next one. It took about 2 hours to open all the stocking presents and was absolutely lovely. Of course it has never been repeated since. He soons started opening all the stocking presents more quickly as well.

Still the stocking (from father Christmas) is still opened on our bed in the morning and DH and I open our smaller stockings as well (and he is 15 now). We take turns opening each item, usually dh and I open one and DS does 2-3 because he has more than us usually

Then breakfast, then the presents under the tree from each other and family /friends who we are not seeing on Christmas day. Again open them one at a time taking turns to open them

Then after lunch we open presents that have been exchanged by the wider family who are having lunch together, again in turn. So 3 present opening sessions spread out across the day.

Stockings are from Father Christmas in our family too, then presents downstairs are from us and family members and there will be one or two from Father Christmas (usually a big/wanted toy)

When I was little it was stockings on mum and dads bed, then my dad would go down and get everyone breakfast and a hot drink to have on their bed then downstairs for presents and opened one at a time taking it in turns.

My own children do tend to rush and not quite stick to the one at a time (They are 7 & 3) but we still do stockings on our bed as it gives us time to wake up/stay in bed a bit longer then downstairs for presents, half way through presents we’ll have a break for breakfast.

I’ve got some lovely things from House of Marbles sale this year, fortune fish (like what you get in crackers) mood ring, glittery ball, little craft/art set. I’ll put in some chocolate coins, some bath stuff, lovely fluffy socks, and just any little toys or bits that I think they will like and enjoy depending on age.

We always had a satsuma in the toe of our stocking as well.

The stocking here was what FC brings, as I wanted them to be aware that family gave gifts too. The stockings are the surprises, little bits and cheaper bits and I bought them all year round to keep price low. I also tried to get something in there that they had asked for from FC, that was easy when they were young even If I had to think outside of the box, so a red car might have been a little match box car rather than the great big electric pedal car for example, or whatever the latest cartoon character fad was I might get some thing with its picture on, I forget them all now.

When mine were young they would have been happy with just those things and it still is my most favourite time of the day as they open them, it was when I was young too, my parents did the same. I have a lovely memory of my eldest at 3/4 going down for his main presents from family and being overwhelmed and overjoyed, he thought what he had upstairs was Christmas.

Its harder now they're older and dont want toys and this year I think I'll keep it minimal, chocolates books, a bit of lego for the youngest who likes it still.

We do stocking first thing then breakfast and get dressed before either me or dh hands out the presents underthe tree. I find it lasts longer than if they are all in pile and nobody sees what anyone else gets.
Stocking is usually sweets, novelty socks, satsuma, choc coins and a book.
We dont usually have presents from family under the tree as all live local do we see them on the day