Stockings - why do people make it hard for themselves?!

[christmaslover88]

I've read so many posts tonight about people having to stay up crazy late for their kids to fall asleep to do stockings, their kids hearing them in their rooms and sussing Santa isn't real, people with duplicate stockings to speed up the process etc

Why do you all do this to yourselves?!

Stockings have never gone in bedrooms here, hung up on the mantelpiece before bed and then laid on the floor in front of the fire once filled. Santa comes down the chimney so surely it makes sense to have the stockings close at hand?

I genuinely didn't know stockings in bedrooms was a thing but it just seems to be a way to make your own life harder on Christmas Eve!

It seems crazy to me too.
”the stockings were hung by the chimney with care”

it’s right there in the poem.

we have really good stocking holders that will hold even the heaviest stockings so ours stay up after being filled, but always in the main living area, by the fireplace if you have one.

Because when they are little it's easy and you get a few more minutes in bed whilst they open them. People forget they grow and it gets harder.

Not everyone has a fireplace for a start!

Presents under the tree as well as stockings too can be overwhelming, it's nice to break it up by having stockings in another room, and it encourages a natural pause in gift opening.

It adds to the magic.

Why wouldn't you?

We don't have a chimney or a fireplace in our house, so always put stockings in bedrooms. I have never had to wait up for the DC to fall asleep though - when they were small enough to believe they were asleep before me, now they are older nobody cares if they hear me coming in.

My exh used to have a stocking at the end of the bed. I thought it was quite unusual. But it wasn’t something we did.

Mine are older now and both sleep so deeply they wouldn’t notice at all 😂

I've just put the kids ones in their rooms. It is the hardest part of Christmas. However, my absolute favourite memory of Christmas that I can never have again as an adult is the feeling of reaching out with my toes to check if Santa had been and the eventual heavy crinkle of presents when he had. Most magical bit for me, so I have decided to do that for my children. Kick myself every year though, it's a pain in the arse!

Awww yea I remember that feeling, waking up in the night and checking whether he'd been then reassured by the weight of something my feet, not opening my eyes to check in case he's still there and falling instantly back to sleep so morning comes quickly! And waking up with my siblings, opening stockings in bed together 😍

I never had a stocking as a child so wasn't sure what the best way was. I went for the door handle of his room though and hopefully it won't be as overwhelming as I can get into his bed whilst he opens his stocking stuff then go downstairs in a bit.

Dd’s Santa presents have always been delivered wrapped in different coloured paper from the main gifts in the living room in a stocking. When she was little we would hang up the stocking and outs out a mince pie, carrot and glass of milk.

As a child I had them at the end of the bed unwrapped but didn’t have to put a stocking out. This was to allow parents a bit of shut eye. I’m an early riser and I prefer my way as for me it’s easier.

Not necessarily, I used to carry the stocking to my parents room to open 😁

Because I have an open plan downstairs, chocolate in stockings, and a dog who'd shred them to get to the treats.

Don't assume everyone is in the same boat as you. We do get the kids to leave stockings on the landing though.

Exactly, they stayed in bed and weren't dragged downstairs to see if he'd been.

We never had one as children so it’s not something we started at all with ours. So that’s even easier 😂

All presents downstairs in sacks.

I agree! My DP family did stockings in bedrooms but I put my foot down and said absolutely not 🤣

We do stockings in bedrooms so the kids have something to open if they wake stupidly early so we don't have to all troop downstairs to open the main presents at 5am.

My best memories of Christmas as a child are waking up to feel the presents in the stocking on the end of the bed then opening them with my sister. It was magical. Even when we got older and knew the truth it was still the best part of it. DS didn't want to put his in his bedroom though so hung them on the door handles downstairs, we don't have a fireplace.

We have fireplaces in the bedrooms so Father Christmas isn’t travelling far to get to the foot of the bed!

Duplicate stocking isn’t exactly hard work either? 10-second switchover and done.

I’d far rather be able to stay in bed even with a child opening a stocking on top of me m, than have to trek downstairs. For older DC, everyone I know that does bedroom stockings the rule is they can open but only if they stay in bed. Whereas downstairs they’ll see the pile under the tree and it’s game over.

My 2 used to sleep so deeply that even thunder storms didn't wake them up. In with pre-packed matching pillow case, swap for empty one on the way to bed ourselves. No hassle at all. Youngest used to stick his head round the door about 5 to let us know he'd been then we'd hear him investigating the contents in his room. Eldest used to wake slightly early then they would both come in for a cuddle and to tell us what was in there. Santa only brought small gifts, big presents were under the tree from us and family.

We had a win win.

Stockings went in the conservatory as DD1 didn't like the idea of someone prowling around the house, so we said 'if they are full when Dad goes to bed he'll bring them upstairs'. Surprisingly (!) they always were full by the time DH went to bed.

That way, no creeping around, but stockings upstairs to keep DC quiet first thing. They could open 1 thing (which was something to keep them busy if needed) but then had to wait until 7 to come in with them to us.

Our stockings are in the living room too.

DH puts them by the fireplace with his kids so it's what we have to do now. It makes me a little sad as finding it in my room in the morning was always a highlight and then could open on my bed easily without waking parents.

Ours were always at the end of the bed. I used to love waking up to that heavy feeling on my feet and knowing that the Big Man had been 🎅 🎅 I used to do it for DS too.

Because crinkley filled stockings at the end of the bed are exciting!!!!

I never had a stocking growing up, so we don’t have one for DS either, problem solved! All presents, big or small, go under the tree with one specially wrapped gift from Santa.

For parents who do stockings in bedrooms so they get longer in bed themselves on Christmas morning, where’s the fun in that? Trooping downstairs at 5am and nursing a coffee whilst DS excitedly opens 4 presents at once is all part of the enjoyment of the day for me.