How to do Christmas Stockings?

[Whatinthedoopla]

I was born and raised in the UK, but never had a Christmas stocking. I know.. shocking haha

The reason being that my parents aren't from the UK, but I definitely want to start using them with my children, but have no idea how to even start?

Do I just buy a stocking filler, fill it with little presents and they open it on Christmas day?

Is this right? Is there anything else to do?

Up to what age could they use it till?

Is the stocking from Santa or parents?

So do the stockings go at the end of the bed to open on Christmas morning?

Not by the tree?

Oh wow, I didn't know any of this, thank you

We still do stocking with grown up kids. Difference is we now do it secret Santa style so we all do 1 stocking each.

Small bits and bobs, some practical and some fun. Always some chocolate and sweets. Mine bizarrely liked socks!

You can put them where you like, it's your tradition. Whatever is most convenient for you if you want. My mum put ours on the ends of the sofa and armchairs (there were 4 of us), so not by the tree and not upstairs.

Everyone does it differently, but the most common/traditional is hung on or near the fireplace mantle because 'santa comes down the chimney'

This is so lovely!

Whatever you do, get way more (identical) stockings than you need.

You can fill one, and stash it somewhere, and just exchange it with the empty one. It is not fun realizing close to midnight, after far too much Baileys that you need to extract the stocking fron a room with a barely sleeping child, fill it and return it!!

In this house, small stuff from Santa. Chocolate coins, whatever sweets are popular, a book, some clothing (hat, gloves, socks, teeshirt - whatever is needed). A toy or game (last year flying axolots, we've had mini lego bags, melting snowmen). Now they are older, a bottle of coke for Xmas dinner.

I was always wondering how many presents in each. 5 sound good

I love a stocking! The thrill of feeling the weight of a full stocking at the end of your bed!

Mine was always filled with small, inexpensive presents (around 10), all wrapped - in different paper to the paper presents from my parents were wrapped in. I always got a tangerine and a coin as well.

I pretty much do the same with my DC now and they are teens but still love their stockings.

As other people have said, everyone does it a bit differently, but its a lovely tradition to start and make your own, with your own DC.

Ours were always downstairs, next to the tree. Father Christmas would fill the stocking and leave one 'big' present under the stocking. It was so exciting creeping downstairs in the morning to see if he'd been (and check if he'd eaten his mince pie and the reindeer had eaten their carrot).

I do it exactly as my mum did it for me. My kids are all in their 20s now and still get a stocking!

Unwrapped stuff -
Fruit - an apple in the toe, a satsuma in the heel and a banana sticking out the top.
Small sweets - funszie bars
Choc coins
Tube of sweets

Wrapped stuff -
Socks
Shower gel
Little fidget toys/pin badges/pens etc

I also add a lotto scratch card

I put my dc's stocking on his door handle (on the inside) sometimes, we didn't have a hard and fast rule. He slept very deeply though, some kids don't so you have to be very stealthy.

I wouldn't fix on the quantity of presents, it very much depends on the size of the stocking you pick and the size of the items that you buy to go in them. It will vary year on year. I have a spare stocking (it was the cat's) that I use as a model to see if the things I've bought will fit in. Sometimes it's a bit Tetris...

In our house stockings are hung on the end of our (mum and dads) bed. When everyone wakes in the morning they all pile in between the bed, occasional chairs and floor to open their stockings. Father Christmas fills them and leaves one gift under the tree.

chocolate orange in the toe then 4 or 5 small gifts like socks, make up, books, stationery, travel cup, earrings, sweets etc each.

I never had one when I was little either, but now DH and I do one for each other, and one for DS. 18 month old DS this year will have a new ‘big boy’ cutlery set, a new toothbrush, some colouring pens, chocolate coins, a toy car and a slinky.

DH will have some posh marmalade, a pack of biltong, a card game, Christmas socks and chocolate coins.

In my house, stocking presents are from Father Christmas. The stocking is left out on Christmas Eve, and Father Christmas fills it with little presents during the night. He eats the mince pie we leave out for him, and drinks the milk. His reindeer eat the carrot.

What actually happens is, I buy the little presents throughout the year - just little stuff, some chocolate coins, a new toothbrush, some fluffy socks, some pens, a notebook, shampoo, little toys, stuff like that. Then I wrap them in different paper to the paper that I use for the presents from me, and I stuff them in the stockings after the kids have gone to sleep.

I plan to stop doing stockings when they're 21 or so. A slow fade out I think!

Up to you if you say you fill the stocking or Father Christmas does - but him filling it adds to the magic, so we do that.

Some families just bring stockings out on Christmas Eve to hang on ends of beds, some hang them on fireplaces, some hang on fireplaces then put at end of beds on Christmas Eve.

Ours contain: a satsuma, sometimes an apple, a sugar mouse (old fashioned sweet shops sell these but they’re easy to make), a candy cane, chocolate coins, a couple of £1 for money boxes, then toys like Brio trains, Lego mini figures, playing cards, model aeroplane, maybe a small Lego set, maybe a travel game set - that sort of thing.

Enjoy!

Traditionally in many families instead of a stocking years ago you’d use Dad’s old (clean) sock or a pillow case - the stocking itself doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive.

I forgot to add, we hang ours on the fireplace! So no sneaking into bedrooms.

At the start of December, ask your child to write a letter to Father Christmas saying what they’d like to get. If you have an open fire you can post it up the chimney the old fashioned way, but there are also addresses you can write to. Make a note of what your child asks for!

On Christmas eve, leave a mince pie / slice of Christmas cake, glass of milk / sherry and a carrot for Rudolph downstairs for Father Christmas to eat.

In my house, the christmas stockings were large knitted stockings that were hung up on the bedpost / bedside table before bed.

During the night, my parents would take the stocking out of my room and take it to their room to fill it will small gifts (so as not to wake me with the rustling!) The gifts included:

Always:
A tangerine
Chocolate coins
Sugar mouse
Candy cane

An assortment of other small gifts:
Small toys (eg Polly pocket - whatever today’s equivalent is!)
Stationary
Puzzles
Fun jewellery and hair accessories
Bath toys / bubble bath

There was usually at least one gift that would keep me occupied in my room on Christmas morning if I woke early!

My parents would take would tiptoe into my room to hang the stocking up again once filled.

I was always a heavy sleeper and slept through the night, but a lot of families leave the stockings downstairs in case their child wakes up and catches them in the act, or unwraps their presents at 4am!

Our stockings are mostly edible with one or two small gifts in. I usually put a lindt reindeer or similar poking out at the top.

It's making me feel so Christmassy reading all these!

I'm surprised by how similar they are tbh! All very much following the same theme.

Hang up the stockings empty Xmas Eve Santa fills it for the morning.

Santa always brings an orange, chocolate coins and a toothbrush! 1 small present from the list as well no electronics or big items.
All other presents are from mummy and daddy.

Found this is a good way to manage and keep magic alive rather then why didn't Santa bring me a Xbox!

We always had stockings from Santa but my DH didn’t. I’ve always done them for my children- they are now late 20’s early 30’s and they still have them so there’s no age limit. Saying that my DH never got a selection box ! So I’ve bought him one for the last 36 years we’ve married - again no age limited

be careful buying a sack they are big and children expect them to be full - I follow the tradition my mum started, we were each given a nice sized box and we decorated however we liked, cut up old magazines used wrapping paper draw on them anything we wanted really. The box is useful to keep their presents tidy for the first few days as well.

leave the box outside the bedroom door or downstairs so Father Christmas doesn’t have to go into the bedroom

think of something that can become a tradition- one DD has to have fruit pastels in hers DS must have a tube of smarties. They always have some kind of bath stuff, these things are a set every year

other than that colouring books, pens/pencils, socks, pjs anything really to your budget, just remember what you do this year will have to be matched next

also a little something extra, we went to a antique shop and bought a big old style key a nice fancy one. DH cleaned to shine and we tied it one a big red ribbon. This magically appeared on the door step with a note saying as you don’t have a chimney please leave this key on the door step Christmas Eve. When they come down in the morning it’s been left next to his plate and glass and a chewed carrot for the reindeers.

happy memories 🥹

remember above all else that’s what you’re making - happy memories

HRTFT but this is how we do it, why and lessons learnt:

Stocking: I have 2 beautiful fabric stocking and sacks that DC still have and love and will take with them when they leave home. I wouldn’t do the sack again as too big and expectations raised as regards number of gifts.

Stockings are always hung on the fireplace (or no fireplace then in the living room) as then it’s easier to fill them without having to wait until/worry about they’ve gone to sleep. Also we put out milk/brandy and mince pie for Santa too.

Gifts: always different wrapping paper to main gifts and never any plastic tat. So things like colouring books, books, new toothbrush etc but always some chicolate and a satsuma, also nuts. Gifts always from Santa, always included an item from their Santa letter/list.

Important to us that they knew that Santa doesn’t bring everything they want and list/letter must include ‘cheaper’ items.

Stockings opened at breakfast, tree gifts after lunch or spread throughout the day (depends on number of guests etc). Sounds regimented but it never has been as when you factor in food etc it spreads through the day nicely 🙂 🎄🤶

Stocking are great, santa puts them on the foot of the bed so you wake up to instant excitement of knowing he's been, everyone piles into parents bed to open, and that gets you half an hour to wake up properly before going down to main presents.

Ours have small toys, fidgets, stickers, sparkley hair clips for DD & fluffy socks. One of the big tubes of smarties up the leg and a chocolate orange on the foot.

In our house the empty stockings get put on the end of the bed at bedtime, on Christmas Eve. Then I sneak in after they are asleep to taje, fill and rerun them to the bed of the bed - they are filled with little gifts, chocolate coins and a nice juicy satsuma.

the kids wake up on Christmas morning and see the once empty stocking full! They always eat the satsuma and coins before getting out of bed and opening their presents downstairs.

I really like this tradition, as do my kids.Mine are older teens and I still do it. And still use the stockings I made for them when they were babies on their first Christmas 🎄

It’s very exiting.