Can I ask a really stupid questions about stockings?

[MrsSawyer]

We never had stockings in our house as children, just presents downstairs next the the fireplace (I think they were in massive plastic sacks shaped like stockings)and neither did DH, so im being incredibly stupid here but I dont understand what you mean?

Where do you buy the stockings from? What are they made from? Do your kids open them in bed then go downstairs for the rest of their presents?

DS is only just 4 so doesnt remember last year, so I think if we're going to do the stocking thing, we need to do it now before he starts remembering, if that makes sense?

Does anyone know the significance of stockings. Just wondering.

Many thanks

In our house a stocking is filled with cheap little treats that can be opened when DS wakes.

I have bought stockings in the past and a relative has also knitted one for him.

It doesn't matter how you give them but you will probably develop your own family traditions.
We do main presents when everyone is up and we have had breakfast.

It is an old tradition, involving shoes and Saint Nicholas I think.

We let the kids put a sock at the end of the bed when they go to bed on christmas eve, then when they are asleep, fill it with tiny toys and sweets (plus the obligatory satsuma and a coin) and it is the first thing we open while we are waiting for everyone to get up/have a coffee. FWIW, DD1 was most impressed by one of those tiny boxes of raisins last year.

At my parents, I remember the stocking were a lot bigger- big plastic things. We were allowed to open one present an hour until mum and dad told us we could get up, then we would open the rest on our beds before going down to the tree.

It depends how many presents 'Father Christmas' is going to bring your DS!!

We had pillowcases, but I have seen specially made Christmas Stockings (handmade cloth ones and cheapo plastic ones) and I guess you could use a sock if you're really stingy up to the challenge of finding tiny presents.

If you hang them downstairs you don't have to creep into DSs room in the middle of the night and try and quietly cram the gifts into the stocking in the dark!!

I think its sweet, id like to do one for me (cause DH wouldnt do it, typical, but at least i know id get the good stuff!) one for DH and one for DS, and he can bring his into us on xmas morning, and we'd all open them together, then go down to our other presents under the tree.

Aww, sounds sweet does it? Need to find some stockings now!

Janice - we had ordinary woolly walking socks so my parents had none of the angst of trying not to rustle; they just nipped in and exchanged full sock for empty sock!

We never did the stockings when I was a child either. Till one year when I had read about them and decided it was a great idea and came downstairs on Xmas Eve with 3 of my Dad's socks to hang up - one each for me and my sisters. Cue total panic from my parents! It was as much as they could do to get us the presents we had asked for much less fill a stocking with no notice!!! I think we got money in them!

There are lots of threads on here about stockings and stocking fillers which will give you some ideas. When my DS was 4 he got things like little Matchbox cars, some sweets, chocolate coins etc. Some people put socks, vests and pants etc in. New toothbrush. Pens or pencils. Fancy pencil sharpeners. Little packets of stickers.

A good tip I read on here is when you buy him a stocking to hang up buy two. He hangs one up and you swap it for the one you have cleverly filled already! No rustling about in the bedroom! My DS doesn't like the idea of Santa coming into his room so hangs his on the landing which makes it even easier.

typical stocking
best to buy an empty one for a few pound and fill it with little nick nacks, fruit,sweeties etc

i dont wrap the things onside althoug a lot of people do but i put in things like

satsumas
chocy coins
hairclips for dds
toothbrush/mini toothpaste
mini notebooks/gelpens
some small junk items that ds has decided to collect at that time past examples are bakugans,marbles,bouncyballs, this year it will be might beanz !
my grandad always used to put a shint pundcoin in ours every xmas without fail so i always do this with my 3 dcs
little choc bars

and the shops always sell character sweets/lollipops etc which i also put in

we brought them in sainsburys. not very big ones. fill them with balloons, chocolate(coins again )in our house! satsumas, felt tips and crayons. the boys put them at the end of there beds and we take them out to fill them up before returning them to there beds! they wake up and bring us the stockings to open while dh and i try and wake up!
we them go into the lounge for main presents( while kettle is boiling!)

I remember when dd was 4, that i had a window of oppotunity that year to set the norm, and it could be whatever i chose to do!!

When i was a kid our 'stocking' was in fact a huge plastic sack with a FC on it, from Woolies. It went at the end of our bed and we opened FC present when we woke.

I have a felt type sack it's not too big, and i fill that for dd who is now 8 and it's the same 'sack' she has had for 4 yrs.

Thank you, im definitely going to do this, my little one will love it!

i love christmas

the items in the stocking are normally from "santa", whilst other wrapped presents are from us
works quite well

We do stockings from Santa and the rest from specific people. We usually just open stockings before church/breakfast (although this year we have to do church in the afternoon so I'm not sure). DD1 has done stockings for the gerbils (and cats in the past) she also buys for Mummy's stocking as she is better at it than Daddy (she is 12).
Tends to be small stuff, plus useful presents, plus funny things (so pajama's for kids bulk it out, with sweets, books, and things from places like Hawkins Bazaar).

I think actual socks are nice, although the DCs have oversized knitted stockings with their names knitted in, done by a woman on eBay. Small presents go in the stocking and are assumed by the DCs to be from Santa, while other presents are from who they are from. In theory it gives them something to do/obsess over while still in bed, although they tend to bring the stockings in and wake us up anyway...

ooh, stockings are great.

the stockigns we get at my parents are cheap ones my mum bought - they are made of sackcloth. (shaped like a very stiff sock)
but the ones at home, I made myself (red fabric in the main with a different coloured turn over at the top)

You hang them over the fire, and they should contain:
1 apple
1 satsuma
1 bag of nuts
1 net of chocolate coins
1 small present (usually something practical like a pen or other stationery, or deodorant etc)

ps : you can't do your own!!!
the law states that DH must do your and you do DH's - otherwise you can't pretend the pressies are from santa.
and it's nice to have a surprise though (although, technically, the only surprise is the small present - the other items are LAW)

I never had a stocking as a child either. We have 2 small sack thingys - one tigger and one pooh we picked up years ago in an after Xmas sale. My girls have these in their bedrooms. They hang them up on Xmas eve.

I wrap small gifts to put in them. Mine are older now but I put in Stuff like sweets, satsuma, felt tips, crayons, cheap small art stuff, cheap colouring/magic painting books from the 99p shop, kiddy bubble bath and stuff they actually need but I wrap up -like knickers, tights and vests. Now they are older they still get undies (a tradition but I also put stuff like hair brushes, hair clips, costume jewellery etc.

They wake on Xmas day and bring them into us and sit on our bed opening them whilst me and DH "come to"!!

I dont spend a great deal on stockings and I generally buy all year for gifts etc. If I see some nice hair accessories, pencils etc in the sale in July - it gets bought and put by for the stocking.

Oh and a tip - I wrap my stocking gifts (you dont have to) but I keep them all in small box hidden away in our wardrobe. Then on Xmas eve once the girls are asleep, I creep in and take the sacks into our bedroom to fill up and then place carefully back in their rooms. DD1 is a light sleeper - there is no way I could creep in her room in the dark and actually load her stocking/sack in there!!

My children (2 and 4yo) each have something a bit like this which they put on the end of their beds.

In the night, Father Christmas sneaks in and fills them with little treats and toys. Some things are wrapped and some are not. Father Christmas always has different wrapping paper from mine. There are some things that appear in the stocking every year:

A shiny coin.
An orange.
Some nuts.
Some chocolate.
A Terry's Chocolate Orange.
Some chocolate coins.

Then I add some fun little toys (the sort of thing I wouldn't usually buy, action figures or character stuff) and some things they need (like socks and a toothbrush) and some silly, novelty things.

We always had stockings left outside our bedroom door, they were my favourite bit of Christmas, chocolate, hair clips, brush etc, nothing expensive. We used to go and sit in bed with mum and dad and open them, about an hour before we were allowed downstairs!!

My sister still insists on one - she's 34!!!!

The significance of stockings is that St. Nicholas gave some money as dowries to three poor girls so that they didn't need to go on the game go hungry. The first night he threw a bag of coins in through the window, and the second, but on teh third night he threw the coins down the chimney where they landed in a sticking that was airing in front of the fire.

We bought our stockings from Ofam Fairtrade and fill them with chocolate coins (for St. Nick of course) plus a mix of pens, colouring books that will roll up, accessories fro dds and little cars for ds, anything small enough really. Traditionally fruit and nuts shoudl go in but ours don't eat nuts and I think satsumas woudl get squashed.

HTH

That's a stocking, obviously.

Love stockings and Christmas. We use my dads old army socks. (lots of holes since we used them through my childhood). We leave out a mince pie and brandy (in our house father christmas doesn't like milk!) and some carrots for the reindeer and hang up at the end of the bed. Father Christmas then delivers at night.
We all get into bed in the morning and open stockings together and then generally do main presents quite a bit later.
example of children:
A few nic nac toys (including things you might want to get anyway, like new pens if yours are running out)
Choc money (a staple!)
bubble bath

Apple stuffed first into toe, then a few presents then satsuma at heel, this is to 'warn' you the end of the stocking is coming.

Adults:
pants, magazine, socks, toothpaste, kitchen stuff and something nice (like a mascara etc.)

Basically, set a small budget for all, give different people to do different stockings. It is meant to be fun and not a total break bank spoil. My mum and I each do our DH's and then do stockings for each other; we've both realised getting another female to do a stocking is somewhat nicer!

We wrap our stockings (I think half the fun as takes so much longer and so seems a lot more!) but we use super cheap paper.

you put the satsuma in last.

I did think that, Nickelbabe, but I like to have little cuddlies sticking out of ours.

ah, yes! :)
well, it can go under the cuddlies then - cuddlies can't possible squish satsumas can they?
(unless they are evil cuddlies that want to cause trouble )