What is a stocking in your home?

[CatchesTheNightTrain]

In our house we have a stocking handing from the mantle piece which we put little token presents in , including a satsuma and other such bits I got as a child.
My children then also have a large sack each which all their presents are in.

One of friends commented this means they have 2 stockings??
This confused me - surely they have a stocking and a sack or does a stocking mean different things to different families.

A stoken in our house is token gifts , usually inexpensive items. Just for fun.
Their sack contains all their presents and all are from Father Christmas.

There is no order in our house for what the children open first - entirely up to them.

After dinner we give the children one gift each from us.

Just interested in what others do and what a stocking is in different homes.

Interesting in reponse to children getting 2 helpings off FC. It's funny because this is what happened when I was growing up and what I have copied. Never really have it a second thought to be honest and always thought everyone else did the same.

Talking to my friend and reading these posts has been really interesting. The gift we give from us after dinner is not a big gift but it is the only gift the children receive from us as parents.

I'd never really considered this to be unusual before or that our set up was in any way different to everyone else's.

Stockings (for all three of us) (made by me from a mccalls pattern view E, she stealth-boasted) which has small toys and sweets and fruits, maybe colouring things (something to keep DS quiet until I decide to wake up, she said, hopefully). Hangs on fireplace. Main presents under tree, no sack.

We do two sets of presents. Father Odin brings us some on the 21st (and no stocking), and those tend to be creative, together-family things. Father Christmas arrives 4 days later and brings the commercial gewgaws.

Father Christmas fills the stocking that are put out on the end of the dc's bed on Christmas Eve. In the morning the dcs come into our bed and open them.
We then go downstairs and spend an hour or so openinging the parcels under the tree. some are from relatives and friends but others are either from father christmas or mummy and daddy - usually, but not necessarily the most expensive ones are labelled from m & d.

Ok.... DD's stocking can easily fit her inside it dm knitted them for me and dbro/dsis as well as her and my ddad!! Never questioned such an excessive stocking contains things from underwear/socks/toothbrushes to a cd or DVD but max is probably £20 for one item and stocking cost £70-£100 for each of us and a big gift under the tree (£100/£150) - an expensive time for them!!

DD is only just 3 so although she has inherited the stocking itself, we don't quite fill it so excessively. This year the biggest items are going to be the cadson post office/ pick and mix and Peppa pig supermarket set (£20)

But she does get about 15 or so other gifts plus a big present under the tree again about £100 quids worth of duplo this year.

And this is obviously separate from the elf box that arrives on 1st December

Nb. I realise I am very excessive - but it makes me happy, dd is happy, nobody goes without or in debt for it, etc so I dont care- nerr

at BigBadWolefPlum.

Also go way over the top but it makes us all happy. DS loves christmas and not just the presents so we spoil him rotten. 2 stockings and a pile good few presents under the tree plus a christmas eve hamper this year. We're not rich by any means but start buying presents earlier in the year and have never borrowed for the cost of christmas so don't have a problem with it.

Like you we've been buying for a while, never go into debt for Christmas but do go slightly OTT and not just in respect of presents! I love Christmas!!

The Christmas hamper we are doing this year too after we saw it on Facebook.
In the past we've always done new pjs and bedding, but love the idea of Christmas Eve hamper with DVD treats hot chocolate and pjs etc :-)

Its an large knitted sock that I made for ds's first Christmas. All small toys go in it and its hung on the mantelpiece in the living room. 1/2 other presents from Santa and the treat from his extended family.

Stocking in ours is a big Christmas sock with about 4 ceap gifts, choc coins and a satsuma. They are left on tr bed and opened upstairs while we have a cup of tea.

Downstairs presents are piled under the tree in any old order. DPIL put everyone's gifts in their own big gift bag but TBH I prefer the big mixture, as the DC help DH or DF hand out gifts to everyone!

It's our first year of the christmas eve hamper too. Love the idea of stuff to get DS settled for the night so gone a little OTT on that too! Love christmas.

We have small stockings for the tat, chocs, pants, deodorants, satsuma etc by the fireplace and then a big mix of parcels from Santa, me and family/friends are under and around the tree!as starving bookworm said, I like my dc getting in there and handing out presents to everyone, not just focusing on themselves!

Stockings in our house are traditional stocking hung at the bottom of the bed filled with anything small enough from sweets fruit, boxers, pens, vouchers, tickets, and some plastic tat. Ours range from a few pence to very expensive. All other gifts are left in the living room

My Mum's old Land Army socks. Very darned but very stretchy wool. Will be fine for another 60 years!

Our stockings hang from the mantelpiece in the living room (although have also been in kids rooms). Father Christmas fills them with small toys, chocolates, a satsuma and other things (puzzles / books etc). A bit like st Nic I suppose?

All of the presents under the tree are from us

DS has a stocking (selection of small cheap things) plus a selection box and annual left by his bed. Downstairs he has a very small sack with smaller cheap/mid price things like figures, books etc) and tree presents (anything that's too big for the sack).

Our stockings hang from the fireplace in the living room (possibly moving to the bedroom this year though) this year 4yo DS has chocolate coins, planes socks, a couple of cars, 2 dvds and 2 little books and a pirate patch and spyglass! So not tat but nothing costs more than a few pounds

Forgot to add mine also have a sack, ones from Jojo maman bebe I love them! I didn't get to use them last year though after I lost row with DP as he prefers all gifts under tree

We have a fairly modest knitted stocking from fc, which goes on the end of the dd's beds. I can still cram 10ish small gifts in, but I often open the packaging and wrap things separately so it seems Luke more.

Under the tree are 5 or 6 presents from us, and presents from other family and friends, fc leaves one tree present too (thus far always a joint present).

I wrap presents from us in naice paper with ribbons. Fc wraps in shiny metallic paper or character paper.

In addition, I do an advent calendar with little presents (wrapped in tissue paper as it's made from little buckets - red for dd1 and green for dd2). I do a christmas eve hamper in a basket, but the items aren't wrapped.

I, too, am excessive, and I don't care! I'm already planning for when the dds are bigger and I'm more ok with them eating chocolate, that I will invent my own version of the elf on the shelf with a little felt tomten doll I have from Finland (where I lived for a bit). I want to do the hiding so the dds have to find him each day, and I think he'll bring a little bit of chocolate for them each day which they can have when they do. I'll ignore all the 'santa is watching you' stuff, as our version of fc brings presents for all children, whether good or not! Also, I think I'll make it clearly a game done by me, rather than pretend the doll is magic.

We have stockings at the end of beds, they are small ones from Poundland but the DC would riot if I tried to upgrade them

I can just about squeeze in an annual and eight or nine other little items (eg tube of sweets, choc coins, Lego minifig, colouring book & pens). All wrapped as this buys us maximum time while we're still in bed!

All other presents are under the tree. Technically I guess FC brings them all though the DC (4 and 6yo) have never questioned the details too closely!

the dds have fairly normal sized stockings - I reckon ask long as it can fit a satsuma in the toe then it's big enough. the stockings hang on the fireplaces in their rooms. they can open them as soon as they wake, the condition being that they have to come into our bed to do so.

until this year, all of the requested presents from FC have been small enough to fit in the stockings, so we've done that, and added the usual pants/socks/sweets. presents from us go under the tree.

however this year i think dd1 will probably ask for a bike, so we'll need to change tack a bit.

We used to just have sacks from FC with big presents and then the usual book, socks, pens, chocolate and bubble bath in. This is what DH and I both had when we were little.
As of last year we now have stockings with the pens, socks, voucher, Christmas toy, bubble bath etc in upstairs then the sacks downstairs.
Under the tree are presents from friends and family. We open these after dinner or sometimes on Boxing Day.
DH and I don't give the DC presents.

We don't do sacks. Stockings are hung up on our beds/doors and are filled by FC (DH and I did use pillowcases last year as we didn't get stockings in time, but we have one each now), some traditional items that will appear year on year - undies, socks, toothbrush, flannel, chocolate/sweets, plus a couple of toys - figures, top trumps, cars type stuff.

All other presents are downstairs. There'll be a big item from FC which is already set up (last year a castle all ready to play with knights attacking etc), possibly some other FC presents (family board game and DVDs type stuff) and then wrapped stuff from us to each other under the tree.

In our house, the DDs have big pillowcases which they decorated about 5 years ago as their stockings. They always cringe when they see their artistic efforts, but I insist on using them cos I think they're cute
FC fills them with presents, maybe 30-40? I don't know, I've never counted, but they're all wrapped and contain some of the things from their Christmas lists but not the 'big thing' they've asked for. They're crammed full, I've never costed them but would imagine they are about £150 each. DS is 2 and has a felt stocking which his sisters made for him when he was born, and smaller, so he has less stuff in and it costs a lot less too!
These all get filled and left on beds for the morning, when they get hauled in by DP to our bed and we spend probably about an hour opening them.
Then after breakfast etc, we open the presents under the tree from us, maybe around 10 each, which are the rest of the things from their lists, a chirstmas outfit, some new slippers, and their big present from us which this year is a joint one. Also under the tree are presents from the rest of my side of the family and friends (Boxing day we go to MILs along with all DPs family and exchange presents there).
Present opening is staggered around our best friends coming over for a festive drink (if I call it 'festive' it somehow deems it appropriate to down fizz at 10.30am doesn't it?!), going out for a walk and a drink at the pub and Christmas dinner.
We love Christmas and work hard all year round. No debt, everything is paid for outright and we don't go without anything to afford it, so I don't give a toss that some think we spoil them. They are so grateful for everything they unwrap, and I love seeing their happy faces :)
I can't bloody wait!

A small traditional decorative christmassy stocking which hangs as decor in the fireplace up until Xmas eve - it then gets filled with token " stocking filler" gifts, favourite sweets, fruit, smoothy carton, breakfast bars & the obligatory tangerine in the toe - this is then hung on the post of DDs bed for her to wake up to, with a trail of glitter, Xmas sequins & fake snow leading from it to downstairs where her main gifts will be

Only she doesn't believe anymore & "mum all that stuff is for babies" - spoil sport that she is

Pillowcases full of unwrapped tat with one or two "proper" presents amongst the tat. Always has to have chocolate coins.
Everything else comes from non-fictitious people.

Stocking is a stocking, filled with chocolate, bubble bath, tat, and a couple of presents.

That comes from fc.

Dc get one or two presents from me (their main present- this year sylvanian camper and redbull racer remote controlled car). They also get presents from family.

When I was growing up the stocking and sack were interchangeable - we got one or the other depending on what there was to go in it. I'm trying to stick to a stocking for my dc to try to reign my shopping in.