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.

The kids put stockings out for dc which gets filled with small gifts - small toys, bubble bath, socks, satsuma, etc and then all other presents are placed under the tree and come from relatives,.

Never had stockings as a kid. Mum used to buy those big plastic Christmas sacks and fill those. So the stocking present concept is new to me.

I have two lovely traditional stockings only for decorational purposes but this year I am making the DC their own to do stockings for the first time. It's smaller gifts that are in there that aren't all too exciting- toothbrush, socks, wash mitt, small book, small toy, Happyland figure and satsuma.

Usually we had the personalised Santa sacks under the tree but I like the idea of all the wrapped presents under the tree so will do that instead.

Stockings - from Father Christmas and contain 5 or 6 items that cost £2 or less. ( the idea of stockings is to give DP and me an extra half hour in bed)
Sacks - these are from Father Christmas and are left on the sofa. These contain the DC's main presents.
Under the tree - these are presents from family and us as parents. The presents for our DC from DP and me normal cost anything up to £15 each.

Stocking by bed with satsuma, chic coins and about 6-10 small wrapped presents, yoyo , paper glider, lip balm , £10 per stocking max , plus an annual! Then Father Christmas leaves a sack of presents each downstairs by fireplace. Probably about 10 presents each , family presents go under the tree. As they get so much from FC , I don't buy them toys but in Christmas Eve they get hamper with pjs, hot chic, DVD , from me !

We don't do stockings our kids have pillowcase sized Santa sacks (this year they have matching ones with their names on from not on the high street which we will use every year).

They leave them by the fireplace as it is easier for us. But I would like to put them on the end of the bed one year soon as I loved waking up to a pillowcase full of presents when I was a kid.

Content is smallish stuff mostly not tat - little books, bath toys, small Lego sets, puzzles, lip gloss, craft stuff, playmobile figures and chocs/sweets.
They can open these in the morning first thing.

Santa also brings a couple of bigger gifts which he leaves under the tree. All other presents are from us and family and we open them once everyone is up, dressed and the dinner is under control - we take turns to hand them around so we can see who has got what, stopping to open packaging/build things etc so it takes an hour or two (while the adults all have drinks and nibbles).

In our house stockings lie at the end of the bed, as it is exciting stretching out your legs and feeling the weight and hearing the rustling on Christmas morning.

They are stocking shaped, and much smaller than a pillowcase, but wide enough to fit a picture book or a jigsaw in.

They have around 8 presents from Father Christmas - nothing huge, but some things can be expensive - this year one of them is getting a wooden Thomas engine to go with her Brio track, which was quite pricy! And Dd is getting a book I know she will love which costs over £10. But normally the things in there - this year they have colouring pencils, activity book, DVD, craft set, story book, small Lego or duplo set, sweets, play doh, plastic animal or dinosaur figures - cost less than £5 each.

Then they will have a main present from us, and a present from each other under the tree, and presents from relatives as well.

Stockings can be opened as soon as you wake up, presents under the tree are opened with the whole family gathered round.

No sacks here. Stockings are hung up in the living room and Father Christmas fills them during the night - they get opened first thing in the morning when we all go down. They have annuals, sweets, stationery, little games, etc.

All other pressies are under the tree - labelled from whoever they're from (me and DH or extended family) - and are opened after lunch.

In the evening we have a bedtime pressie to make the end of the day less flat. Usually something snuggly like a teddy or hot water bottle or pjs.

I love our Christmas routine and wouldn't change it - but it's always interesting to see what others do!

I do stockings for my two, they are traditional style ones but long. I didn't realise how long they would be when I ordered them!

Neither child eats chocolate (the older child doesn't like it and the little one is too young) and I can't put fruit in as I wouldn't leave them unsupervised with food due to the choking hazard (one child with autism and one a baby) so the stocking gets filled with other things.

I like to put in things that will add to their Christmas presents if possible. So this year my old son has in his Peppa Pig figures (my brother is giving him the Peppa Pig rocket), a mini Playmobil set (he is having proper Playmobil sets for Christmas) and Hot Wheels cars (he is having a toy garage for Christmas).

Aside from that he is having colouring stuff, a mini colouring book, toy animals, a small book,a wooden robot, bubbles and a Moshi Monster blind bag.

My younger son (only ten months at Christmas) will have bath squirters, bubbles, musical instruments, a board book, a buggy book, a soft ball and teethers.

I like to have stuff they will actually use which is why I prefer to add to sets of toys they already have. It makes the stockings more expensive but I know Brio/Duplo/Wow toys/Animals figures/Moshi Monsters/Peppa figures/Playmobil will be loved and used whereas more novelty items will be discarded more quickly.

We hang the stockings on the bedroom door here and they come up to our room to open them. Then after everyone has breakfast and is really for the day we do the under the tree present.

Under the tree they have eight toy gifts from us and two books. Price varies depending on what I would like to get them as neither are able to ask for things yet.

Other presents from family are given to them as and when we see them or if the person doesn't live locally on Boxing Day so I can take specific photos of them opening and enjoying the gifts to send with the thank you.