Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

Does everyone handover stockings?

88 replies

Methe · 28/09/2014 13:40

I never had stocking as a child and nor did DH so we have never done them for our children.

Every post I read on here mentions stocking presents, which I understand to be things like hair boobles ( ;) ) sweets and little bits and pieces which I would just wrap and stick on the pile.

Anyone else not have stockings?

OP posts:

Original poster

Methe · 28/09/2014 13:41

gah!

Does everyone have stockings?

OP posts:

Kundry · 28/09/2014 13:47

When I was a child, main presents were around the tree with the name of the giver and recipient on them. These were then handed out one by one so we could all appreciate what each other had - I loved this part of Christmas.

I had a stocking but it rapidly became a pillow case due to the inconvenient nature of stockings for holding boxes of lego. There weren't 'bits and pieces' in it - except there was always an apple and an orange as my Mum had this in her childhood. But tree presents were the big ones.

Only on mumsnet have I seen all the presents coming from Santa, proper stockings and stocking presents.

Unexpected · 28/09/2014 13:47

No, not everyone does. DH and I never had them as children, we have only started doing them recently for our boys, who are already teenagers. They love them, but it's by no means essential to have them.

Pippidoeswhatshewants · 28/09/2014 13:51

Stockings, to me, are the Christmas equivalent of the party bag: full of little bits of tat. Can you tell we don't do them?

RJnomore · 28/09/2014 13:53

The stockings are my favourite bit!

dementedma · 28/09/2014 13:55

I think my Dcs love the stockings more than the main presents and the dds are in their 20s now! I also love doing them. I remember that wonderful feeling of waking up on Christmas morning and hearing the crackle at the end of the bed which meant a stocking was there. We hang the Dcs stockings up by the fire on Christmas Eve and then I fill them when they have gone to bed. They still love opening them on Christmas morning.

TurnOverTheTv · 28/09/2014 13:56

Stockings are laid at the end of the bed when the children have fallen asleep. They all bundle into our bed to open them, so we can wake up a bit and have a cuppa before the rest starts!

LeBearPolar · 28/09/2014 13:57

I love stockings. They are my favourite bit of Christmas. DS has his but DH and I do stockings for each other as well. But stocking presents are small, sometimes useful, gifts and treats rather than tat.

I never understand the MN thing of all presents being from Santa. We have small stockings and main presents are all under the tree, labelled from the person they're actually from!

FishWithABicycle · 28/09/2014 13:59

Stockings are for little presents to keep the children occupied between 5am when they wake up and whatever time the parents can bear to engage with the day and start interacting actively. They also contain things which any other time of year would just be bought and not be a present, e.g. pants, socks, a new reusable bottle for packed lunch drinks, etc. Plus of course chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

grownups also get stockings in our house, mainly containing the second two categories, plus a couple of interesting magazines for looking at in between the end of the post-christmas-lunch present-opening frenzy and the beginning of the afternoon nap.

chanie44 · 28/09/2014 14:01

I've had my stocking since my first ever Xmas and it holds real sentimental value for me, so that's why I want to continue it with my children. OH never had a stocking do the first year we lived together, I got him a stocking.

The children get:
Practical - pjs, drinks bottle, toothbrush
Edible - giant tube of smarties, chocolate Santa or chocolate coins.
Fun - a few cheapish toys for £5 and under, books.

They get their stockings in Xmas morning as delivered by Santa. The rest of the presents are under the tree.

I normally do OH a stocking as his main present. Things like aftershave, socks, torch.

CiderwithBuda · 28/09/2014 14:01

I love doing stockings. Well I did. DS is now 13 and it's hard not to buy tat.

We never had them as children but one year I decided we would. So off I trot upstairs and come down with 3 of my dad's socks to hang on the mantelpiece. Cue panicked looks between my parents! I think we got an apple, an orange and a few coins! In our house you got what you had asked for, an annual, a selection box and maybe a small surprise so there was nothing available to make up stockings. After that we used to get the bought net ones full of tat!

LikeSilver · 28/09/2014 14:07

Dd has a stocking, we put it on her bed and on Christmas morning she brings it through and sits in our bed with us to open it. The rest of her presents are under the tree and are opened after breakfast. It's a lovely start to Christmas Day for me. It just has little presents in, hair things as you suggest, maybe some chocolate, a lip balm.

RJnomore · 28/09/2014 14:10

I always wonder what size of stocking some of you have if you can fit in things like annuals and pjs?

WipsGlitter · 28/09/2014 14:13

You see what I don't get is who is giving all these "tree" presents. My kids get a stocking, a load of stuff from Santa. All opened in the morning. Then through the day they are given the rest of the presents by whoever -aunts, granny etc when we see them. I guess if you don't actually see the people on the day then tree presents makes sense!

CiderwithBuda · 28/09/2014 14:13

Sorry - maybe confusing from me. We got annuals as part of our main present - not in a stocking. We got main present, an annual, a selection box and a small surprise. That was it.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 28/09/2014 14:23

We do stockings with small bits on beds for children only, main presents are downstairs, we've never really specified whether it's FC or us that the main presents are from. Ours are there as well as those for the DCs. Presents from extended family are kept in another room and opened later. We don't put them under the tree in advance, no space and on full view to potential burglars.

LeBearPolar · 28/09/2014 14:26

Wips - we don't see extended family on the day, no. We like our Christmases to be just us. So tree presents are from us and extended family.

givemushypeasachance · 28/09/2014 14:31

We had stockings growing up that were more of the plastic sack variety, with bulky but not that expensive presents in like colouring books, packs of felt tip pens and so on. Stockings were from Father Christmas, while my parents exchanged grown up versions between themselves - can't remember if as a kid they were ostensibly from Father Christmas as well or not! Stockings were had first thing in the morning while presents under the tree were opened in the afternoon after Christmas lunch and a walk.

Now my sister and me are nearly thirty we still get 'stockings' from our parents and they exchange them between themselves, but they've all transformed into cardboard boxes with little treats in, that my parents wrap up to make the opening last longer. It keeps us all occupied on Christmas morning, these days accompanied by liberal quantities of Bucks Fizz!

PesoPenguin · 28/09/2014 14:34

We do, I think the actual hanging up of the stocking is more important than what's in it tbh, all that anticipation for the next day!

Ds has his downstairs, not on his bed and it contains some useful stuff like boxers and socks to wear on Christmas day, edible things like a tube of sweets andchocolate coinsand then some little bits like small lego sets but no actual party bag type stuff as I see that as a waste. Most of the presents we buy are from Santa but we give him one present from us and anything other people buy are from them.

SixImpossible · 28/09/2014 14:46

I never had a stocking as a child (not Xtian, did not celebrate Xmas, did not miss it), but dh did and wants them for our dc.

AFAIAC, stockings are merely (1) an excuse to give your dc more presents (), including the sort of things you would not normally give them (like sweets and comics), and (2) a way of keeping them busy so that you can get a lie-in on Xmas Day!

Ragwort · 28/09/2014 14:52

I always had a stocking growing up and have done the same for my DS, he's now a teenager but he still likes one - it has useful stuff like underwear, socks, Lynx, school pens and pencils, treat food (posh biscuits) and chocolates - that sort of thing. Then other presents are under the tree but clearly named ie: from us, or from grandparents etc. I don't do 'presents from Santa'. We used to say Santa brings the stocking ........... but I think he's guessed the truth now. .

Ragwort · 28/09/2014 14:53

Six - our DS has never been one for getting up early on Christmas day - the last few years we've had to wake him up .

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 28/09/2014 14:55

Ours don't get up early either, around 7-7.30 as usual.

Justalittlebitfedup · 28/09/2014 14:58

I'm just now wondering (after reading many threads about stockings!) how big people's stockings actually are?!

Pjs AND a big tube of smarties plus more?! How do they fit? Does everyone have a huge stocking at home or something? My home bargains stocking would fit about 2 bags of milky buttons in it

Kundry · 28/09/2014 15:00

Presents from extended family were posted so they were ready under the tree - when your grandparents live in another country, you aren't going to see everyone over the Christmas period and neither do they want Santa getting all the credit for their gift!

Christmas day was just us, relatives within reasonable travelling distance would be seen sometime during the Christmas period - my mum hated her MIL (with pretty good reason), why should she have every Christmas ruined by spending it with her and seeing how I was least favoured grandchild?

Now I'm married, we've kept the day as special for us and visit family on other days. Again only on mumsnet have I seen the passion that your Christmas should be spoilt so horrible relative 'isn't alone on Christmas Day'.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Swipe left for the next trending thread