Do you have a method to your stockings?

[mamabluestar]

Stockings weren't a tradition when I was younger. Last year DD started talking about getting one a day or so before Christmas, so it was a very last minute affair. I'm hoping to be more organised this year and wondered if anyone has tips for a novice or a method to what you put in your family's stockings. I may do one for me and hubby to, so any adult and children (4 and nearly 8) tips would be gratefully received. Thank you ?

DD has requested an orange and nuts in her stocking because its traditional.

I always put in small Christmas themed Lego sets, chocolate that comes in a cute Christmassy tin from M&S, sweets and maybe a DVD each.

Lots of great ideas on here.

No method, other than budget (3 dc and try to spend equal with roughly equal number of items) and always chocolate coins.

Ds 9 has a facecloth, magic tricks, top trumps, a book, some army figures, a compass, a trivia game, a pencil sharpener and a Horrible Science experiment.

Dd 6 has a facecloth, headband, nail polish, DVD, slippers, art and craft bits.

Dd 1 has vests, tights, jigsaw, books, facecloth (need more for her).

The best tip is to have two identical stockings for each child. It means you can give one to the child and then keep the other back to pack (which always takes a couple of goes as there is definitely a knack to it). It then means you can just swap the stockings over rather than getting caught at whatever time they finally go to sleep frantically stuffing things in. I was in my twenties before Mum let on how she had managed to do it without getting caught.

Main Santa loot is always wrapped and under the tree. Stocking wise DD (8.5yo) gets one at the end of her bed. I usually wrap everything in it nice and tight so that it slows her down a bit before she comes barging into my room in the morning

So far this year she has:

• Frozen Fever DVD
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets DVD (only one we're missing as I've picked them all up in charity shops in the past for pennies).
• Slipper socks
• Stick on earrings
• Unicorn print pencil case
• 5 pack of gel pens
• Big pack of Bic pens/pencils/crayons
• Frozen bubbles
• Frozen 'Let It Go' necklace
• Mini pink Harrods shopping bag with a cream Harrods bear inside it
• Tube of pink Smarties

Still to get:

• Uno card game
• Roald Dahl Matilda book
• Doh Vinci set
• Small Elf cuddly toy
• Christmas activity/sticker book
• Chocolate Santa
• Selection box

'Special' gift that gets wrapped and sat next to her stocking this year will be some Gryffindor house dress up robes and a scarf, personalised Hogwarts acceptance letter, a time turner necklace, a Mauraders map, etc. Will wrap it all up in brown paper and string and stick lots of printed owl post stamps on it.

That sounds so lovely, VinoTime.

My pair are grown up, just stopped being students. So I send them a sort of "care package" based stocking, usually before December as it contains an advent calendar.

Choccie advent calendar
Fave sweets (peanut M&Ms for son)
A Xmas jumper derivative - woolly hat, socks, T shirt etc
Booze gift pack (JD for son, sparkly for daughter/ son's GF)
Chocolate orange (well, you have to!)
Daft game
Tackiest Xmas tree decoration I can find
Pack of tissues (a long standing joke)
Something useful - diary, toothbrush, pen
Lip balmy stuff
If I'm feeling generous, a gift card for their favourite eaterie, Starbucks, Nandos, Pizza Hut type.

Does everyone apart from me put stockings in bedrooms? DC always put their stockings by the fireplace on Christmas and that is where they find the stockings in the morning!

I do like the idea of getting a bit more time in the morning before the charge downstairs, but my DS always got really freaked out when he was little about the idea of this strange man in a red suit coming into his room. I don't blame him really! So we've always done the 'FC comes down the chimney, fills the stockings by the fireplace and then goes'! No roaming around the house!

*on Christmas Eve that was meant to say

Coffee to avoid that exact drama everyone hangs their stockings on the end of our bed. Everyone piles onto our bed in the morning and we open our stockings with mugs of tea and the occasional chocolate coin

I do stockings on door handles for no reason other than thats what my parents did. But ive grown to realise it makes it far less risky than trying to sneak it into their room.

And also, there is no better sound than lying in bed and hearing the DC gasp, chatter and giggle to themselves about what theyre discovering in their stockings. Once we get down to the tree it is all a bit chaotic (too much to see all at once) so that 20 minutes of hearing them chittering is just beautiful. I'm going to miss that so much when theyre grown.

herdofrhino thank goodness it's not just me!

Please can we keep this thread going....I'm loving all the ideas and suggestions.

Being oldieandgoldie, mine are all grown up now, and I really miss all those early Christmas mornings with everybody in our bed, opening stockings together.

Oldieandgoldie. Our 6ft son still joins us all on our bed to open his stocking. I plan to make them until they leave home [santa]

I have noticed a lot of people here in Australia (mainly from FB posts) that they give the child a pre Xmas present,

Contains things such as a pair of Xmas pj's, a Xmas book, a Xmas DVD, hot chocolate, popcorn

Dc (almost 9 and 5.5) get a xmas eve Box with PJs, xmas book, dvd, snacks, a bauble each, nice list certificate, magic key and believe bell (both same every year)

In their stockings they always get
Toothbrush and paste (my American friend is horrified by this!)
Sweets
Treat food (eg pistachios which they love and Nutella which they aren't usually allowed)
Bath or shower gel
Soft toy (very small)
Bath puff or sponge
Annual sort of on top
Small toys like shopkins, wind up, fidget toys
Stationery
Water bottle
Pants
Socks -Iove xmas day new socks--
A book or 3
A novelty thing (this year eyeball rings from Tiger)

HTH

In our house santa brings one asked for gift and the stocking. Everything else is from family and friends. Also we send the money to santa and that's why we have to make sure he has something to give the children who don't have parents kt whose parents can't send any money)

When growing up we did a mix of things in stockings based on size vs importance of pressie. I think that was a side effect of me & my sister liking lots of little cute things, and big plastic noisy toys being banned, rather than for any other reason.

But always had an orange, red shiny apple, gold chocolate coins, a shiny £1 coin, and nuts.

The things I've carried over to my DS are:

The orange, red shiny apple, and a shiny £1 coin. Chocolate coins now go in shoes - my parents changed that one and am not bothered enough to object - as long as I still get a mesh bag of them :)

I try and stick to little cheap stocking fillers as it works out SO expensive.

As someone else touched on up thread, learn from my mistake! I rue the day I bought some very beautiful stocking and made a big fuss about them. Now they appear to be fixtures, but they are made of loose woven wool to make them all soft and chunky... And they ruddy stretch to boa constrictor length bottomless, unfillable nightmares!

Cries into socks...

Another tip for those who haven't started the tradition yet: we use a pair of DH's walking socks for each DS. That way, they aren't too huge you struggle to fill them, but do stretch nicely for a satisfying amount of stuff.

It also guarantees the matching pair thing, so that you can fill the other sock and just exchange the empty one the kids have left on the ends of their beds.

Also, the kids really like picking the biggest socks they can find from DH's drawer!

We used to do that as kids, mixed. :) Dad always got a brand new pack of (usually black) socks. It would have given Mum and Dad 3 socks to fill for us girls and 3 to replace quickly with the filled ones without faffing around. Genius.

Our dcs have sacks from Santa and they always leave them downstairs. We did as children too. I was a terrible sleeper and ds1 isn't great especially when he's excited so it's best to keep them downstairs.

Ds1 has:
Avengers calendar
Book light
Bubble bath
Top Gear top trumps
Fake comedy teeth
Small selection box
Book
DVD
Small Lego kit
Minecraft blind box
Outfit for Christmas Day
Christmas cup
Star Wars plasters
Notebook
Pens

Dd has:
Frozen calendar
Bubble bath
Book
DVD
Frozen plasters
Small selection box
Nail polish
Playmobil blind bag
Christmas cup
Dress for Christmas Day
Book light
Notebook
Pens

Ds2 has:
Book
Crayons
Cars
Outfit for Christmas day
Bubble bath
Bath toy
Paw patrol figure

Possibly a few more bits but I can't remember!

I always put in...

Toothbrush
Chocolate coins
A mug or water bottle
Satsuma
Pound coin
Flannel (got a nice one from cath kitson the other year)
Toiletries - this year from lush
Lip balm
Hair clips or bobbles
A small toy - shopkins this year
A torch.

I usually put in the following:-

Chocolate coins (always at the toe of the stocking so it's the last thing pulled out)

A chocolate orange

A Christmas decoration

Hair bands

Pocket money toys e.g. little Lego figures

Notebooks or novelty pens or fancy stationery

In the past we've put in little torches, character pencil cases, Top Trumps cards etc.