Stockings how does it work?

[Sakura03]

My son is now three and I thought he should have a stocking for Christmas. I’m Danish and decorate my house end of November ready for the 1 December, as a child I always had advent calendars and we had an advent candle so I naturally carry on those traditions but I need a little help when it comes to his Christmas stocking, do I go for a good quality stocking, is it “important” to get it personalised? Does it go up on display with all the other decorations? How much do you spend on stocking fillers? Tia.

We don’t have anywhere to hang our stockings, so they just leave them out on Xmas eve under the tree, and I fill them with about 6 wrapped gifts each, usually the stockings equal around £20 each - I don’t fill them with rubbish!

We always have and continue to put stockings in the sitting room rather than bedroom - no need for sneaking around then. (Or at least a lot less sneaking...)

If anyone is looking for semi personalised stockings Matalan have beautiful initial ones and they aren’t crazy money www.matalan.co.uk/product/detail/s2797807_c333/quilted-alphabet-christmas-stocking-50cm-x-30cm-red

They did similar last year - admittedly in more colours - and they quality is lovely (they feel really luxe) and they are a good size. They also have initial sacks too for those that are that way inclined!

There is not one answer. In our house stocking gifts come from Santa and the rest are for parents. Stocking are put in bedroom and Santa fills them when you are asleep. For this reason I have two identical stockings for each child so I can easily swap the empty one for the one during the night.

Whatever you put in the stocking they will want to play with immediately so don’t put anything messy in there. I speak from experience.

I brought my daughter a beautiful timeless personalised one. I love it. She's only had 1 Christmas but I'll get it out every year. Display it till Xmas eve on fireplace, when I'll hang it on the end of very bed.

Stockings are a nod to the UK traditions as it is not part of our German ones.

We only get it out on the 23rd and hang it next to the fireplace. We do our main Christmas on Christmas Eve but DD then put some sweets (Santa doesn’t do mince pies, he prefers marzipan or chocolate) and a glass of wine next to the fireplace.

We fill the stocking with small gifts DD would get anyway, CD, bath bomb, hair accessories, card game, novelty T-shirt etc. I don’t do extra “Stocking gifts”.

Size wise it is roughly the size of a toddler’s wellie and I think we just got it from somewhere for a fiver. It it is now 13 years old and still going strong.

They have lovely red velvet stockings with an initial on in B and M right now for £3, they also have large velvet sacks in the same design for £6.

I don't display the stocking and it goes on the end of the bed since the best part of Christmas is waking up and digging into it.

I fill it will lots of low cost gifts, tubes of sweets, bubbles, silly socks, rubber ducks, chocolate coins etc. You can buy loads of inexpensive gifts in Poundlad which are decent quality.

I've sold handmade stockings for years so when I had my DC I made each of them their own - I think that the best size is one where they aren't too big so you don't need to spend a fortune filling them but big enough to get your hand in comfortably to insert the gifts.

TBH the fun is in the surprise on Christmas morning not having lots and lots of presents so useful gifts are fine. At 3 the DC got things like crayons or chunky pencils, a small colouring book, playdoh, plastic jewellery, socks, knitted hat gloves and scarf set, chocolate coins, a couple of small toys. Now they are older they get nice stationery for school, makeup, bubbles etc.

The stockings are laid out in front of the fireplace before they go to bed on Christmas Eve, together with a glass of sherry, a mince pie and a carrot for Rudolph. Before the stockings are taken upstairs the sherry is drunk by me) the mince pie eaten by DH and a bite taken out of the carrot...

I never had one as a child I love one now

Our stockings are on display from when decs go up then santa fills it on Christmas eve and leaves on end of bed. They then spend the rest of xmas season filled with sweets and presents

Oh forgot to say, i made my kids theirs and they are personalised

Our stockings are inexpensive fabric ones. They are hung up on Christmas Eve, by the fireplace in the living room, so no stealth required. Generally filled with Christmassy sweets and chocolates, little stationery items, toiletries and various other little bits and bobs.

In our family it’s always been relatively little things in stockings only from Father Christmas, bigger presents from family. There always has to be a satsuma in the toe - when I was a child it was a tangerine. And always chocolate of some description.

I made stockings for dds out of an old dress in stretchy red jersey, with their initials in green felt and a mini woolly snowman attached. Stretchy fabric is good, because the things stuffed inside make exciting bulges. For the same reason knitted stockings are lovely - if anyone has the time and skill.

We’ve always wrapped stocking presents - not very perfectly and always in different (cheaper!) paper than anything from family.,

Thank you all so so much, I didn’t expect so many comments. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading about everyone’s traditions and memories from their own childhood. I hadn’t even considered if the stocking is going to be from FC or from me🤔 and I got a lot of great ideas from you all for stocking fillers.
When I was a child my mum made me an advent calendar with 24 small presents all wrapped up hanging up in our kitchen, as we got older it changed to four advent presents and they were then slightly bigger presents. In school we all brought in a present each for roughly £3 (I’m 42 so a few years ago) and each day one of us including our teacher got a present. In Denmark they also do TV Christmas calendars (a Christmas series with 24 episodes, kids/family versions as well as some more suited for adults) it’s the best thing ever and I’m going to get one series on dvd (I’ll probably borrow one series from my brother) so that I can share this tradition with my son (and he can brush up on his Danish😬).
A few of you said that it’s all about making your own traditions and I completely agree with this. Thank you all

If you want a cheap personalised one B&m have nice ones with initials on. I echo buying two so you can swap an empty one for a full one. I put whatever small presents in I think they will like, sweets, a book, fun toiletries and the kind of gifts I can pretend I disapprove of so only Santa would buy them. Like a woopie cushion or messy/noisey toy.

Everyone does it differently and I’m always amazed at how children don’t seem to realise!

I grew up with a stuffed stocking and it was the most exciting part of Christmas for me so I’ve carried that on for my children. There are some things that are always in there year after year then the rest depends on the child. It’s mostly edible or useful stuff with a few fun bits as well. Have to make sure they all have the same number though as they check!

As children we used to hang pillowcases over the bannister - ive always wanted to do this tradition - or maybe get the kids to decorate plain pillowcases themselves! At the moment we have stockings and I've written each childs name on. They are hung up as part of the Xmas decorations when we do the tree on the fireplace then I fill them and put them at the end of their beds and then in the morning they bring them into my room and we take turns to open the presents in bed together - probably my favourite part of Xmas tbh!

Yes there are lots of ways to do them :)

This year my DCs nan has knitted them huge stretchy stockings as Santa is only bringing the stocking and I want it to be decently exciting.

They will be hinted display in the hallway between the bedrooms and they will be filled in Christmas eve; we will make a point of leaving the treats for Santa and reindeer on a little table by the stockings as the DC are little and I want to make it clear that Santa is bringing the stocking.

In our house they will be filled with good quality stuff - a mix of toys (basically any toys physically small enough to go in will be going in), nice practical things (cool toothbrushes, gloves, stationary etc) and consumable items (stickers, craft beads, edible treats, Chistmassy bubble bath and bombs) and a book or two.

A lot of people I know whose parents did stockings say they really loved them. Personally I didn't get one (we had Santa sacks instead which I guess is similar but bigger) and I love the idea of them!

Oh and lastly I will be wrapping/boxing most things in the stocking to make it a bit more fun:)