Stockings

[mam0918]

Just a curiousity question more than anything but do you use the same stockings every year or buy new ones?

Also do they all match or are they randomly mismatched?

We have always used a random mismatch (bob the builder, loony tunes, a black velvet one then over the years added a football one, a sequin one and one with a snowman on etc... so everyone has one with a spare for emergancies and most are probably over 20 year old).

Well my 2 year old got over excited last year and yanked them down snapping the loops on several of them so I went online thinking maybe I would get us all matching velvet initals ones (pinterest style) but was shocked to see how much it would add up to to replace all of them (for something we use 1 day a year).

I also went on Ebay to see if I could find any cheeper and noticed many people selling 'job lot bundles' that their kids have used in the 'pervious years' as if they get a band new one every year.

Now Im wondering if we are wierd for not updating them until now, is it usually an annual thing to get a 'new' stocking?

Buying new every year sounds hideously wasteful! Ours are a tasteful (if I do say so myself) mishmash.

My DS uses mine from when I was little. Purpose made knitted stocking with Christmas pictures on. I love it.

And I love filling it and remembering the shiver of excitement when I felt it on Christmas morning all bulging and crinkling wrapping paper noise.

We also made a pillowcase. I got an iron on name sticker and we paint his hand and put a handprint on it every Christmas Eve. His requested Santa present usually goes in there.

My first thought was "of course people don't buy new ones each year" but I bet there are some people who do, along with new Christmas PJs, duvet covers and the newest fashion of Christmas decorations. Its incredibly wasteful and also a shame - I love digging out the tatty stockings, the tree decorations my kids made at preschool, and the ones I had as a child.

We do get new matching Christmas pjs every year (mainly because my DDs keep growing!) but we still wear the old ones too. In fact, DD1 is wearing her Christmas pjs from last year tonight. I don’t consider that any more wasteful than any other pair of pjs.

Mine all have matching ones they had since they were born. They are the same style but slightly different design as the shop changed them slightly each year. I think most people tend to stick to the same ones each year.

Children grow out of PJs eventually, and we reuse the Christmas duvet covers year after year. I get a couple of new decorations each year to add to the collection.

Dd uses her PJs all winter but it's nice to get them on 24th Dec.

Her duvet set is over a decade old and used for all of Dec up to 6th Jan (it gets washed!).

Her plastic plate, glass, cup and bowl were bought to have a second set when she was turning 1. The everyday set has long since bitten the dust, and the cup broke last year. But the rest are still around and still get some use every Christmas season (a bit less now that she's 16 - but cookies for Santa still go on the plate every year and they're great for visiting littlies).

I still put up decorations she made in nursery - but I am not allowed to have the ones I made yet as DM guards those for her own tree.

I bought mothercare ones when my 2 were babies, personalised. They aren't massive but we love them . One of the favourite parts of Christmas is them opening their stockings on my bed