Christmas Stocking Traditions

[ornamentmaven]

My sister-in-law's family is originally from Czechslovakia (sp). Their tradition is to do the stockings on Jan 6th - Little Christmas. This is in celebration of the day the wisemen reached Bethlehem bearing gifts!

[mona]

So in Eastern Europe they celebrate Christmas on Epiphany? A bit like the Jews then I think, hey also celebrate it all a little bit later
Anyhow, it is true that in some European countries we celebrate Saint Nicholas on the 6th, Christmas with Nicholas' equivalent Santa, and Epiphany (just making a special cake and the children going round the streets to ask money or sweets).

Saint Nicholas was especially a big day when we were younger, but Christmas has always been the , say, climax. Before last year we didn't own stockings, but when I went to the store with my little sister, I really felt the need to buy Christmas things, and I bought a stocking. Few days later, surprisingly, my parents bought 3 extra stockings for us (we're four children) and hung them all at the fire place!! It was all so well decorated last year...! But we didn't put presents in them at that time as these stockings weren't planned. But this year I'll manage to let surprises put in those big cute Christmas socks

[louellyn]

We don't do stockings, rather we do pillow cases and have done since I was born (37 years ago).

Up until last year my parents would still give us all pillow cases filled up with bits and pieces, some novelties, some chocolate etc. I would make up a pillow case for each of my parents. These are completely separate from the presents under the tree and are always unwrapped.

This year we are doing a secret santa for the pillow cases which should make it fun as only one person will know what is in someone's. We will take turns watching what each person gets.

All of us have children so we do our own child's pillow case.

There will be 14 pillow cases this year!! and we buy so many presents for each other that it literally takes us all day to unwrap them with breaks for breakfast and lunch. It is crazy, expensive and completely over the top but we love it and I hope the tradition continues for another 37 years at least :-)

[Christmas_mama]

My children get a real stocking for Christmas (the kind you would wear on your legs). I always had the same as a kid and I remember getting so excited because they stretch really big and you can see all the presents through them but you don't know what they are (because they're wrapped).

Our stockings are hung on the end of the bed on Christmas Eve and when 'santa' fills them he lays them down on the end of the bed so that they're there for the Children to see and feel first thing in the morning

Here is a picture of what a stocking stocking looks like when stuffed with pressies hehe. They're under the tree here with all the other pressies because I'd only just stuffed them, but they were moved to the end of their beds before Christmas morning:



The stocking is in front of the scooter, behind the other red presents.

I still remember the feeling of stretching out my legs in the early hours of Christmas morning to feel with my feet if he had been yet or not... The feeling of my feet meeting the stocking, bolting upright in bed and seeing it there stuffed to the top with wrapped presents, a tangerine, nuts and a few coins in the end. I'd grope at it and try to figure out what was inside. And then ever half hour for the next 3 or 4 hours (bearing in mind I'd typically woken up at 3 or 4 in the morning) I'd nag my mum if I could open it yet (she always made us wait until everybody was up so we could open them together).

I plan to do the exact same for my kids, too. They can open their stockings before any other presents but they have to wait until we are all up and bring them into the living room from their bedrooms. I still remember the excitement of dragging my stocking down the stairs to the living room and sitting in front of Childrens Christmas morning TV until Mum said we could open them.

We don't take it in turns with the stockings - we just let the kids tuck in. Oh, they're from Father Christmas, of course! Once the stockings are finished with, it's no more presents until after Christmas lunch (roast), which we typically have at about 1 or 2pm. This gives the children time to appreciate and enjoy the presents from their stockings before moving onto the next, they can play with their new toys from their stockings while dinner is cooking

As well as toys in the stockings they typically get some bubblebath, pyjamas, slippers, hair bands and hair clips, a chocolate selection tray etc Small novelties.

Santa may also bring a big present and if he does, that's put at the end of their bed with their stockings and can also be opened before dinner with the rest of the stocking presents

After dinner, when we've let our food go down and spent some time together at the table, me and DH wash up and the children nag to open presents. It feels like forever (I remember!) but it's only ever half an hour or so, so presents under the tree are opened at about half 3 or 4pm. The presents under the tree are from family and friends, and we tell the children who they are from so that they can appreciate people bought them gifts and thank them.The ones under the tree we DO take it in turns to open. We hand them out so everybody has a little pile of presents that are theirs, and then we go around in turns opening one present at a time. It lasts longer that way and everybody gets to see who got what from whom :-)

It's only presents that me and my husband buy that we say are from Father Christmas and those are all opened in the morning with the stockings

[ToriBear]

Our stockings are hung on the end of the bed on Christmas Eve and when 'santa' fills them he lays them down on the end of the bed so that they're there for the Children to see and feel first thing in the morning

Oh my goodness, that's such a cute idea, I love it! That never would've worked for me when I was little though, because I would've kicked it off the bed while I was sleeping haha

[mona]

What a story I am definitely going to persuade my parents to do something more with the stockings. But here we always wait until my grandparents arrive about 5 pm, and then we're allowed to open one present just before eating the starter, and then another one between the starter and the main course and between the main course and dessert all the rest and we take it in turns too, so it lasts at least 3 quarters of an hour. So all the presents are unwrapped in one evening and not throughout the whole day.

If I have children later, I would surely use some of your stocking tips, it looks soo exciting, like it was at Saint Nicholas or Easter when I was younger, and when we woke up there were already chocolate figurines at the end of our beds or a track of chocolate eggs leading to the living room downstairs! And we also had to wait for our presents until everybody was up. So I am going to do the same exciting thing for Christmas!

[Merry Christmas Darling]

Saint Nicholas is not Santa, or at least I never thought so. He really existed,he was a sailor and has reputation as a bringer of gifts to children. Usually yes, he brings presents just for children, in my family he brings gifts in stockings. Santa Clause, he brings gifts for Christmas and he it's some kind of a fiction, although I believed in him when I was yoinger.He brings gifts for children and adults under the tree.

Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas as well as the fat man whose reindeer know how to fly. I like to tell children about the real Saint Nicholas and explain that the other stuff is fiction. But I have a sense of humor, too. I wore an animated elf hat when I took gifts to three of our grandchildren.

Dancing/animated ELF cap. Press on it and it springs to life. Sings the song "We Are Santa's Elves" from the TV show "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". As it sings, the bell on top moves side to side and jingles. Also lights around the outside blink.



I'll have to explain about the stockings later. They're mainly decoration in my house.

[Christmas_mama]

I'm unfamiliar with the concept of a santa who is separate from Saint Nic, and who leaves presents for adults... To me, Santa (also known as Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas...) is the big Jolly old guy with the red soft outfit, white fur, white beard... belly laugh... rosy cheeks... He flies a sleigh full of toys pulled by his flying reindeer and he lands on the roof and comes down the chimney bringing presents and taking the carrot / pie / cookies / drink that was left for him. He fills the stockings that have been hung and leaves gifts for the children.

He doesn't come for adults in this house though - Father Christmas is for the children! The toys under the tree in this house are from family and friends and for everybody (adults and children) and are put under the tree as and when family bring them round in the lead up to Christmas, but Santa comes on Christmas Eve and leaves presents for all the good girls and boys :-)

[MinnesotaMike]

Even though Santa brings gifts for everyone in our house (stockings AND under tree), I kind of like the idea that he just brings toys for kids. That's an interesting twist that my wife would NEVER agree to. HA!!!

[ornamentmaven]

In our house Santa only brings gifts for children, he does give stockings to the whole family however (at least that is what we told the kids when they were younger).