So we are just about to wind down the holiday posts here on TMH, but I couldn’t leave without a little something being said about stuffing the stocking. Around my house it’s serious business, handed down from my mom. I remember being more excited to go through the treasures in my stocking than anything. That might be partly due to the fact that my mom would make us wait to open any presents until the coffee was done brewing, but we were always free to go through our stockings.
My mom even made sure my husband knew how to stuff my stocking the first year we were married. The second year we were at his parents and it was the first time in my life that I didn’t have a stocking on Christmas morning. He had forgot, and his family never had them. I cried. No really, I did! One of those reality checks that your all grown up now and it broke my heart for the day. Crazy that a stocking can have such an impact on someone’s Christmas, but for me it represented home and tradition. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas without it.
So here is what we are going to do. I will share how I stuff our stockings, and then I want you all to share your traditions. Even if it’s not stuffing a stocking, but a tradition that is equally important to you. Will you play along? I hope you do, it would totally make my day. 
How To Stuff A Stocking
Of course you need something to stuff, so start with that. Take an orange and stuff into the toe of the stocking, followed by a handful of nuts in their shell. Add some candy and by this point my stockings are about half full. Next I bring on the treasures. I love this part! For me it is the thrill of the hunt…what fun things can I find this year? I love Walgreen’s for stuff, and then places like the auto parts store for my husband to find fun little things. Bookstores also have a bunch of fun stuff.
I always wrap a few of the gifts and leave a few unwrapped. Get creative and take little things out of the store packaging and wrap in little boxes. A match box car looks even more special when wrapped in tissue, then in a box with a ribbon don’t you think? Likewise for jewelry, even dress up jewelry is more fun when taken out and wrapped up. You could also buy fun candy at a candy store and put in little baggies with ribbon, just have fun with it.
Here is a list of some old favorites and a few are our must haves:
- new toothbrush
- pez and dispenser
- little book
- silly putty
- art stuff (like crayons, or a nice pen for the hubby)
- for girls, a little jewelry (wrapped)
- for boys, match box cars, marbles…
- card game for the kids
- little snacks
- gum
To finish off the stocking I make sure there is a little chocolate Santa peeking out the top as well as a little gift with ribbon peeking out of the top.
Also, Marta has a great list of how to stuff a stocking from the grocery store, she even has a list of ideas for teens!
So how about you? Any fun little things that you remember from childhood? Anything you could add to my list? I would love love to get some more ideas!
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Every year I would put those little cheap parachute men in my kids stockings. Christmas afternoon you would find the kids tossing them from the second floor or in the years we lived in a bungalow, they would pull out an electric fan to play with them. All the expensive toys would be forgotten for a few hours while they played happily with those silly little toys. The stockings are a highlight in our house too and I couldn’t imagine Christmas without them.
Oh! I forgot about those, and my son would love them! Do you remember where you would pick them up? I haven’t seen them anywhere.
Glad to know I am not the only one attached to the sock
Thanks for sharing Fionna
It may be too late but check in the party supply area of your local department store or even in a dollar store. They usually come in packages of 4 or six as party favours.
My daughter in law thinks it’s so funny that I bribe my kids home for Christmas by telling them if they are not here for Christmas morning, they don’t get a stocking. I only think it’s fair.
This post makes me want to do stockings next year. It was always a tradition when I was a kid, and I was, like you, always allowed to open the stockings first. As for the presents under the tree, we had to wait till my grandparents got there at 9 and after breakfast. Now, my parents come over for Christmas morning and we wait till after breakfast to open the gifts, but I have never done stockings. I really don’t have a great place to hang them, and when my son was little, I was always afraid he was going to pull those big weighted “stocking holders” on his head. BUT, it was a tradition that I loved, too late for this year, but definitely firing it back up for next year!!!
I have the same problem, no where to hang them! I just haven’t put ours out yet, I thought it might be fun for the kids to just hang them right before they go to bed and then we just lay them on a chair for them to wake up too.
My sister’s little boy pulled a metal stocking holder down on his toe this year and it hit so hard it broke the tip of the metal tree off! Ouch! It looked horrible, poor guy!
Merry Christmas Emily, thanks for sharing!
Every year — for a few years in a row — my stocking contained a Tinkerbell toiletry gift set (talcum powder, perfume, lotion, and peel-off nail polish). I also received Strawberry Shortcake shampoo — that stuck in my mind, evidently, because I think about that all the time!
How fun is that?
Merry Christmas Megret!
Stocking stuffing is a huge deal at our house. And you are so right when you say it’s the thrill of the hunt. We each try to out do each other with our finds. And I don’t mean in cost but in the perfect item for that person.Because my kids are now grown and having kids of their own, the last few years the adults have only done stockings. All of the gifts have to fit into the sock or be left next to it on the staircase, with room left to use the stairs. We have an open staircase and I hang all of the stockings going up the banisters. The grandkids of course each get a present but their favorite past is ‘the stocking” also. I’m pretty sure my kids and grandkids will continue this fun tradition.
I love that! Me and my husband decided only to do stockings this year as well, everything has to fit in the stocking. I have to say it has really made me have to stop and think about what he needs, would like and get creative. It’s been so fun.
I’m quite certain your kids will carry on the tradition, I’d imagine it’s one of their favorites
Merry Christmas!
I really haven’t stuffed stockings but will probably start next year when my son is 2 1/2 but a tradition that I have done since I could walk across the street by myself is go to my BFF’s house Christmas morning. When I moved across the bridge, I still made the journey. I’ve moved two times since then and every Christmas morning I still drive, now with my son in tow, to my BFF’s house just to hang out for a while. It’s also great because on my way home, we stop by my hubby’s family and do Christmas on the way home….I will go to my BFF’s house every year til forever…Happy Holidays!
We do stockings every year too, and I love trying to find just the right “stuff”. I thought about stopping one year when the oldest were in their teens and they were appalled that I would quit. Apparently, they love them too! It’s easy when they’re little to find little cars, and dolls but harder as teens. My 17 year old is going to find several fast food gift cards as he’s always on the run. And every stocking, every year has a new toothbrush and a new pair of socks! Out other tradition is the kids get to open one package on Christmas Eve before bed and it’s always new pj’s. Merry Christmas!!
Your tradition sounds EXACTLY like mine.
Once my kids were gone and I was on my ownagain, my sister and I kept it up for each other. I am now living with my boyfriend and he is totally confused by the whole thing, they never did stockings in his family either.
Looks like I got about a 1/2 a stocking full this year, he’s trying
Oh. and both my daughters husband do stocking for them now too. And I still do one for my sister.
Glad I’m not the only one that got and now gives toothbrushes. And as I got older, flashlights and ice scrapers. I am starting to pass that one on, too, along with travel size everything from CVS.
I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t do stocking this year. Christmas morning my 82 yr. old dad asked me very nicely where Santa had left the socks. I will never again not do stocking. This was the first time in my whole life that they weren’t done. Shame on me. My husband missed it and he grow up with out them. So it just tells us that you can create your own traditions and people learn to love them as much as you did.
I know this is late, but I am a new follower… just wanted to post about my hubby’s stocking: got him a new toothbrush, a clementine, a couple of those 4 hr energy drinks (for when he is down at work) a new star wars mug, a new on the go mug, some candy, and some chapstick… and socks of course! He was really happy, and I was glad I didn’t have any of it lying around at the end of the day!
Santa would leave the stocking on my daughters bed for her to open so mom and dad could get a few more minutes of shut eye. One of her favorite memories.
Stockings are a favorite tradition in our family, too. Another tradition I started when my own kids were young was to leave Santa wine, cheese, sausage and crackers — after all, he must get tired of milk and cookies everywhere else! Of course, carrots for the reindeer as well.
Stockings ae my fave gift part of Christmas. If I had to give regular gifts up and just keep stocking I would. We dont use the fruit or nuts in ours, but our stockings are jam packed with goodies. My Mom still filled all her kids/spouses/grandkids until about 4 years ago. We decided to all contribute the the family stockings. Now , each family buys or makes gifts for every person’s stocking. It has become our new favorite tradition.
What a sweet post! It almost made me cry because Stockings were such an important part of Christmas morning growing up – a lot like in your family. Sadly, I married a guy that didn’t understand Stockings nor did he have them growing up and seemed unwilling or unable to grasp the concept. We didn’t have kids so I couldn’t pass the tradition on that way. So, the last 27 Christmases have been just a little bit less joyous because of the lack of Stockings but it makes my heart glad to know that others still treasure the tradition.
I love stockings!!! My husband didn’t grow up with them either but he’s embraced them now. We use stockings my mother made especially for us. This year they are visiting us from overseas and I get to return the favor, I made my parents stockings. Our personal traditions include leaving Santa a piece of birthday cake (my son’s birthday is on Christmas Eve) and instead of a big fancy Christmas dinner, everyone gets to choose a favourite food.
Since moving to California, we have what we call our Cali Family. My son always had his friends over to our house and they kind of became part of our family. A few of them lived with us after they’re own parents told them to leave when they turned 18. One had never celebrated Christmas. He was so funny & cute. He had to help with everything, including preparing the Christmas dinner.
They have all giving us great memories. I use to have to buy new stockings every year but that was becoming expensive to I started something new. I pick out a new kind of stocking every year, a theme. In 1999 for the millennium we used new paint cans, printed labels that said (name)’s millennium survival kit… new pair of socks, gloves, small flash light, candy, deck of cards, snowman soup (hot choc with mini marshmallows), reindeer poo (choc malt balls). One year it was travel kits. This year it will be hobo kits… kerchiefs tied to a stick… so many people losing their homes, living on the streets, no jobs. Kind of reminded me of stories I was told by parents & grandparents about the depression. So this is to remind them of the others not having a warm Christmas as we are still lucky enough to enjoy. Each kit has a card that says $5 was giving to a charity for the homeless in their name. Happy Holidays to you all …. this is a great craft site 
Stockings are definately my fave too…my parents didn’t celebrate Christmases so much as we do….(my mothers parents were jehovas witnesses for years)- so we did not do stockings for Christmas every year as children. But I remember one year my dads mom sending us stockings for our gifts. We loved them ( my mom wasn”t as impressed) but we received them prior to Christmas day, and ate treats out of them daily!
So every year I have stuffed stockings for my kids, who are now 20,18 and 16. They still love them, and have told me many times that it is also their favorite thing to receive on Christmas. I have graduated to larger stockings as they grew older, they are too heavy and I have no where to hang them, so I lay them at the tree in front of the gifts. I put in favorite drinks, maple syrup ( for my eldest son who loves it), jewellery,socks, phonecards, body wash, perfume, books, candy and chocolates- ( I search for odd or specialty candies),and also include their favorites. I try to get creative….so you never know what’ll be in their! Some items are wrapped,some not! When they were younger they would wake up so early and dump them- and then repack them so I wouldn”t be dissappointed at missing the action! Definately the best tradition! So much fun!