Need help with Christmas traditions

[Robinrs]

My Mom was the Kris Kringle of the family. She did all the fun, all the shopping and all the traditional things every year.

Well, now I'm "Mom"...

One tradition we never did was Christmas stockings. We hung them but never FILLED them. I only heard about stocking stuffers when I was grown.

I read the tread about stockings and want to add it to my Christmas tradition. Michael and I are the only people who celebrate Christmas in my family. I want him to have what I had, beautiful memories and unique traditions.

I read the web information about the history and such but would like your ideas on how to do this. Are they hung and filled the night before then opened before or after the other presents are opened????

Excuse my ignorance!

 

[Marla Hellwig]

hang ours for decortations before

On Christmas eve - they are filled with little things - in the past have used small candy, pencils, pens, etc.,

Depends on what item(s) were if they are wrapped or not - depends on what my mood is when i am wrapping the presents

DD can open her stocking and then wait until I get up

 

[KathyFP]

Same here. They are hung as a decoration (with the expection of DD's super size one) and then Santa fills them the night before and we see what is in them on Christmas morning.

 

[DMOMof3]

They are put by the fireplace (not hung, cats would have too much fun). Filled overnight with small gifts & candy. This way my kids can go through their stockings in the morning and not wake anyone else up(wishful thinking)

 

[Gette88]

We also hang ours as decorations, but usually only a few days before Christmas. Santa fills them and the kids open them last. DD 13 has always gotten her favorite candy and then small presents. This year she'll be getting bath gels, hair accessories, lip glosses and scented lotions. Plus the same candy since she was about 3. DD 3 will be getting toothbrush, toothpaste, view master reels and also candy, maybe a play necklace and braclet set. DH and I are not going all out this year, We just paid $3,000 for our seasonal campsite and I think that's more important. We'll be glad we did when spring rolls around. We decided to do a together gift, which is a Playstation 2 with about 6 games and I suggested we fill each others stockings with little surprises. I think that will be fun.

 

[Danauk]

When I was younger my stocking would be put out as a decoration before christmas. On christmas eve I would put it at the end of my bed and it would be filled with small gifts such as chocolate, pens, fruit and small games. That way I could open these presents whilst my parents were still asleep.

 

[RUDisney]

Santa fills ours after we all go to bed on Christmas Eve. The only difference between the other posters and us is that we don't open ours first. The kids know that they are not allowed downstairs without us and they abide by that rule.

When the major presents are unwrapped, we move from the room with the fireplace and tree into our formal living room where the stockings are hung from the ledge that is in the wall between the living room and dining room. Some items are wrapped, some aren't.

We open all of our major presents in turn so everyone can see everything that is opened. The stockings are a free-for-all and then we show everyone what we got.

The same was true in my parents' house, only the stockings were emptied first.

 

[cgcw]

We hang our Mickey and Minnie stockings up when we decorate the house. We also add one for the animals in the house. The other one we hang is decorated for "Baby Jesus".

As the holiday season is getting hectic and all, we stop for a moment to write down what we are thankful for. We tuck the slip of paper into the Baby Jesus stocking. On Christmas Day, after all the festivities have taken place, we take time to reflect on what we are thankful for. We take turns pulling a slip of paper out of the Jesus stocking and reading what we all are thankful for.

Hopefully, DS3 will be old enough to add a couple thoughts of his own this year. When we are all done, we put the slips in a ziploc bag and tuck them into the bottom of the stocking. One of these days we are going to look back on years past.

 

[Bon Bon]

I bought a manger that baby Jesus is separate. We leave him out of the cresh (sp?) and the kids put him in on Christmas eve before bed since he was not actually born until that night. Good luck finding a baby Jesus not attached to his cresh though, they are usually one piece and very hard to find!

We let the kids open one gift Christmas eve, one of our choosing. It's usually something like a cross necklace, or something to do with the real reason for the season.

DH and I take one evening and drive all over the surrounding towns looking at the beautiful lights.

I have a few girlfriends who I have a tradition with. I have lots of storage space in my garage so they bring their families presents here after they purchase them. Then we take one night, get someone to take the kids, get some wine and munchies, put on Christmas music and we meet here for a "wrapping party." To me, and most of my friends, wrapping is such a chore. This makes it fun, gives us girl time and a desperately needed mental health break from the holiday madness. I started that one about 8 years ago and it is a big hit!

 

[BabyTigger99]

Our stockings are filled the night of December 5th by St. Nick (must be a local to Green Bay thing. My mom grew up "up north" and had never heard of it until she moved to Green Bay, and my SIL, who lives an hour south of us has never heard of it either). One thing our kids get every year is an ornament, and I try to find one that represents something they have enjoyed throughout the year. This year DS4 is getting Yoda with his lightsaber (he would watch Episode 2 every day if we would let him!!) and DSD10 is getting Tinkerbell, since she was in a local production of Peter Pan this year. Then I make sure to put the date on the bottom of them so they can remember when they got them, so when they move out, they will have enough decorations to start a tree.

 

[mtemm]

For us it was a big deal to hang them. My mom hand-knit ours, each has different patterns/colors, each the same size...oversized, but not weirdly so. My mom has made one for each of our husbands and our children, too. They are so special, and I love having them in my own house now.

Growing up we always hung them when we decorated the tree. Our fireplace where the stockings were hung was in the family room and our tree was in the living room. Christmas morning we were allowed to get into our stockings, but had to wait for my parents to get up and get the coffee started before we could dig into the gifts around the tree. Santa gifts were never wrapped until we were older, and the stocking ones never were.

I love stockings and have so much fun putting one together for my dh and my son! Next year the twins will be here, too, so lots to do. They won't care so much, but I know as the years go on they will. I hope they love the tradition as much as I do.

We also celebrated St. Nicholas day on 12/6. The night before we put our shoes on the hearth and the next morning we found small things of candy and maybe a very small toy. It was great because it took a bit of an edge off the horrible wait it always was till Santa came! LOL! Many families on our block celebrated, but where we live now noone does so not sure if we'll continue this tradtion or not.

Enjoy creating your new tradition!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We hang ours on the fireplace mantel for decoration. They are filled by "Santa" on Christmas Eve after DD goes to bed. DH and I fill each others with a couple of little things.

So far this year DD is getting 3 pairs of new panties (potty training), crayons, small box of animal crackers, and stickers.

 

[Robinrs]

Thanks, everyone. This sounds like so much fun.

It will be easy to find "little" things for Michael, he has such distinct interests! I think it will make Christmas morning without my parents a little more fun.

Thanks again!

 

[snoopy]

We hang them when we decorate the tree, which in our case was last Saturday; and Santa fills them on Christmas Eve.

Have fun making new traditions, cuz!

(and btw, you need to clean out your inbox! Sweep, sweep!)

 

[Cruisin]

I think that if you did a bit of research you would find the St. Nicholas, Dec 6 tradition comes from the "old" countries of Europe. I know my in laws are from Holland and they had that tradition there.
I don't know how many countries do this and what the exact reason for it was.

 

[trip]

Originally posted by BabyTigger99
Our stockings are filled the night of December 5th by St. Nick (must be a local to Green Bay thing. My mom grew up "up north" and had never heard of it until she moved to Green Bay, and my SIL, who lives an hour south of us has never heard of it either). One thing our kids get every year is an ornament, and I try to find one that represents something they have enjoyed throughout the year. This year DS4 is getting Yoda with his lightsaber (he would watch Episode 2 every day if we would let him!!) and DSD10 is getting Tinkerbell, since she was in a local production of Peter Pan this year. Then I make sure to put the date on the bottom of them so they can remember when they got them, so when they move out, they will have enough decorations to start a tree.

Is anyone Greek in your family? Here is a link that might explain that tradition. http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/1995/12/06/?printable=1

Here is another link
http://www.biblicalrecorder.org/content/news/2001/12_14_2001/ne141201the.shtml

 

[tigercat]

When the kids were young their stocking would be hung by the fireplace for decorations. On Christmas morning they would find them full and at the bottom of their beds. They were not allowed downstairs until we were all allowed up. Later when they got older they were hung on the fireplace and Santa would fill them and return them to their nail. They were allowed to open their stockings Christmas morning. We then get the house ready for company, have breakfast, and then they were allowed one present from under the tree that I picked out. It was usually their outfit for the day. We have our meal at around noon when people get there and after the dishes are cleaned up we then get to open the presents under the tree.
tigercat

 

[Otto's Doll]

Growing up, our stockings were all in a designated spot, and then Santa would put them on various chairs after he had filled them. We all waited til everyone was ready (my mom had us up at 5am every year!) and then we would go look. We were allowed to check out what Santa left, and after mom and dad had coffee, we would open our gifts one at a time. Our stockings were filled with candy and treats, but nothing was wrapped.

Now, my DH and I wait for the kids to get up, and then we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. After that we go into our living room and see what Santa has left. (Usually one or two bigger gifts, and the stockings.) Stocking stuffers are a favorite box of candy, and small treats, most of them are wrapped by my DH. After that Dh hands out gifts, and we take turns opening them up. After that we head to Grandpa's for Christmas with my family.