The Stockings Were Hung...

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sloanmama

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Dec 6, 2009
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What do your Christmas stockings look like??

When I was a kid, we always had the same stocking year after year. It was red velvet with a white fur cuff that my mom lovingly hand stitched our names and a holly leaf on. I loved my stocking as a kid and always looked forward to getting it out of the Christmas decoration box and hang it up.

As an adult, I have changed Christmas stockings every 2-3 years depending on my "theme" (red & green country christmas we had plaid stockings, my latest wintery/snow theme we have had white stockings with silver snowflakes). And this year, I'm really loving the burlap stockings I've been seeing on pinterest and in magazines. But, then I think to myself, here I go trying to change stockings AGAIN. I sort of wish my kids had the same warm fuzzy feeling about their own personal stocking that I enjoyed as a child. And am feeling somewhat disappointed in myself for not making THEIR stocking special. So, now I'm thinking about just buying one last Christmas stocking for them that will be theirs from now on, every year. Ugh... what to do, what to do!?

As I've been searching online for new stockings, I've noticed how many different ones are out there... baby's first Christmas, kid's charachter ones, wool knitted ones, satin shiny bedazzled ones, bright neon pink with lime green boa feathers... the choices are endless. Which leads me back to my original question... What do your Christmas stockings look like??
(And if you're still reading this, you have extreme patience for blabber and I really admire that about you! LOL)
 

teachermomof2

Santa's Elves
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Oct 27, 2007
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I have embroidered stockings from Land's End with our names on them. We use the same ones every year. As a kid, I had a latch hook (remember that craft?!) stocking my aunt made me. It had a huge candy cane on it with a gold ribbon.
 

Miss JoDee

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Apr 22, 2011
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I made the stockings one year. I used whatever fabric I had at the time. Later one of my daughters made one for her dad (with my help) out of one of his tattered flannel shirts. I am the only family member without my own homemade stocking. I even made a stocking for my DDil the first year they were married.
 

jinglemom

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Oct 16, 2007
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My stocking when I was little was also a red stocking with white trim that we glued felt Christmas shapes and sequins on. Before ds#3 came along, I decided to hand make our stockings. I had originally planned on the kids stockings being red ticking stripe, each with a different reindeer appliqué on the front, but I never got around to making ds#3's (he is now 12). For ds #3, I would just put up a purchased reindeer stocking thinking it was just temporary until I made his, but he became used to that one, so it just became his. I keep wavering wether I should make him one like his brothers or just forget it. I did hand make one for dh and myself, but it is with different fabric and I don't like them at all, so never use them. For dh and me, I switch those around each year. I have off white quilted velvet ones, silver ones with silver snowflakes, fuzzyish white ones and Last year I bought some brown ones. Completely different then anything I have ever bought, but I thought the would be nice with my candy type ornaments or gingerbread. What I really want now are some knitted stocking, maybe in a really light blue. All seem to go nicely with the kids stockings, but I still get to switch ours around when I want to.
 

Winged One

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Sep 2, 2008
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Fluttering happily in the clouds!!
DD has a purchased one - that she got as a present - which is quite small (yay!!) and is red fur with a Santa head on the cuff. She also has a pink one with a doll on it, also a gift to her, but that is more used as a decoration.

We don't have stockings for DH and I at home - just never did really.

When we were growing up, we used to use a pair of ordinary socks (and as you got older, they got bigger, and smart girls used to use a pair of tights instead!!).

My siblings and I started a Secret Santa a few years ago, with a stocking filler for everyone else (so everyone buys one BIG gift and 8 small items worth less than €5) - the significant others don't get a big gift (yet) - but I might broach that this year. Last year, I was organised enough to make 9 stockings for us all (6 siblings and 3 significant others) - they are all the same basic pattern, but all from different fabrics, (not assigned to any particular person by stocking - just randomly in advance of filling them).
There is at least one pink one which is quite girly (there's an Indian beaded trim on the cuff of that one).
There is one that is made of an old blue and white striped shirt of DH's with a different blue and white checked shirt used for cuff and also heel and toes.
There is one that is made from red and taupe checked fabric, with red hearts on the taupe checks.
There is one made from red faux leather with a white suedette cuff.
A black and silvery glittery fabric, reversed for the cuff.
Green and navy tartan fabric, with plain natural fabric on the cuff.
And I cannot remember the other 3 (they're in my Mum's house, and I think I blanked out the painful process at the end when I had realised how much work it was and having to finish them off on time). But I DO know that they were all different, and there were a few predominantly red ones, but lots of other colours in there too. I mainly made them from fabrics I had in my stash - like the red leatherette was something my mum had been going to throw out after getting it from her mum a few years ago - who'd made a skirt from it more than 40 years ago for my aunt. And I don't think I used any of my "christmas" fabrics - as they were all for adults.

I need to stop typing now, as I think I am going on about these stockings to avoid work.... :)
 

luludou

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Dec 28, 2007
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I don't remember when I was younger but my kids have store-bought ones... they are red fur with white cuff and a bear head & paws attached. DS's bear is brown and dd's is white. I do want to make stockings but it's not on this year's list of crafts, maybe 2012? I've been keeping patterns for just that purpose.
 

missjane

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Oct 13, 2007
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Years ago I bought 3 stockings for our children from Kirkland's at the after Christmas sales and use them every year. When DS married, I made DDIL one in the same style. Then, made DGS one when he came along. Last night, I made DGS#2 one. I'll post pictures later. I don't know if they have warm, fuzzy feelings, but I like making them! lol
 

Colleen in PA

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Aug 20, 2008
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Growing up we had crocheted stockings that my mom made...mine was red with a 3D Santa clause on the front, my brother's was green with a 3D snowman and mom had a red stocking with an elf in green and dad had a green stocking with an elf in red. My brother and his wife have those stockings now.

For my boys, my mom made special needlepoint stockings for each...they both have different Santa scenes on the front with lots of toys and both feature trains prominently! ;)

For the adults we just use reusable grocery bags...sometimes with a favorite team logo or school...other times whatever I can find. They are different every year.
 
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halimer

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Aug 30, 2008
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I had a store bought stocking as a child - red with Christmas themes embossed on it. I still have it - slightly the worse for wear - in a plastic bag with my other memorabilia.

My mom made the stockings we currently use. They're a Christmas print cotton with a white cuff. I ironed our names on them and want to embroider them at some point. We have a guest stocking in case someone is visiting. DDoggie has a smaller one:)
 

luludou

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Forgot to add, I crocheted a big stocking 2 years ago.. and it is now mine... I fill it up with things for me!
 

AliciaKnits

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Oct 19, 2011
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I've used the same Christmas stocking for the last 27 years. It's got a quilted red sock that's quite large with my name and hollyberries embroidered by my mother on the off-white cuff. While I love my only stocking, my DH and I found out on our first Christmas together as a married couple last year that it's actually a little smaller than what we'd like. So, I am making this pattern http://s.ecrater.com/stores/61957/4c26057f7d741_61957b.jpg Simplicity Christmas Pattern 7044, stockings on the bottom left hand side for my Mom, Dad, DH and myself. I'll make my brother's, in-laws and bro-in-law's stockings next year. My Mom was the only one to initially get one this year because it's my first time using this pattern and because in her married life she's never had a stocking, nor did my Dad, just my siblings and me. But I think I can get enough fabric to make all four in the next month or so, and then decide next year about the other four :)
 

missjane

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AliciaKnits, first of all...welcome to the boards! Thanks for posting the pattern. I have always just used my old ones as a pattern, but I really need to get a pattern. There are a few more people I would like to make stockings for.
 

girlsinmo

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I don't recall having a stocking & still don't lol. However, we made sure our kids had 1 each year. Just a reg. red with white trim store bought one that would be replaced when it wore out, until they became adults. Now we make sure DGD has 1 each year.
 

HouseElf

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Oct 12, 2007
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www.pinterest.com
I am on a hunt for new stockings, cannot find the exact fit I would like - so will try my hand at making them. Just need to decide what I want :)

Right now we have the same stockings the boys have used since infancy.
It is a red stocking with white faux fur cuff, with a red hanging ribbon.

I keep finding some great ideas on Pinterest.

I honestly cannot remember what my stocking looked like as a child.
 

LadyEvenstar

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Oct 13, 2007
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We have the embroidered kind. A snowman for DH, an angel for (ha!), Rudolph for DD11 and Santa for DD8. I also managed to find matching stocking holders to hang them from. :)
 

aggy

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Oct 11, 2007
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I don't think we had stockings when I was younger.

I don't have kids but I do have stockings for my nieces and nephews. They are burgundy and green chenille like fabric. I used glitter glue to write their names on them. They've had these stockings for about 4-5 years. Before that they had the regular red/white stockings. They get to open their gifts from the stockings when they visit for our family dinner Christmas Eve.
 

Gingerbug

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Oct 9, 2007
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Mine was....really an old sock that we had...(CLEAN of course)....We didn't have a fireplace so we hung them on the bedroom door....it was between our bedroom and our parents room...and my brother would put the broom by his bed so he could hit the stockings during the night and see if they had been filled yet or not...so funny.
 

pixiestick

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Nov 20, 2007
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Ohhh... stockings were my favorite part of Christmas when I was a child. We just had the red furry/fuzzy kind with the white furry cuff and our names were on the white part. The names were the infamous glue /glitter combo that after years became quite sad looking and couldn't be redone, but we stuck with them.

I have some for the kids. I have bought several over the years at end of the season clearance sales but my heart is always pulled back to the red and white ones.