Recently Peggy, Maureen, and others exchanged memories (or lack thereof) of their Christmas stockings. The exchange was particularly interesting to me, because my fire place growing up didn't have a mantle and consequently, stockings were never part of my family's holiday tradition.
Nonetheless, I am obsessed with Christmas Stockings. If I could, our family's entire Christmas exchange would revolve around exchanging only gifts that fit in Christmas stockings. Is it that I inherently want what I didn't have or is it the creativity required in finding meaningful treats that must fit within specified dimensions? Whatever the reason... I love Christmas stockings!!!!!
For the many years I worked on college campuses, I would interrogate every student I could get my hands on about their Christmas stockings. What was the best thing they ever got in their stocking? Was there something they expected to find in their stocking every year? When did they open their stockings? Who filled their stockings - Santa, mom and dad, or various family members? Coal or no coal? Did they have one stocking they used their whole life or did stockings change with fashions? Trust me, I could go on. I love stockings.
So today, if it's ok with you, I would love to hear what you have to say. What were/are you traditions around stockings? Is there one thing in particular you love finding (or placing) in Christmas stockings? I'll spend the rest of my life feeling like a "stocking-novice," because I grew up without the familiarity of them as a kid. Help me get it "right," so my kids have sound Christmas stocking memories!
Indulge me in a little story about our family's Christmas stockings.
I'll try to be brief.
I spotted this Santa stocking in 1992 while living in Oxford, Ohio. I LOVED it and (due to my compulsion with stockings) immediately decided to buy it for my boyfriend, Hunter. He was living in North Carolina, so filling it with thoughtful treats would be the ultimate Christmas gift.
I bought his stocking in October. In November I thought, "What if he's the one? I love this stocking. If he's "the one," I'll need the Mrs. Claus stocking too." Off I went to the little boutique where I found it to buy Mrs. Claus.
I sent Hunter his stocking in December and in February we broke up.
Yikes, now I have Mrs. Claus, but no Santa. Back to the boutique, where of course they have no more stockings. I plead with the owner to help me track down another Santa, so when I get married, I can have (in my mind) the ultimate Christmas stockings. In November of the following year I got my replacement Santa stocking. In December I moved.
Eight years later, while living in Texas (the first time around), I meet Richard. We went on our first date in November, got engaged in May, and got married in November.
Finally I get to use the coveted Christmas stockings I've been lugging around the country with every move.
Oh no! What about Ricky? When I married Richard, I also became a mom. Ricky was five turning six at the time. He needs a stocking. In July (just weeks after getting engaged) I contacted the talented mother of my friend Debbie to see if she would make me a Christmas stocking to match my Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
A walking angel on earth, Mrs. Barbara not only sent one stocking, she sent me THREE! Three? Is she crazy? What the heck will I do with three (and all boy elfs, to boot)!?!
April 2004, elf #2 gets claimed. Thankfully Matthew complied and was a boy. A perfect match for his stocking.
July 2006, find out I am pregnant with Jack. Contact Mrs. Barbara to put her on-call for a girl elf stocking - should it be necessary.
March 2007, Jack arrives and boy elf #3 gets claimed.
That's my great stocking story. To the average eye, just a set of five stockings - no nicer than any other stockings. To me... GOLD! The only thing that could make this story better is a matching reindeer. May Day, our dog, is patiently waiting. Maybe I'll contact Mrs. Barbara in time for Christmas 2009. Stay tuned until next year and see what happens.
Announcements
- Super Bowl Snack Throw Down: Today we start voting on the Playoffs - Tera vs. Richard. What secret ingredient will they cook with this week? Place your vote...
Cumin or Brown Sugar?
- Winner of Ray's Ornament: I didn't forget about making this announcement, but I do try to limit the number of days we have a long list of housekeeping-related items. Fridays seem appropriate. The winner of Fun Family Story from Tuesday is Kristen and her fabulous rhyme. The "mystery" reference is from his summer's Peanut and Shell game, where we learned that the peanut is a symbol of mystery and anticipation. One more note about this. This ornament was donated by a reader for the express purpose of sharing it with one of you. Thank you all for your continued generosity and thoughtfulness.
- Baker Ray is looking for his next destination: Baker Ray (or should we say Sugar Ray) has been hanging out in New York for the past couple of months. He just finished spreading good cheer and is ready to move on. Do we have another taker? It means using all the supplies provided to bake a batch of Ray cookies to be shared with other people who we think might like learning about Highlowaha. Takers, takers?
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24 comments:
Cumin
We all had stockings that managed to get lost each year (at least a few of them). Our stockings were always stuffed with an orange in the toe, an apple in the heal, a pear in the middle and a banana at the top. Lots of nuts made of the empty spaces with a few Christmas chocolates scattered within. 2 candy canes hung on the top. Then there was always some small, quirky treat from Santa. (Often a toy that had been picked up throughout the year on clearance)
Yay for winning the peanut ornament...can we ask readers for a similar story next year then I get to choose who the peanut gets passed to...the peanut will soon become a coveted HLA ornament!?!
Here's my stocking story, ironically, it also has to do with ex-boyfriends and now husbands:
Keep in mind that I am a big outdoors gal...
One year I got a camo stocking from a boyfriend filled with all kinds of little things one might use in the outdoors, chiefly hand and body warmers because little old me gets cold really fast. He had his sister embroider my name on it, and I thought it was the BEST stocking ever! Got to use it for one more Christmas, then we broke up.
Last year I kind of stole that idea and bought 3 more camo stockings (me, Jory, and the little one who was to be born in March). Jory and I decided that we were going to count our wedding rings to eachother as our Christmas gifts, and we agreed not to buy eachother anything else (rings are expensive!!). I already had these stockings, but sticking to my word, I tucked them away, saving them for next (this) year. As luck would have it, I went to get those stockings here a few weeks ago and COULD NOT figure out what on earth I did with them. I ended up finding them just the other night, and no place here was able to have the names embroidered on them in time for christmas...bahhumbug! Oh well, at least we will have our camo stockings this year.
Brown Sugar
...And also...I put Betty Crocker to shame yesterday with the amount of cookies I baked, but I pick up Julie on Sat, and we always enjoy baking together. If you send us Sugar Ray maybe I will include a few with my Texas themed Dhristmas tree for the sister in law (btw...and more contacts in the DFW area out there??? they're looking to be in Keller, TX)...also I have a "cookie showcase" to go to shortly after Christmas where I can bring a few and explain HLA to a large group of people.
We had stocking as a kid but I remember them being very flat. I think my mom painted the design on them. We had no fireplace so they hung on the wall but nothing was ever tucked inside them. They were strictly decoration.
I love stockings though and if I ever win the lottery I would buy new stockings every year. They're all so cute and newly designed each year!
Right now my boys are using the Target Dog stockings that Andy's cousin sent them when they were little. I don't have a mantle on my fireplace and being the bad mom that I am- they're on the floor right now. What? They're going to be in Park City for Christmas! :) I usually tuck underwear and socks in them along with small toys and candy. We've never really discussed who the stuff is from though.
I vote for Brown Sugar.
brown sugar
I never had stocking family traditions... most times, I didn't get a stocking. But I must admit that I am jealous of those families that actually have fireplace mantles and have a stocking tradition.
It's too late this year, but I'm thinking next year I might purchase a stocking for my parents and siblings and their gifts must fit inside.
Brown Sugar
We have no fireplace or mantle in our house, but our stockings have always hung from the TV stand. Then, on Christmas morning, when we come out from our rooms, they are sitting in front of our pile of gifts. Yes, at the ages of 25, 22, and 20, our parents still go out before us to arrange the gifts and make us wait back in our rooms. It's kind of cute- at 22, I still know exactly how Christmas morning will work. This year, we have added a new stocking to the mix though as my brother's fiance now has a stocking, too.
Our stockings are very simple. The traditional red stockings with our names painted at the top. We use the same ones every year and have since we were toddlers.
In our stockings we can find socks, our favorite candy, a gift card, our Christmas card/check from my mom's parents who live in PA, etc. I usually get some earrings and my brothers used to get baseball cards when they collected those. Some nicer gifts that fit into a stocking that we've gotten in the past are cologne, jewelry, and an ipod.
We never really discussed who the stockings were from, but my guess is that we always thought they were from Santa. Then, when we got older, we of course knew it was from our parents.
This year I have noticed, with the addition of Becky's stocking, that my parents do not have stockings. I don't have the time to pull it off this year, but next year, that's my plan for my parents- stockings with their gifts inside!
Hi...I'm back. I've finally caught up with this weeks posts.
Stress on a scale of 1-5 has GOT to be at a 20. I've got SO much to do before Christmas but I'm working every single day but today...but I'm supposed to have a job interview this afternoon...but we've got so much snow and ice I don't know if I'm going. And that's just the beginning...so a 20 for sure.
High: Getting to spend time with family in the past month at Thanksgiving and again next week.
Low: Still no full time job. It's really starting to take a toll on me...and it's not good for the finances either.
Aha: The economy really does suck. At 25, you don't think those types of things are going to affect you. Well, SURPRISE, it does!
Stockings...I had one for a handful of years, but it disappeared as I got older. We never had a fire place so it was hung in the basemet next to my tree on some hook. Every year that was an orange in the toe and other small odds and ends from Santa.
Oh, and I vote for brown sugar.
Hang in there, Tera. You'll find a job. :)
It's a snow day here in northern Illinois. I was off work anyway ... but because of the 8" and still falling snow... school was cancelled and dh is home too!!!
As stated before, I don't recall as a child stockings in our family. But my dh's stocking tradition goes back to day 1!
Today is actually his birthday and I've often heard the story of the big blizzard of 1963... my cute hubby was brought HOME (it's kind of a punny, the name of the hospital he was born at, Home Hospital, Lafayette IN) all cuddled and bundled in a Christmas Stocking! All the babies born around Christmas were 'stuffed' in a stocking when they left the hospital!!
I'll take a picture of my fire place with our stockings hung with care and post it to my blog... I made all the stockings about 13 years ago, and still love them! They are filled with candy and little chatchki's, gift cards and the yearly ornament.
Brown sugar!
Brown Sugar!!!!
Growing up we didnt have a fireplace or a mantle. Our stockings were hung off the banister of the staircase. My mom always put our (small easy to lose boxes) in our stockings. Usually jewelry of some kind. In my late teens I was a smoker (quit 16 yrs ago) and I remember my dad putting a carton of Newports in my stocking (yes he was a smoker too) God how awful it seems now but I was so happy then. My favorite stocking gifts were the little Avon Christmas pins with the sachet perfume inside. I wish they still made them for my girls.
I followed tradition with the stockings and where they get hung. I even have stockings for my two dogs. I put jewelry, perfume, cologne, candy, cool pens, hair clips etc. in my stockings. This year I purchased their favorite candy (Michael loves cherry Charms lollipops, Krysten loves cherry Air Heads and Melissa loves blue Ring Pops) I just put one of each in their stocking, an itunes gift card, hair clips, lip gloss, and for Michael a shaver from The Shaving Company. My kids love their stockings. Its the first gifts they open.
FYI thanks to HLA I am starting the "Pickle" tradition. My kids know I will hide the pickle on Christmas Eve when they go to sleep and whoever finds it first on Christmas Day gets a special gift. They are a big bunch of babies betting on who will wake up first. Knowing Krysten shes going to set her alarm!!!
Have a great day everyone out there in HLA land!
Cheryl...or anyone else...
Do you have Claudia's sugar cookie recipe? If so, can you email it to me? tmichalski05@jcu.edu or post it here?
Thanks!
Tera (and others)
Mix:
2/3 Cup of Butter
1 3oz serving of cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Add gradually:
1 and 1/3 cup sugar
Add:
2 egg yolks slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
Add:
3 and 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Chill 2 hours. Roll out
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes
Cumin for the love of god cumin
A gift I like to receive in my stocking is a gas card to one of the local gas stations :)
I also put holiday scratch off lottery tickets in everyone's stockings...no big winners yet though!
A quick check in, as I just ran in the door and now I am back out again (finally roped my husband into doing some Christmas shopping).
I love the energy today. Thanks for all the great stocking ideas. I am taking notes and will steal many of your ideas.
Kristen... you're on a roll these days. I love the idea of an ornament that gets passed between HLA members from year to year. May I propose a variation?
How about each year after the holidays we allow readers to post the "best " (funniest, most sentimental, most outrageous) story from that year. The winner will receive a special HLA ornament to be hung on their tree the following year ('09) and then passed along in late December for the following year's winner?
Here's how it would work...
December 26 (or so), I will solicit for this year's ('08) best story. Anyone with a story will make a submission. I will send the winner his/her ornament. He/she will use the ornament during Christmas '09 and then get ready to pass it along immediately after Christmas to the person with the best Christmas '09 story. And on and on.
Thumbs up or thumbs down? Let me know.
Lots for me to catch up on, as I missed yesterday's post...that's a long story, which I shall save for Dec. 26th in hopes of winning the ornament for '09 (which, Dr. B is a thumbs UP idea!).
Since I missed yesterday:
HIGH: seeing my Grandpa from Utah and my GREAT-GRANDMA from California for Thanksgiving. It was a great treat for me to hear stories from my great-gma, whom I have not seen in about 6 or so years.
LOW: Shoot...probably the story from Wed...let's just say I hate flying across the country.
AHA: I only have one more semester of college left before I must start working, move out of my parents house, and actually be an adult!
Though it looks as if brown sugar might run away with this one, I still vote CUMIN!
And, finally, my stocking...I have always had a stocking, since I was little. It has either hung above the fireplace or from a shelf, or been placed on the floor under the tree on Christmas morning- depending on the house we were living in. Either way, we always open our stockings first thing in the morning, before all the other presents. I usually recieve small gifts in it- like candy, socks, underwear (when I was younger), jewelry, make-up, nail polish, money/gift cards, etc. But stockings are an essential part of Christmas!
Cassie P~ Can I tell you how bummed I am that my friend won't be getting a letter from Sants telling her she was naughty? When are you going home?
If my envelope is there when you get home just put them in the mail anyway.
Cheryl- I am sorry! I never did get your letters before I left on Wed. I will be home Jan. 3rd...and I will stick them in the mail for you, yes!
This is Julie:
Cumin
Really quick ... I am on a computer in the local library before heading out to Surprise :)
Fruit is a staple in my stocking. Also, Kristen and I get a year of AAA each year from our parents, and Dad always sticks our new cards in our stockings!
CKB: Thumbs Up!
Also...I just sent the husband to the post office with ornaments from Julie and me!
I say thumbs up on the coveted annual ornament
We always had stockings by the fireplace, when we woke up at the crack of dawn, as kids that were filled by 'Santa'. The family dog had one too. Mostly they were filled with practical things (school supplies, socks, etc.). It was kind of a prelude to the main event.
This year my Mom has made new stockings for everyone in the family (Mom, Dad, Sis, Me, Fay, Cole, our two dogs (Kudra and Miles), and their dog (Sasha)) fully embroidered with the icons of our personalities. It took her two months. Pretty crazy! I'll have to send you a couple of photos.
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