I grew up with a Christmas stocking tradition that included opening up stockings on almost everyone's bed in the house on Christmas morning. It was kind of a progressive stocking opening. It was great fun. (I didn't realize how weird it was until Marc and I spent our first Christmas married with my parents and we were all sitting on my parents bed.) We did stockings the way we did presents. All attention on one person at a time as we noticed and appreciated each piece.
Fast forward to when Marc and I had kids and realized how much stuff they could accumulate in just one month with no birthdays or holidays. The amount a kid might get during gift giving seasons is alarming! And we realized that what we were buying to put in their stockings didn't line up with some of our family values.... cheap toys that were made in questionable facilities that would break soon or candy seemed the easiest to fill the large space of the stockings.
So some years we have done stockings, and some years we haven't. Stocking stuffers have been the one thing that I have allowed myself to shop for in December when we have done them. I find that I really do like being in the shops in our downtown during this time of year and I like supporting the businesses down there.I also find that I can totally break the planned budget for Christmas with all those last minute purchases.
Planning ahead... thinking ahead...
How do you do stockings?
2 comments:
We tend to do stockings really small. Last year I started filling them with some breakfast treats since it's so hard for the kids to eat breakfast on Christmas morning. I put in things like granola bars, peanut butter crackers, and yogurt tubes.
I could NEVER give up doing Christmas stockings. Growing up, we kids would get up early, and do our stockings together. And then at 7 (however long that meant waiting!) we would go wake up my parents, and climb on their bed and show them what we got. LOL
With our kids, we never stopped getting up to watch them open their stockings. We had to help them when they were really small, and we just loved seeing their faces as they opened them!
But, totally found the same thing with cheap toys and candy, so we shifted away, and included the stocking as a bigger part of the budget. I started putting in favorite healthy treats, art supplies, and we also put in every day needed things, like new toothbrushes, and pencils. It's fun for someone else to think of you, and prepare something for you, even if it's a toothbrush and a snack! :)
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