The stockings were hung by the chimney with care . . .
 

. . . in the hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

How many others remember when your Christmas stocking was a clean sock from your drawer? I can't be the only one who did that as a child. We didn't get lottery tickets or jewelry in our stockings either. We got big, red apples, large, perfect oranges, and walnuts. It wasn't till I had kids of my own that stores started selling fancy stockings. And if I tried to give my kids what I received as a child they would've looked at me as if I'd given them coal, which is another thing that's completely foreign to them.

I admit the stockings today are a lot more attractive than an old sock, but they're sure expensive to fill. I can't find anything cheap that will fit in the stocking even in the dollar store.

What do you put in your kids' or grandkids' stockings?

Joyce

I remember those stocking and todat as u said my DS and GD wouldn't no what to think my sister and i were just talking about those days gone by....

As for stocking fillers i put coloring books,candies,gum,hankies, CD,etc.for GD
Son's-his favorite hard candies,gum,CD,little smell good things for his truck,etc

Now we send gift cards for Christmas. In the past we put coloring books, crayons, chocolates, small toys.

My Mom used to put candy canes, fruit and coloring books and walnuts in ours when we were kids.

My Gram put fruit and nuts in my Mom's and Aunts stockings when they were kids.

My aunt knit a Christmas stocking for me in the 40s. I still have it and I'll be 70 tomorrow. We received an orange, an apple, sometimes socks or underwear. My aunt made similiar stockings for my daughters in the 60s.
My kids got an orange or apple in the toe, at least one pair or socks (it became a running joke in the family that the girls got socks each year--hey, they always needed socks) some candy, small toy, something small that was appropriate to their ages.
When oldest daughter was a teenager, she realized she, her sister and dad always got stockings from Santa and I didn't. From then on, I received a filled stocking also. The family has continued the tradition. I have everyone over for dinner Christmas Eve. There are bags hidden in the bedroom with everyone's name on it; my daughters and I each contribute to all the bags. They're taken home, Santa's elves fill the stockings and hang by the chimney with care. We all open our stockings at home on Christmas morning.

Hi, gramajo, and happy birthday. I just turned 70 yesterday. Can't believe it myself; I sure don't feel 70.

It's nice to hear everyone's thoughts on Christmas stockings, isn't it?

Happy birthday to you too, Joyce.

I agree with everything you said, both age-related and hearing about all the Christmas stockings.

Joanne

We also had socks for stockings for years - always had an apple, orange, small candy and maybe some small toy - I really don't remember when we got a store bought stocking - and I am only 47 - so I grew up with the same.

I remember borrowing my dads sock because it was bigger. lol

We always just had socks from our drawer when we were kids. I remember the year I hung up a pair of my leotards (tights), and told my 4 brothers that I'd get lots more than they did! Santa stuffed them full of newspaper. We always got a few tangerines, walnuts, foil-wrapped chocolate balls, maybe a marshmallow Santa, and a small item, such as ponytail holders. One year there was a cute little elf peeping out the top of my stocking. I've been putting it on my tree for the past 47 years, and it brings back fond memories. I made crewel embroidered stockings for my two kids and quilted snowmen on stockings for my two grandkids. They are treasured holiday traditions for each of them.

I put ear rings , hair ties, brush, makeup in the girls stocking along with candy, gift cards , deck of cards, toothbrushes, if i need a filler a cute pair of socks or two , a new ornament for the next year, I don't normally do a lot of candy so will put in Beef jerky, granola bars, fruit snacks,sometimes little bags of cookies. Boys hot wheel cars maybe a game . i just look for little items. for me it isn't real hard.

Oh and remember the new toothbrush inside it too!!!

We did have stockings but plain ones since everyone got the same thing. We also got oranges and nuts and candy inours. We were raised by our grandparents though. My grandmother still thought in the 60's that 2 dresses were enough, one for school and one for church. I never had more than 5 though.. LOL

Holy smokes, you transported me back to my childhood in an instant!! Yes, your own sock and fruit in it, maybe candy and a coin. I too have often wondered what my kids would think, and now, I wonder what my grandkids would think! I have made Christmas stockings for all my kids and grandchildren now, and yes, are they ever expensive to fill!! Thanks for the memories. Merry Christmas.

Forget about little socks at the end of the bed...we tied pillow cases at the bottom of our beds.

We had plenty of presents, but I don't remember any stockings as a child. We have stockings now, and I stuff them with candy as it's a goody we don't normally buy. Of course, if I didn't buy my own stocking candy, the stocking would be empty. Ask me how I know. LOL!!

I still use the biggest apples and oranges I can find to fill the bottom of the stocking. I then add tooth brushes and tooth paste and other supplies I would have to buy them during the year. (deodorant, face wash, sport socks..etc) Divide a large package of gum and candies. If I have money left I add something they would like personally.

Merry Christmas to all!
Now for the stockings: You can't have a stocking without an orange/tangerine and nuts in the bottom; some cookies are always good; one or two small gifts! I always had the idea that the food in the stocking should equal a small breakfast. This was to hold us over until we had opened all the presents and can have a full 'Christmas' breakfast.

Stockings were so much fun! I have no kids so I can only reminisce about the ones we had growing up. They were red with a white cuff and of course, had our name on them. There were 5 of us kids and we weren't allowed to go open presents until 6 am, when the parents and Grandma were up for the event, but we could get our stockings at 5! Not having a fireplace, they were hung along the staircase. That hour provided mom and dad with a little more sleep and got us even more excited. We found socks small toys sometimes makeup (for us girls) in our stockings and sometimes, and this was the best, BATTERIES! Batteries meant that there was something under the tree that required them, thus building the anticipation, then, way down in the toe, we would often find a big juicy tangerine!

My daughters could open/explore their stockings as soon as they got up. Like someone else said, it let us sleep a little longer. :) When they were older, they brought our stockings to us in bed along with a cup of coffee. Then we had to get up so all could see what Santa had brought.

I'm a child of the 50's (early 50's LOL) we had xmas stockins with an apple an orange and a tanrerine, nuts and a popcorn ball along with chocolate candy coins and coloring books and crayons. I still put the fruit and nuts, popcorn balls in the kids/grand kids stockings they love it. My mother in law allways used new tube socks for the stockings and before we left we had to empty them into a bag as the socks were for my FIL. LOL Love memories as our parents are no longer with us.

I remember the old clean sock. Knee-hi socks were the best. There would be an orange with occasionally a 50 cent piece plus assorted shelled mixed nuts and best of all would be the mixture of Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops cereal in the stocking. Sometimes there would be the gold foil wrapped chocolate coins (pirate's treasure) in with the cereal. The dry cereal and nuts would all be mixed together. DH had essentially the same tradition. I do remember the books of Lifesavers candies that used to be available around Christmas time.
My girls used to get an orange but not any more as neither of them eat oranges but always some special candy and some small present and occasionally some money but usually a gas or I-Tunes gift card. We usually have decks of playing cards in them also because we play card games at the house.

I remember those days, too. Yep - we had one of our socks hanging somewhere. We didn't always have a mantle. M&D would put fruit in them, too. Those were the days, my friend. We didn't realize how much fun we had, nor the problems we were having, until we became adults.
We fill plastic shoe boxes (some are furnished card board ones), with little dollar items or whatever will fit in the box. Right now some of us at church have started on pillow case dresses, bibs for another group, etc. Not all these little dresses are done by pillow cases - some are made from scratch from material that we have in our "stash". These boxes are shipped then by another organization to the needy children in various countries. It makes you feel really good that we can contribute things like that.
Dodee [email protected]

my three year old grandson is getting his stocking stuff in a hat this year. He doesn't 'get' the stocking thing

Gosh, it's nice to reminisce about the olden days, isn't it? Sometimes I wish we could go back and visit just for a little while. I'm not sure I want to give up all the modern conveniences we have today, but a little while would be okay. I especially wish we could relive those Christmases with our parents and grandparents and cousins. How much fun we had then. But I suppose our kids and grandkids will be saying the same thing about their "old-fashioned Christmases" in about twenty years time.

We had knee socks for stockings til I was about 5. My older sister would wake us up about 5:30 but we weren't allowed downstairs til 6 so we'd lay on our stomachs and peer down the stairs at the clock in the living room. The stockings contained a very precious orange or tangerine, maybe LifeSavers, hair clips, mini deck of cards (Old Maid, Go Fish), and socks. We'd start pestering Mom and Dad to get up about 7 am. With 6 children they didn't get much sleep. and poor Santa often worked late into the night putting together some things for my brother. I still have the granny square stocking my Mom made for my 1st married Christmas. I'm not in the mood for Christmas decorating this year, but thanks to this thread I think I'll bring out the stocking and a lighted ceramic tree my sister made me.

Oh, I have to chime in on this! I never hung a stocking as a child (we were lucky to have Christmas at all) but we have always done so for our children. Still do to this day, along with ones for the grands. My DH shops all year for odds (and I do mean odd) and ends to toss in the stockings - rubber snakes, whirlygigs, tiny puzzles - anything fun and unexpected. The year they all got those rubbery spiders you throw at the wall - they cling and then gradually "walk" down the wall - was fun. I, on the other hand, contribute toothbrushes, face wipes, brushes - little necessities. And occasionally something nice from James Avery for the girls. But the Christmas stockings are always a highlight of our day.

school supplies for those in school and some treats

My adult kids remember the stockings more than anything - they didn't want the stockings to end when they moved out.

Love this thread!! My "children" (ages 34, 29, and 25) all receive new toothbrushes and floss.. fleece gloves, a new scarf, maybe a new flashlight, batteries, and yes, plenty of fruit!! We usually hide some money in another small gift... like unwrap and rewrap a stick of gum, placing the money in the gum... or finding some small toy that has a little opening and getting the money in there... One year, we carefully opened walnuts and then glued them back together!! fun times...

When I was a teenager, my sisters and I decided we needed to fill stockings for Momma and Daddy... after a couple of years, my older sis suggested (on Christmas Eve, as we were filling their socks... we would head to bed with a sheet covering up their socks and then Santa would fill our socks)... anyway, she suggested we hide the rest of the fruit... great idea... we left a little note in the fruit bin: "Ho Ho HO"!!! We received potatoes, onions and carrots in our socks with a little note: "Ho HO HO!!!!" great memory!!! Merry Christmas everyone!!

We didn't have stockings, but we got fruit and nuts and candy for christmas...

I stuff stockings for teenagers with favorite gum, a candy bar, lip balm, new razors, maybe a magazine or gift card for iTunes or amazon.

I, too, used one of my father's socks because it was bigger. I'm ashamed to say I don't remember what I ever found in my stocking. But I sure have a good time filling my husband's, kids and their spouses, and grandson's. I wonder at what point that will stop. When do they take over the tradition in their own homes? It really does get expensive, but I would miss not doing it.

At home we didn't get a stocking, but we would go to the firehouse and see Santa and we would get a mesh stocking with a big red apple, an orange and walnuts too. Thanks for the memory.

We are old fashioned enough that our kids still get apples, oranges and English walnuts in their stockings. We also do little cars, lipsticks, eyeshadow and either lifesaver books or tootsie roll banks. We have 9 children, but the 4 left at home are the only ones we will fill stockings for this year.

Oh, I remember my dad going to the local fruit stand to hand pick the oranges, apples, satsumas and walnuts for our stockings. Then maybe a box of sparklers to light that night. We used knee socks, too. We might get a lip gloss, toothbrush, hair clips and things like that. I don't know how my Mom and Dad did it because we did not grow up rich. But I can't ever remember a Christmas when we didn't get what was on our "Santa List"!!

I now have handmade stockings for my grandchildren. I still have their dads' stockings and it's a running joke each year that now that THEY have kids, just the kids get filled stockings!!!! I just had to cut back a little with 6 grands!! But I do have their stockings stored with the rest. Wherever we hold Christmas, the kids get their stockings first. They dumped them out and sort what they got and the stockings are ready to come back home with me. Many a piece of chocolate, especially Hershey's Kisse, got eaten before breakfast...not that the kids need any more to excite them! LOL

My sons now have started traditions with their own families. Sometimes, it's just bundling up and driving around to see all the Christmas lights until the kids wind down and they can get them in bed. Then the real fun begins, especially when there are things to be put together!

I always got apples, oranges, nuts and candy in my Christmas stocking. We usually only got one present from mom and one from dad, and maybe one from SAnta when we were little, but then as we got older, we no longer had the gifts from Santa. I think Christmas was so much easier when I was growing up then now. We were always satisfied with the things we got at Christma, even though we didn't get very much.
Now a days, the kids get way too many toys, and they don't appreciate them at all.

A half dollar in the toe then a piece if fruit a coloring book (roll it) box crayons, a little matchbox car or a pretty little bracelet, a big gum ball(one of those fancy ones you get in a machine),, a small hand held game ( tilt games are fun and fit in a stocking) and of course a candy cane, Add a noise maker to be used at New Years,a small sketch pad /note pad, nail polish,Boy Scout knife, lip stick (light pink that tasted like strawberries) Penciles with a name on them,perfume (lilly of the Vally was my first)a rolled pair of scocks (fun ones with different color toes)
I use to love to come up with ideas when the kids were small.It was so much fun. Hope all these help. Sure once you get started you will get your own ideas.

Glad I started this thread. It is fun hearing about other families' traditions. I just came back from shopping for stocking stuffers, but my problem is I can't remember who gets what and I always have too much for one and not enough to fill another. For instance, everyone will get some candy, but did I get enough small items for son-in-law? He wouldn't appreciate hand cream or lipstick. So I end up just buying a load of stuff and sort it out at home.

I have to mention a funny experience we had one year with my grandson. He was about five, and he noticed that all the gifts for him said they were from Santa. When everything was opened, he turned to Poppa and me and said, "Hey, all these are from Santa. What did you guys give me?" From then on, I started putting Grandma and Pop on the tags.

We don't do stocking now that we are grown ups :(, but my gilrfriend's husband always calls me looking for ideas for "bulky" items to fill her stocking! LOL