And the Stockings were hung….

I am not sure why we hang stockings by the chimney with care, but it appears to be a long standing custom.  Since 1823 when Clement Clarke Moore wrote “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, Christmas stockings have been an essential part of Christmas traditions.

We have 5 handmade stockings for our family and multiple ones for each of the pets.  Our family stockings are made from a Bucilla felt stocking kit, which can be easily purchased online or at a craft store. Click here to see Bucilla stocking ideas on Pinterest.

The kit provides everything you need~~stamped felts, embroidery floss, ribbons, sequins, beads, needles and lengthy instructions.   I made the very first one 23 years ago when I was pregnant with our first child and subsequently made one for each child since. Be aware~~they are very time consuming.

For Benjamin’s stocking, each toy in Santa’s bag was individually made and then stitched in place.

Since my husband loves to golf, it was very easy to select the theme for his stocking.

My daughter’s stocking is a little different but still required a great deal of time and skill to make.  French knots and delicate needle work was required.

Each stocking is lined with a different fabric.  I recycled my daughter’s favorite blue velvet holiday dress as the lining of her stocking.  The dress had little white pom poms on the neckline and I used those too.

This year I FINALLY completed my stocking kit which my husband bought for me.

The living room mantle is nice and wide, allowing for an abundant garland of greens, berries and hydrangeas (from The Enchanted Home).

Brass hangers are tucked in the garland.  In retrospect, I would have been more careful in adding the tabs on the handmade stockings, because it affects how they hang.

Now for the fun part~~tucking a clementine in the toe and filling them with goodies for Christmas Day!  Do you have a favorite stocking?