"And the Stockings Were Hung".....

Isn't the tradition of "Christmas Stockings" lovely!......The idea of a "simple sock" hung from the mantle on Christmas Eve.... & then filled in the night by Santa is just the most enchanting thought!.....Stockings, in our home.... & I'm sure in yours, are almost more "revered" than the actual gifts under the tree!

I love to fill them with the most wonderful little surprises!....My mother, who by her very nature tends to be a bit "snobbish" & very proud of it.... has always emphasized that at Christmastime, each & every piece tucked in a stocking is never to be anything but "exquisite"......As a child, I received stockings where Barbie outfits had been carefully taken from their box.... & each article of clothing, pair of shoes & hat were wrapped in the tiniest bits of tissue & satin ribbon. If humble underwear was needed, it was not just a pair of standard white cotton, but instead something that quite resembled a "frilly confection"!....& candy was never anything you saw in your everyday life.....oh! no!....Instead it was the "food of fairies"....delicious chocolate Santas wrapped in shiny foil, gold coins in mesh bags (which later become shoe bags for my Barbies!) & tiny pieces of hard candy, never seen at any other time of year but Christmas!

As a mother myself, I have indeed kept up this tradition.....It needent be "expensive or elitest"....Just "imaginative"!...My mother had no money to speak of...but oh she did have an imagination & the ability to sew!...and with that made our stockings truly what "dreams are made of"!....

So this year, even though money is tight,.... I will be making up the most darling stockings....and I (Oh! I mean Santa!) will be filling them with the most wondrous contents ever!....& on Christmas morning the stocking's tiny treasures will inspire others to continue this tradition.