Our Family's Stocking Tradition

Here is the story of how our tradition of decorating new stockings every year came about.

I dreamed of knitting beautiful stockings for my husband and I and all of our children.

Our first child was born in August, 1990 in Seattle.  Her Grandma in Texas sent her a pink Baby's 1st Christmas Stocking that year.  We hung it up along with my childhood stocking and one I purchased for my husband two yeas before when we got married.  The following Christmas I was pregnant with baby #2; I had been given someone's old sewing machine, and I had bought some beautiful red pinwale corduroy.  I sewed new stockings for four.  Two years later I added another red corduroy stocking for our third daughter; although it was never quite finished.  Still, it served its purpose.  Two more years ~ one more daughter ~ third daughter's stocking still not quite finished ~ can't find any more red pinwale corduroy.  Not to worry; fourth daughter used pink Baby's 1st Christmas Stocking, and I had another year to work it out.  Then...

We move halfway across the country ~ without the sewing machine.  I have another baby on the last day of November ~ a boy!  My parents come from Seattle to meet their new grandson, but won't be staying all the way till Christmas.  We decide to celebrate with them on Saint Nicholas Day instead.  Now we need 9 stockings, so we buy those cheapy red felt ones from the dollar store and decorate them with glitter glue.  Of course, the next year all of the children are a year older and don't like their childish decorations from the previous year, so they beg to do new ones, and...

Voila'! A family tradition is born.

I still have dreams of knitting beautiful stockings for each of them.