The Stocking Dilemma

I love to change up my holiday decor every year, but this year I went further with a new color palette in my family room than ever before.  Lots of neutrals and metallics with only a few pops of color… keeping it simple.  Because I’m working around these…

These are our family stockings… and there are stories there.

This is the one that started it all– my stocking, made by my great-aunts for my first Christmas 44 years ago.  The felt loop on top has seen better days, but this baby has stood the test of time!  Hand-crafted, just for me.  My siblings each have one, too, similar in style but unique in details, and my Christmas memories include all four of our stockings side by side, hung from the mantle.

My sweet mom assumed the duties when my children came along, and she hand-crafted stockings for all three of them, too.  She wanted theirs to resemble mine, and so they do beautifully.

They are all red velveteen, lined in green satin,  with white felt tops and felt appliques.  The handiwork on all of them is lovely and meaningful.  They are truly heirlooms.

Then six years ago along came my husband and his two sons.  With not-so-stellar stockings.  My mom has since retired from the stocking-making quest, so here’s what they came with. 🙂

One burgundy quilted fishing themed stocking (for the big guy) and two Walgreens stockings with his boys’ names on them in gold glitter glue.

So here’s what I decorate around every Christmas.

Last year I proposed purchasing three new stockings that would “coordinate” with all of the other handcrafted lovelies.  The push-back I got was a shock!  This was one of those “ah hah” moments of having a blended family.  You see, he was a single dad for many years.  On his own much of the time.  And so his way of making Christmas as special as he could when he had his boys was to write their names on their stockings in gold glitter glue.  These were their stockings they used every Christmas they spent with him.  And they meant something.  They are near and dear to these young men.  And to their dad.

So I decorate around this kooky mix of stockings each year and I will continue to do so.  All of our stockings are meaningful to each of us.  And part of being a blended family is embracing all the differences and looking for the beauty in each of us.  So these Walgreens stockings and the fishing themed stocking are beautiful to me now.  Challenging to decorate around, mind you, but beautiful nonetheless.

Here’s hoping you find the meaning in all of your Christmas decorations this year!  Off to the lake to celebrate the hub’s 53rd birthday!  See you Monday with a new giveaway!!

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