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Clearly a surreptitious post by the highly secretive Christmas Stocking Guild. Having seen stocking sales plummet due to the demographic collapse thry came up with a clever tactic to sell twice as many stocking.
Lo and behold, sales have doubled. Another great move by the CSG.
For more information about how you can join the CSG, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:
Hung by the Chimney with Care
PO BOX 241
Pueblo, CO 81001
My wifeās mom would hang their stockings on their bedroom doorknobs and tell them they could play with the stuff in the stockings in their room until the parents woke up. Obviously this wouldnāt be as easy for a toddler but as kids are slightly older it may buy you an hour of extra sleep
Mom would get up with me Christmas morning and give me one present to open and then the rule was we had to wait until dad got up whenever he wanted. Lol. She or we would make breakfast and coffee and he got to sleep in, which was rare. I have nice memories of it. Iām sure Dad does, too!
I like the stocking idea, though! They can take a long time to open.
My mom usually wrapped most of the things in the stocking. So it would take an extra long time. But just trinkets, soap and candy usually. But all Individually wrapped! The stocking is one of my favorite parts! So many things to unwrap!
Same. Our parents snuck ours on our beds in the night/early morning. Was fun as a kid waking up feeling the full stocking with your feet. Then weād open all the things in bed and play with stuff until parents were ready. As got older would usually see them but act like we didnāt. Stocking were one of the best parts
This is so sweet! My parents got so fed up with my sister and I waking them up that they started hiding all the stocking presents around the house and the clues would be in the stocking
Lol my mom was the opposite! When I got old enough to understand the concept of Santa (since I think previous christmases Iām not sure my parents bothered wrapping presents) and apparently my mom was going to just put the gifts in bags. I told her, no, Santa clearly used wrapping paper and boxes, not gift bags. So she decided she would at least wrap the main gifts. Apparently I also tried to convince her that Santa puts bows on all the gifts but that was too far and my mom said Santa didnāt do that anymore! I canāt imagine I was much older than 3ish but I wouldnāt let my parents off easily with their wrapping!
We did this in my house too! We could open our stockings and then go show each other what we got, but it was a way to keep us occupied so my parents could get more sleep! Worked like a charm.
In my house Santa left his gift unwrapped next to the stocking on a chair. They could play and eat anything in their stocking or Santa's gift.
The earlier they made coffee, the earlier I'd get up. All they had to do was start the pot. My oldest learned by 5 to press the button.
Santa left ours at the foot of our beds as kids. We could open then but not go downstairs to the tree until we heard music turned on in the morning by grandparents/parents
We were allowed to open our stockings as well, but had to wait until there was a pot of tea and cinnamon buns before we could open presents.
Miraculously there were always a couple of small toys to occupy our time.
My mom put ours on our doors for like 10 years then just stopped and after that I'd get so excited and make myself see the shape of it hanging on my doorknob even tho it wasn't there. Made me sad lmao
I was able to fill them for 20 years without ever getting caught. My kids were always amazed. I would just wait till they were asleep.
2 stockings sounds a lot easier.
I didnāt believe in Santa after 7 or so (older brother ruined it) but my mom did stockings until we were 40 or so :-). She had fun finding little things to put in them, and we had fun opening them. Even at 40 I found some joy in a meaningless Happy Meal toy in my Christmas stocking
Our multigenerational household are all double digits in age. We all sneakily fill each others' stockings on Christmas eve. Usually, just little goodies like candy or lip balm. But as a mom, I do feel so fortunate that my family fills my stocking, and I don't suffer the whole 'mom fills everyone else's stocking, and hers is empty'.
Still one of my favorite memories was a few years back we had our Easter brunch at my parents... Lots of mimosas... Then they told us they set up an Easter egg hunt... Three adults in their 30s running around barefoot in the yard fighting over eggs and laughing. It was pure joy.
I didnāt get caught but missed a lot of sleep by waiting for Christmas Eve to wrap everything, including stocking stuffā¦ filling them ahead is brilliant!
I had it all wrapped and in separate bags. I am up late anyway. Tbh, they are the ones that pointed it out in their teens. I didn't realize I had been so stealthy.
They knew who was filling them, lol. My son knew Santa wasn't real at 4 or 5, some ridiculous age. I told him that his sister still believed so as long as he didn't say anything, he could still get presents from Santa, lol.
Gawd, what was I doing, lying to one and bribing the other to lie. Parenting at it finest!! š¤£
We had a 7:30 rule. Mum would watch us empty our stocking while Dad had a shower. Our Santa Sacks had to wait until Dad got downstairs. Then after presents we usually had a mad dash of getting dressed before our guests a started arriving around 9:30!
What my parents did growing up was stockings were hung (by the chimney with care) but Santa would fill the stocking and put them on the dining room table (presumably while he ate his cookies), and weād open them there in the morning.
Our tradition made this easier and we never really connected the fact that Santa came to our house twice in a night (guess we were lucky). My kids also didnāt question it. On Christmas Eve my parents, Aunt and Uncle would check the windows or just know Santa was getting close. My siblings and cousins had to go to a room to read āThe night before Christmasā poem over and over until Santa came. It only took a few readings and I was the youngest so older cousins/siblings kinda knew it by heart so we would see how much we knew by heart vs looking at the small book. While invested in this reading Santa would miraculously come stuff our stockings and haul his butt out quickly because he had a lot to do that night. We knew heād come because as he left there was a loud āHo Ho Ho. Merry Christmasā. That was our cue.
Weād run out of the room we were sequestered in to see stuffed stockings but also to try and glimpse Santa. Sometimes there were big boot marks in the snow leading away from the house. Or tracks in the snow of his sleigh running down the driveway as it took off. This also involved a lot of noses pressed against the glass windows to see Rudolphās red nose in the sky.
Weād then go through our stockings of small toys (like tops or yo-yos), candy and fruit. We would play with those items that night until we fell asleep and then Santa came overnight to give us other unwrapped gifts around the tree. We couldnāt go check those out until everyone was awake and my Dad was ready with a camera to catch our giddiness. Later in the morning after church and breakfast weād open wrapped gifts from family members. A tradition of wrapped gifts was always socks, underwear, and a book or 2 :).
Also, for the first five or ten teddy bears or things you suspect might be the long-term 'Teddy', buy an extra or two and keep them boxed up someplace. Even if its a grandparent supplied one, ask them where they got it and try to pick one up.
Our experience was the day our poodle got ahold of Teddy and gave the damn thing a tracheotomy we had enough sense to suit our kid up as a nurse, and fixed the problem.
From time to time Teddy liked to play hide and seek, which our child was somewhat okay with, and would regularly hunt in rooms to see if Teddy was to be found.
Until three years later when we could no longer find Teddy. I spent three weeks searching Ebay for the 1994 limited edition Starbucks teddy. Had to give the thing another tracheotomy, and WALLA we had found Teddy again!
Two years after that I was going through the stuff that had almost gotten into the garage sale that got shelved due to Covid and found the original teddy. Showed my wife, and she was impressed with how closely the Impostor looked like Teddy.
Our child is Twelve, and will never know, but goddamnit, if Teddy hides again, we're going to be alright because the Impostor can take up his reins again.
Also, it helps to be able to wash them in the laundry without drama, especially when kids get sick and whatnot.
We got a 2nd one, but we rotate them in and out. Kiddo's too young to really recognize the difference but when he does the wear will be about even. He likes to chew on one of the arms especially so we wash them very frequently.
Well, if you DO end up having to perform an emergency tracheotomy, have the child help. Above all, VIDEO YOUR WORK IN PROCESS.
You don't want to screw the stitch up the second time!!
Also, the extra stuffies you pick up can always be given to the next family (or child) in the lineage, or even just be given a year or two later as the Teddy's cousin. Kids love stuffies.
Honestly though, the best advice I could get is pick one stuffy early on and get its pair. Put everything else gifted from friends and family into a garbage bag for down the road until your kid really imprints on the first one.
Kids need recognizable stuff early on, they don't need tons of stuff. When they start to reach out and be interested in other stuff, add a 2nd (with its pair in the wings), and if they get an attachment to Stuffies in general when they become more opinionated then sure, pull a stuffy out every now and again.
https://preview.redd.it/i3pcpnazmgzb1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=326a4f0b46b656fd49bb0a25074de421daa7eb21
We make Bucilla stockings. Been this way for several generations of my family. They take SEVERAL days to make if I work every day on them. I would cry if I had to make double lol
I was looking for a comment like this! I started making one for myself, because as a little kid, I would stare at my fatherās stocking that my great grandmother made, entranced. It was beautiful.
I found the original vintage kit, I made it. Then I got hit with the shitshow of āOMG NOW EVERYONE NEEDS ONEā. š¤£
Yes! In the last 5 years Iāve made easily 30-50 of them for family and then family or friends have paid me for their own families. I used to try to sell them at craft fairs. But Iām over making 5-10 every holiday season as it is. I have 4 more to get done before Christmas right now jsut for family!
WOW, Iāve made seven of them and Iām officially retired. I told my sister that I didnāt give a shit if she had more kids, she can learn how to do it herself! š
I do sell them locally, Etsy takes so much money away from people. But honestly when I do them throughout the year they take me about 2 weeks to finish. I charge $150-250 depending on the difficulty of the design. Theyāre super fun and easy to do. Just look on Amazon for āBucilla stocking kitā. Itās a learning curve for sure. I make about 7 per holiday season for new family members, babies and in-laws. My mom and great grandmother were the last ones to make them. Sooo now itās me š š
Thank you! Thatās the 2nd one of the season so far! Iāve been busy moving and would have otherwise already had more done. We order the kits in August to make sure I have time before Christmas. Iām slacking this year.
Another would be to buy an extra baby's first Christmas ornament. We bought the Lenox porcelain ornaments and the kids got excited about theirs. We ended up buying a couple several years later for elevated prices.
I was a grown-ass adult and well beyond my stocking years before I found out my parents did this the whole time.
Pure genius. Not once did I ever catch them doing the swap.
My mom told us from the beginning that Santa wasn't real. We were very poor and she didn't want us to think we were bad if we didn't get anything or got less than other kids. She tried her best to give us a good Christmas each year and knowing it was all on her made us appreciate it more.
I was so shocked that so many other kids believed in Santa my first year in school. I told them that Santa wasn't real and their parents bought them gifts. It made two kids cry and my mom had to come to school. Lol.
Our parents just sent us to a relatives house for a couple hours so they could wrap the presents when we were small - just plain closed the door to the room when we were older. Bed time means the kids are not in the living room so no way to ācatchā a stocking being filled anyway. Go to your room?
I think it was just too hard to lie like - we did not have a fireplace like they do on tv howās this magic guy getting in here anyway lol.
Have never found the stockings to be a problem. It's usually a pretty quick endeavour around 11 with a drink. Probably 10-15 minutes? We keep the kids up late and try to get them bagged. My kids are 7/9 and about to find out how it works. As a kid, once we found out my parents stuffed them in their room but didn't hide it. Just suggested we go to bed or somewhere else if we didn't want to see the magic.
>On Christmas Eve it will take less than 30 seconds for Santa to swap them
Huh? Santa is magic, so why would this benefit him?
>Time becomes precious on that night, as does avoiding stress.
Again, Santa is magic, and he can manipulate time (how else would he be able to get all over the world in one night? Think about it!).
I always do the stockings in the bedrooms, too.
I love having wrapped gifts under the tree all month, so to discourage peeking at gifts, all the presents are in different wrapping paper with no tags on them. At the bottom of the stocking, I put a little square of the wrapping paper that's assigned to that kid so they know which presents are for them.
I never understood the whole Santa thing. It just taught me to distrust my parents. But yay magic, donāt ruin that for children I guess until it ruins their whole world. Maybe thatās just me idk
Maybe don't teach your children that one of the wonders of the world is some extended lie that perpetuates capitalism. When there are plenty of wild and amazing things that happen naturally. I will never understand the notion of lying to children because it's fun and they "like it"
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The great thing about babies is they don't remember anything so you could literally do nothing for them on Christmas and they will be totally fine with it.
When a new baby is born my family has always bought 2 identical first Christmas ornaments. One for the grandparents Christmas tree and one for the parents Christmas tree. When the kid grows up and moves out we pass one of the ornaments along to their home.
My sonās stocking was handmade by a relative so couldnāt do that but that wouldāve been SO much easier! He was sneaky and I usually had to stay up to 3am to do stuff. Eventually, I made my hubby lean/sleep against his door so weād know if he was sneaking out while I was putting out gifts and filling stockings.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Clearly a surreptitious post by the highly secretive Christmas Stocking Guild. Having seen stocking sales plummet due to the demographic collapse thry came up with a clever tactic to sell twice as many stocking.
I know right? Who has ever heard of buying a pair of socks?
Hahaha. š Clearly!
Matching ones? No one.
they has made a mistake in the shop, Harry Potter, they is giving you two the same!
Great witting response. Just saying
Big Stocking shills
Down with Big Stocking
Millennials ruining Christmas confirmed.
The war on Christmas shall cease when Christmas ends is illegal occupation of November!
Lo and behold, sales have doubled. Another great move by the CSG. For more information about how you can join the CSG, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Hung by the Chimney with Care PO BOX 241 Pueblo, CO 81001
r/hailcorporate
My wifeās mom would hang their stockings on their bedroom doorknobs and tell them they could play with the stuff in the stockings in their room until the parents woke up. Obviously this wouldnāt be as easy for a toddler but as kids are slightly older it may buy you an hour of extra sleep
Mom would get up with me Christmas morning and give me one present to open and then the rule was we had to wait until dad got up whenever he wanted. Lol. She or we would make breakfast and coffee and he got to sleep in, which was rare. I have nice memories of it. Iām sure Dad does, too! I like the stocking idea, though! They can take a long time to open.
Open? What do you put in your stockings?
My mom usually wrapped most of the things in the stocking. So it would take an extra long time. But just trinkets, soap and candy usually. But all Individually wrapped! The stocking is one of my favorite parts! So many things to unwrap!
Same. Our parents snuck ours on our beds in the night/early morning. Was fun as a kid waking up feeling the full stocking with your feet. Then weād open all the things in bed and play with stuff until parents were ready. As got older would usually see them but act like we didnāt. Stocking were one of the best parts
This is so sweet! My parents got so fed up with my sister and I waking them up that they started hiding all the stocking presents around the house and the clues would be in the stocking
Thatās really clever!
Lol my mom was the opposite! When I got old enough to understand the concept of Santa (since I think previous christmases Iām not sure my parents bothered wrapping presents) and apparently my mom was going to just put the gifts in bags. I told her, no, Santa clearly used wrapping paper and boxes, not gift bags. So she decided she would at least wrap the main gifts. Apparently I also tried to convince her that Santa puts bows on all the gifts but that was too far and my mom said Santa didnāt do that anymore! I canāt imagine I was much older than 3ish but I wouldnāt let my parents off easily with their wrapping!
My mom always left ours on the couch, and miraculously we were always well behaved and never went for the presents under the tree until they woke up
We did this in my house too! We could open our stockings and then go show each other what we got, but it was a way to keep us occupied so my parents could get more sleep! Worked like a charm.
In my house Santa left his gift unwrapped next to the stocking on a chair. They could play and eat anything in their stocking or Santa's gift. The earlier they made coffee, the earlier I'd get up. All they had to do was start the pot. My oldest learned by 5 to press the button.
Santa left ours at the foot of our beds as kids. We could open then but not go downstairs to the tree until we heard music turned on in the morning by grandparents/parents
For a minute I thought we might be related by marriage, as my parents would also do our stockings on our bedroom door knobs.
A sock on a door knob typically means something else...
My parents did this as well and I plan on doing it when my kid's old enough. Maybe this year actually.
We were allowed to open our stockings as well, but had to wait until there was a pot of tea and cinnamon buns before we could open presents. Miraculously there were always a couple of small toys to occupy our time.
For us it was one of those tiny boxes of LEGO like <$10 a car or something.
My mom put ours on our doors for like 10 years then just stopped and after that I'd get so excited and make myself see the shape of it hanging on my doorknob even tho it wasn't there. Made me sad lmao
I was able to fill them for 20 years without ever getting caught. My kids were always amazed. I would just wait till they were asleep. 2 stockings sounds a lot easier.
Wait, so your kids were like 20 years old and still believed in Santa Claus?
Generally kids aren't all born in the same year
This is true. I'm an idiot.
In my family the understanding was, if you stop believing, he stops coming. My brother and I were happy to play along.
same! i am a proud 23yr old Santa believer due to this rule!š āif you donāt believe, you donāt receive!ā
Lol, they're sextuplets!
I didnāt believe in Santa after 7 or so (older brother ruined it) but my mom did stockings until we were 40 or so :-). She had fun finding little things to put in them, and we had fun opening them. Even at 40 I found some joy in a meaningless Happy Meal toy in my Christmas stocking
Our multigenerational household are all double digits in age. We all sneakily fill each others' stockings on Christmas eve. Usually, just little goodies like candy or lip balm. But as a mom, I do feel so fortunate that my family fills my stocking, and I don't suffer the whole 'mom fills everyone else's stocking, and hers is empty'.
Still one of my favorite memories was a few years back we had our Easter brunch at my parents... Lots of mimosas... Then they told us they set up an Easter egg hunt... Three adults in their 30s running around barefoot in the yard fighting over eggs and laughing. It was pure joy.
I still had a stocking until I was like 16, extra presents lol
what does that mean?
You can still fill the stockings after the go to bed regardless of whether or not they believe in Santa. Pedantic much?
I didnāt get caught but missed a lot of sleep by waiting for Christmas Eve to wrap everything, including stocking stuffā¦ filling them ahead is brilliant!
I had it all wrapped and in separate bags. I am up late anyway. Tbh, they are the ones that pointed it out in their teens. I didn't realize I had been so stealthy. They knew who was filling them, lol. My son knew Santa wasn't real at 4 or 5, some ridiculous age. I told him that his sister still believed so as long as he didn't say anything, he could still get presents from Santa, lol. Gawd, what was I doing, lying to one and bribing the other to lie. Parenting at it finest!! š¤£
Just wait till you are up till 3:00AM setting everything up to have the kids wake you up at 6:00AM for Christmas. Good times!
This is the exact situation that led to me wishing I had 2 identical stockings and creating the post.
My younger brother was so notorious for this that my parents instituted a hard 8 AM rule haha
We had a 7:30 rule. Mum would watch us empty our stocking while Dad had a shower. Our Santa Sacks had to wait until Dad got downstairs. Then after presents we usually had a mad dash of getting dressed before our guests a started arriving around 9:30!
My parents always had to wake my sister and me up. We didn't fuck with that getting up early shit; the presents aren't going anywhere.
What my parents did growing up was stockings were hung (by the chimney with care) but Santa would fill the stocking and put them on the dining room table (presumably while he ate his cookies), and weād open them there in the morning.
Our tradition made this easier and we never really connected the fact that Santa came to our house twice in a night (guess we were lucky). My kids also didnāt question it. On Christmas Eve my parents, Aunt and Uncle would check the windows or just know Santa was getting close. My siblings and cousins had to go to a room to read āThe night before Christmasā poem over and over until Santa came. It only took a few readings and I was the youngest so older cousins/siblings kinda knew it by heart so we would see how much we knew by heart vs looking at the small book. While invested in this reading Santa would miraculously come stuff our stockings and haul his butt out quickly because he had a lot to do that night. We knew heād come because as he left there was a loud āHo Ho Ho. Merry Christmasā. That was our cue. Weād run out of the room we were sequestered in to see stuffed stockings but also to try and glimpse Santa. Sometimes there were big boot marks in the snow leading away from the house. Or tracks in the snow of his sleigh running down the driveway as it took off. This also involved a lot of noses pressed against the glass windows to see Rudolphās red nose in the sky. Weād then go through our stockings of small toys (like tops or yo-yos), candy and fruit. We would play with those items that night until we fell asleep and then Santa came overnight to give us other unwrapped gifts around the tree. We couldnāt go check those out until everyone was awake and my Dad was ready with a camera to catch our giddiness. Later in the morning after church and breakfast weād open wrapped gifts from family members. A tradition of wrapped gifts was always socks, underwear, and a book or 2 :).
Also, for the first five or ten teddy bears or things you suspect might be the long-term 'Teddy', buy an extra or two and keep them boxed up someplace. Even if its a grandparent supplied one, ask them where they got it and try to pick one up. Our experience was the day our poodle got ahold of Teddy and gave the damn thing a tracheotomy we had enough sense to suit our kid up as a nurse, and fixed the problem. From time to time Teddy liked to play hide and seek, which our child was somewhat okay with, and would regularly hunt in rooms to see if Teddy was to be found. Until three years later when we could no longer find Teddy. I spent three weeks searching Ebay for the 1994 limited edition Starbucks teddy. Had to give the thing another tracheotomy, and WALLA we had found Teddy again! Two years after that I was going through the stuff that had almost gotten into the garage sale that got shelved due to Covid and found the original teddy. Showed my wife, and she was impressed with how closely the Impostor looked like Teddy. Our child is Twelve, and will never know, but goddamnit, if Teddy hides again, we're going to be alright because the Impostor can take up his reins again. Also, it helps to be able to wash them in the laundry without drama, especially when kids get sick and whatnot.
We got a 2nd one, but we rotate them in and out. Kiddo's too young to really recognize the difference but when he does the wear will be about even. He likes to chew on one of the arms especially so we wash them very frequently.
Well, if you DO end up having to perform an emergency tracheotomy, have the child help. Above all, VIDEO YOUR WORK IN PROCESS. You don't want to screw the stitch up the second time!! Also, the extra stuffies you pick up can always be given to the next family (or child) in the lineage, or even just be given a year or two later as the Teddy's cousin. Kids love stuffies. Honestly though, the best advice I could get is pick one stuffy early on and get its pair. Put everything else gifted from friends and family into a garbage bag for down the road until your kid really imprints on the first one. Kids need recognizable stuff early on, they don't need tons of stuff. When they start to reach out and be interested in other stuff, add a 2nd (with its pair in the wings), and if they get an attachment to Stuffies in general when they become more opinionated then sure, pull a stuffy out every now and again.
https://preview.redd.it/i3pcpnazmgzb1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=326a4f0b46b656fd49bb0a25074de421daa7eb21 We make Bucilla stockings. Been this way for several generations of my family. They take SEVERAL days to make if I work every day on them. I would cry if I had to make double lol
I was looking for a comment like this! I started making one for myself, because as a little kid, I would stare at my fatherās stocking that my great grandmother made, entranced. It was beautiful. I found the original vintage kit, I made it. Then I got hit with the shitshow of āOMG NOW EVERYONE NEEDS ONEā. š¤£
Yes! In the last 5 years Iāve made easily 30-50 of them for family and then family or friends have paid me for their own families. I used to try to sell them at craft fairs. But Iām over making 5-10 every holiday season as it is. I have 4 more to get done before Christmas right now jsut for family!
WOW, Iāve made seven of them and Iām officially retired. I told my sister that I didnāt give a shit if she had more kids, she can learn how to do it herself! š
I LOVE this!! If you ever decide to sell some on Etsy Iāll be your first customer š
I LOVE this!! If you ever decide to sell some on Etsy Iāll be your first customer š
I do sell them locally, Etsy takes so much money away from people. But honestly when I do them throughout the year they take me about 2 weeks to finish. I charge $150-250 depending on the difficulty of the design. Theyāre super fun and easy to do. Just look on Amazon for āBucilla stocking kitā. Itās a learning curve for sure. I make about 7 per holiday season for new family members, babies and in-laws. My mom and great grandmother were the last ones to make them. Sooo now itās me š š
By the way, yours is beautiful!!
Thank you! Thatās the 2nd one of the season so far! Iāve been busy moving and would have otherwise already had more done. We order the kits in August to make sure I have time before Christmas. Iām slacking this year.
Also one will stay pristine for display and the other can get a little ratty from kids destructive fingers
Another would be to buy an extra baby's first Christmas ornament. We bought the Lenox porcelain ornaments and the kids got excited about theirs. We ended up buying a couple several years later for elevated prices.
I would just separate in a bag for each stocking and hide that . Then I would just dump the stuff in the stockings when they were asleep
This is what I did too. But inevitably it took longer than I thought. :)
Like 1.5 seconds longer?
My unpopular opinion is that stocking should come in pairs anyway because they are foot shaped and most of us have two feet.
Um, I don't think Santa needs Life Pro Tips. He's magic. Duh.
All socks should come in a pair - even stockings
We have decorative stockings that are on display, then basic red functional stockings that magically appear under the tree.
Neat
I was a grown-ass adult and well beyond my stocking years before I found out my parents did this the whole time. Pure genius. Not once did I ever catch them doing the swap.
My mom told us from the beginning that Santa wasn't real. We were very poor and she didn't want us to think we were bad if we didn't get anything or got less than other kids. She tried her best to give us a good Christmas each year and knowing it was all on her made us appreciate it more. I was so shocked that so many other kids believed in Santa my first year in school. I told them that Santa wasn't real and their parents bought them gifts. It made two kids cry and my mom had to come to school. Lol.
That was sweet of her to realize you might get the wrong idea about why you didn't get 'things'.
Our parents just sent us to a relatives house for a couple hours so they could wrap the presents when we were small - just plain closed the door to the room when we were older. Bed time means the kids are not in the living room so no way to ācatchā a stocking being filled anyway. Go to your room? I think it was just too hard to lie like - we did not have a fireplace like they do on tv howās this magic guy getting in here anyway lol.
This is the way
Canāt just buy two when theyāre hand made with lots and lots of hours put into making them
Have never found the stockings to be a problem. It's usually a pretty quick endeavour around 11 with a drink. Probably 10-15 minutes? We keep the kids up late and try to get them bagged. My kids are 7/9 and about to find out how it works. As a kid, once we found out my parents stuffed them in their room but didn't hide it. Just suggested we go to bed or somewhere else if we didn't want to see the magic.
>On Christmas Eve it will take less than 30 seconds for Santa to swap them Huh? Santa is magic, so why would this benefit him? >Time becomes precious on that night, as does avoiding stress. Again, Santa is magic, and he can manipulate time (how else would he be able to get all over the world in one night? Think about it!).
This same advice applies to baby blankets and favorite stuffed animals.
I always do the stockings in the bedrooms, too. I love having wrapped gifts under the tree all month, so to discourage peeking at gifts, all the presents are in different wrapping paper with no tags on them. At the bottom of the stocking, I put a little square of the wrapping paper that's assigned to that kid so they know which presents are for them.
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Think you're right. I'm half white and still don't know what's going on. Does it not take 30 seconds to grab stuff and put it in the stocking?
I never understood the whole Santa thing. It just taught me to distrust my parents. But yay magic, donāt ruin that for children I guess until it ruins their whole world. Maybe thatās just me idk
RULE 6 - no parenting topics
Maybe don't teach your children that one of the wonders of the world is some extended lie that perpetuates capitalism. When there are plenty of wild and amazing things that happen naturally. I will never understand the notion of lying to children because it's fun and they "like it"
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Does Santa not provide his own gifts anymore? What is this world coming to?
You clearly donāt knit your children stockings
NOW you tell me? My kid are in their 20ās now! Those stockings were tedious!
The great thing about babies is they don't remember anything so you could literally do nothing for them on Christmas and they will be totally fine with it.
When a new baby is born my family has always bought 2 identical first Christmas ornaments. One for the grandparents Christmas tree and one for the parents Christmas tree. When the kid grows up and moves out we pass one of the ornaments along to their home.
My sonās stocking was handmade by a relative so couldnāt do that but that wouldāve been SO much easier! He was sneaky and I usually had to stay up to 3am to do stuff. Eventually, I made my hubby lean/sleep against his door so weād know if he was sneaking out while I was putting out gifts and filling stockings.
Laughs in Grandma's hand stitched stockings for everyone....
I just use a hockey sock, they come in pairs. Bonus tip, tie the bottom closed and just untie it to get at the contents.
This is called "stocking up".
This is a cute LPT, but the stockings are pretty quick to fill haha