Does this look like the home of a knitter?
I knit Christmas stockings for our family about 15 years ago. The snowflake stockings came first.
After that? Variations on the theme. I knit the piano stocking next. (I was playing a lot as an adult student back then.)
My younger son wanted dancing people.
Of course, we needed a stocking for the cat.
This year, I designed the super bulky Super Cabled Christmas Stocking.
We’re not a family of six, even though our fireplace gives that impression!
Our tradition is to open stocking gifts before Christmas breakfast. It was a way of holding off the wrapping paper frenzy until I was ready to face the day. It still works, even with grown kids! Now we add mimosas to that breakfast.
Do you have a Christmas stocking tradition at your house?
PDXKnitterati 
These are all adorable! I especially love the piano one. And the paw print one. And the cabled one. And the snowflakes. Oh, hell — they’re all awesome!
Thank you! I think you may need some paw print stockings at your house!
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Yup, definitely a knitter’s fireplace. Just made a holly fairisle stocking for granddaughter Sophie. Finished just in time to start number 2 for Claire 🙂
No stocking tradition (although yours sounds good enough to adopt, Mimosas and all). We hide a pickle ornament on the tree – whoever finds it first gets to open the first present.
Happy holidays Michele
I’ve heard of the pickle ornament; that sounds like a fun tradition! I’d love to see your holly stocking. Would you send me a picture to share?
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We have a tradition of letting everyone delve into their stocking whenever they wake up. Once everyone is up and has at least coffee in hand, then we start on the gifts with the wrapping paper on them. Another tradition (mainly upheld by myself) is to fill in the “from” part of the gift tag with famous people or famous couples – sometimes giving a clue about the gift inside (like “From J.S. Bach and wife” on a musical gift) or sometimes just famous people from history or the current news.
Even though I am a knitter, we are still using manufactured “fake fur” stockings from Target. I finally bought some yarn and have a pattern picked out (Lucy Neatby’s Fiesta Stocking) for family stockings. Maybe they will be done by next Christmas… I do have to knit nine of them though…
I like your “from” tradition!
When our children were young, the deal was you could get into the stocking whenever you woke up. They’re grown up now, so we usually open them together. But still before breakfast.
Just remember, you don’t have to do all 9 stockings the first year! I did the snowflakes for DH & me the first year; the kids were still using their glitter glue decorated stockings at that time. But then I wanted a piano stocking for me, so one of the snowflakes went to Kid1. The dancers rounded things out for the family. Hmmmm, maybe I should revisit, and do basketballs or University of Oregon O’s for Kid 1…
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Those are beautiful! Our stockings are felted Noro Kureyon ones that I knit three years ago. I love them and look forward to stuffing them for the kids each year. We don’t have any real traditions surrounding them (other than that they get opened first) but I do love how beautiful they are.
We do the same stockings before breakfast thing, although I think adding mimosas sounds like an excellent plan. Most of ours were crocheted by my mother, except for my nephew’s (next year, nephews’), which I knit. There’s no frenzy after that, though. Gift opening is a very civilized process at our place that takes hours and multiple coffee refills.
I like an orderly gift opening process! My kids were never the frenzy type; they’re good about delayed gratification. Ahhhh.
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Those are just beautiful. I’ve just never felt like stockings fit in with Hanukkah!
Thank you! The blue/white/yellow stocking belongs to DH, non-traditional colors in our multi-cultural household. We’re celebrating Hanukkah this week, too. Wishing you a very happy Hanukkah!
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I love your stockings! Absolutely beautiful! The mimosas for Christmas breakfast sound perfect. Coming to your house 🙂
Love all your stockings – and of course the cat needs one 🙂 I haven’t knit any stockings, but we have some cute snowmen ones (and snowmen stocking hangers). I’ve always been the first one awake on Christmas, so I’ve always been allowed to look through my stocking before my parents get up.
It’s amusing that many parents use the Christmas stocking loot to hold off the kids until after coffee/civilization. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
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