The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney With Care

Besides my Christmas ornaments that hold dear, sweet memories I also love my stocking. I cherish my stocking because my Granny made it for me. I have never had a store bought stocking. It has always been my handmade with love stocking that "Santa" filled with goodies. Typically I would get some kind of candy-I especially remember a life savers book in my stocking each year-and some kind of necklace or piece of jewelry, socks and/or underwear, and a few other random things in my stocking. Also, the things that go in my stocking were always wrapped. I was surprised last year when Dave put unwrapped things in my stocking...and it was just candy. Apparently that is the Bivins tradition. Dave received some candy, but he also had some undershirts in his stocking. Funny how families have their own way of celebrating. Wonder what he will put in my stocking this year? Hmmmm...

Anyhow, back to my original thoughts on this topic. My handmade with love stocking. My sisters also have stockings made by Granny. Katie has one with her name on it, but Maggie's stocking has hearts on it because it was a second stocking I had received from Granny. Maggie was born after Granny had passed away so the heart stocking became Maggie's. We didn't have a chimney in the house we grew up in so our stocking hung on the wall. One year my Grandma and Grandpa made a Santa shaped board with hooks for our stockings to hang from. I loved it! (I kinda miss seeing it.) From that year on our stocking would hang from the Santa. So our first year of marriage I decided that Dave needed a stocking. It couldn't be a store bought stocking, it just wouldn't do. My mom guided me through the process of making Dave a stocking. This was the example we had to guide our project...



Our first step was choosing some Christmas print fabrics. I found a few I liked, but wasn't really liking all of my options. Since the USMC is such a big part of our life I also chose a patriotic blue with stars print. (There is also a coordinating red and white print as well.)



Once we had gathered and chosen our supplies it was time to actually create the stocking. (We do have some excess supplies that have been saved "just in case" we decide to add to our family with some human children and I need to make them a stocking. Their stocking would then match their father's. I just creeped myself out. Pausing for just a minute...Ok, moving on.)

It took several hours. I fought with the sewing machine just a bit on sewing things straight. I had to rip out a few seams since I like to sew crooked. Finally it was time for the finishing details...

This is mine.


This is Dave's.


His says Bivins b/c that is what I called him for the first 2-3 yrs of our relationship. Now he gets called Dave, Biv Biv, and Bivins. Did you also notice the turtle? Yeah, turtle is his nickname from high school so everything we own has been invaded with turtles.

This is where our stockings currently reside. I have little stocking hangers I bought at the dollar store a year or two ago, but we don't have a mantle or a shelf for them to sit. I must look into finding/buying/making a stocking hanger for the future.



The pictures above our stockings are something my mother-in-law made for us one Christmas. (I think it would have been Christmas 2006 when we had just moved to NC.) One has pics of Dave when he was younger at Christmas and the other has pics of me when I was younger at Christmas. Mine has one picture in particular that I love. It was taken at my Nana's house and my sisters and I are in pjs in her dining room. Katie and Maggie are playing with the nativity scene she had set up on the window seat and I am seated on the floor next to them wrapped in a blanket reading to them. Love it.