Now I'm Confused About Stocking Stuffers...

First, we do not "do" Santa ... so maybe that is why we have never "done" stockings. We always got one small "teaser" gift on Eve and the rest in the morning along with breakfast and then the after noon was open to all with a wonderful buffet that my mom, my sister and I put together every year.

It's interesting to see all the different traditions. We open gifts and stockings on Christmas morning; stocking gifts are from Santa and most of the gifts under the tree are, too. Generally the "big" gift and a few others, such as clothing, etc., is from mommy and daddy.

I think you should keep on doing what you're doing. You're not doing anything wrong - everyone has their own traditions & preferences. I've never cared what other people did, personally. Why would you want the same traditions as everyone else? That would be generic & boring.

I think that was just your families take on it and tradition. Stocking stuffers for us meant small presents that fit in the stocking, not from santa. Usually cheap too, like candy. But amongst our whole family we now exchange "stocking stuffers", which just means not expensive- candles, candy, do dads, and gift cards. It never meant "from santa". Maybe because we were never taught to believe santa was real.

You can fit shoes/boots in your stockings? How big are yours??

~At our house Santa fills the stockings and brings 1 gift per child. It is always put together and ready to be played with, always un-wrapped w/a big red bow/ribbon. We open 1 gift each on Christmas Eve and it's always our Christmas PJ's!

My sister goes overboard with stockings. When it because too much for her she would ask those visiting to provide 2 things for everyone's stocking. My daughter (5 at the time) heard this and said, "That's Crazy! Santa does that!" So it is confusing when traditions involving Santa are different from home to home.

BTW Can your Santa visit our house this year? ;-)

I really like your idea if my kids weren't older, I would start doing that. We go to my Aunts house Christmas Eve and the kids open the presents from family. On Christmas day, they open the presents from us and Santa. Santa usually brings a few to our house..lol! I fill their stockings with little things - candy, crayons, yoyos, etc. I'm not sure who they think the stocking presents are from. They've never asked.

When they found out, they started leaving trinkets in our stockings. Well, mostly SD. Our stockings hang til Christmas and on Christmas day we see what we have. Once the youngest is in the know, make it a point to have each other put nice things in everyone's stocking and NO PEEKING.

We open one item on Christmas Eve. And Santa still brings gifts even if we are old. ;)

Edit: In our house, it's a little of each. Mom and Dad might still put little things in the stocking, along with whatever candy and trinkets Santa thinks you qualify for. AND Santa leaves stuff under the tree. Santa pretty much finishes the job the parents started in our house. I keep back some of DD's gifts so it's a more impressive morning, but she will only get one big thing from St. Nick. I think we stopped being worried about Santa when SD was 10. Oh, and my mom played up Santa forever and we would turn to her (as teens) and say, "Thank you, Santa." We knew, but it was still fun.

In our house, stockings are filled (not really full at all) with cheap trinkety things. Candy, things from the dollar bin at target, etc. Nothing of value. That's from us.

The kids open presents from my parents on Christmas Eve because we host dinner at our house and that way my parents get to see them open the gifts. On Christmas we're at my parents' house and they're too busy hosting to stop and watch the kids open the gifts, so this works well.

Then on Christmas morning, they open the rest of the presents. A couple of gifts are from "Santa" and the rest are from us. This works for us because it helps explain the giving tree and other charitable gifting that we do at church. The kids wondered why we need to give gifts to those in need if Santa brings everything so I explained that only a couple of things are from Santa and the rest are from parents and other family and friends so we're giving the gifts that parents can't afford to give.

In our house, Santa fills the stockings. We don't know the truth yet..

My mom still writes from Santa on mine and my sisters gifts (even my husbands), so I imagine that Santa will still do the same when we know the truth.

Only gifts that get open on Christmas eve are the ones that we receive from my grandparents at their house since they have a Christmas Eve party and we have several places to go on Christmas Day.

All gifts from mom/dad or Santa are opened on Christmas Morning.

We open gifts on Christmas morning, and one gifit the night before, which I have started doing in my own house as Christmas pajamas. Santa brings one small gift, the rest are family gifts. Mom and Dad fill the stockings.

I wish I had your Santa!!

PS - Yes, my kids know the presents and stocking stuff is from Mom and Dad. They "believe" Santa gives on gift.

What do you mean. Santa is real. I'm in my 40s and I believe in Santa. You only stop getting gifts from Santa if you stop believiing. That being said. Santa and mommy put things in stockings. though traditionally it was just Santa. Me and Santa both like putting small items and cany in the stockings so Ants dont get to them and they dont get stepped on broken etc.

Growing up we opened one gift on Christmas eve from our parents. Christmas morning there would be gifts unwrapped under the tree as well as a stocking from Santa. The wrapped gifts were from family and friends.

My husband grew up opening EVERYTHING on Christmas Eve. Santa's presents were wrapped, too! They each had a stocking but it was small and was usually filled with 1-2 candies.

With our children - we spend Christmas Eve with his parents so they open gifts from them on that date. Christmas morning they wake up and see the unwrapped gifts from Santa, their stocking and then the gifts from us. Santa usually leaves a few gifts for each kid and they get a few from us.

My parents still put up our stockings at their house (as do my in laws) and fill them with goodies!

We always do stockings! My parents did stockings for each other, and I have always received a stocking from my mother or husband. We do gifts as well. We don't limit Santa gifts to one plus the stocking, but there will always be stockings! It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas! And yes -the stocking gifts are from Santa!

My kids open on present on Christmas Eve and it is always pj's. Then santa fills the stockings and leaves one big gift under the tree with the kids name on it and a little note from the elves and the rest are from Mom and Dad. This is how we did it growing up, my mom still gives us santa presents as adults. My brother and sil give my nephew all his presents from santa.

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We open one gift Christmas ever always pajamas from Grandma then we open all the other gifts christmas day- Gifts from Santa and everything in the stockings are always wrapped in the "secret" santa paper that is hidden from the kids. I know it sounds crazy but that is what I do

We always did everything Christmas morning as a kid, but one gift the night before and Mom always tried to steer us to the one with the PJs she made us..but she didn't force it (but did say pick one of these 3, for example).

I suppose when I was very young I just assumed it was all Santa and Mom (she made alot of our gifts so we would see the yarn or fabric combos about the house for months)..then as I got older, I "knew" Mom did it all, but we always have had the "If you believe, you will recieve" motto here..as a kid and now in my own adult home as well.

As a kid and even now, our stockings (we actually have giant mittens now that my Mom made for all 20+ or so of us in the family at that time, all personalized in some way...good deal too as my stocking and my siblings were getting a bit fragile...we ARE old, ya know!), they are a mixed bag of small trinkets or spendy things. Sort of a "whatever fits" works theory. The stocking was and still is the most important part for me. And I am fine if there is just the fancy chocolate bars I like, a CD or book, some new earbuds, etc. I just like the thrill of reaching my hand in there a few times and knowing my family (now teen dd and hubby) took the time to find these trinkets for me. Sometimes its "fancier" spendier stuff like the year I got my ZUNE mp3 player..or the bottles of perfume..or one year it was large denomination dollar bills folded as shirts (money oragami dd did)...they were even in a little box with tissue paper..this was for me to buy my laptop with!

My godparents and their 4 kids kept the stocking extra fun for years after all the kids were grown (not sure if they still do this with 17 grandchildren and all the in-law kids now). But they still hung the parents and 4 kids stocking out for the whole time after Thanksgiving. Anyone of the 6 of them could put anything in anyones stockings at anytime. The parents loved it as the kids who did not live at home often stopped by after shopping trips with funny litlte somethings (joke things or a craft sale find,etc..a funny little pin from the local cash register selection..that deck of cards cuz last night at the siblings house no one could find any..stuff like that!). Everyone played nice, did things even and fair and never peeked! They all lived within 20-30 minutes of their parents so this worked at the time!

I have always told our children that if they didnt believe then they won't recieve! lol.... But I would still do the stocking's even if they know the truth, I know that my oldest knows the "truth" but she wont say anything. I always put the little things in the stockings, this year I don't think i'll do candy only because we still have candy from Halloween! lol....
As for the gift's being opened, we always do it on Christmas morning, Christmas eve is where we open the gift's of family that will be visiting that day. It's just so beautiful for my husband and I to sit on the sofa, enjoying our cup of coffee and watching our children open their gift's while still wearing their Christmas pj's...We always take pic's too!
Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and a Merry Christmas!

I'm gettting confused too.

Ok sometimes things change if myhubby's brother and fam are rotating christmas at my silaws but generally...

Christmas eve--We visit with my side of the family. The kids get gifts from my mom and my aunt and we give ours to them. Candle light church service, then midnight mass at the other grandparent's church. exhausted and put to bed.

Christmas morning--grinchy dad insists they eat a full actual cooked breakfast, no overnight breakfast casseroles or bowls of cereals but the bacon, eggs, pancake extravaganza.
Then they open gifts from Santa (always wrapped because i like it that way) and it can be any number i choose usually 3-4 Intermixed is the stuff they buy us from the secret santa shop at school and the other 3-4 things we've tagged as from mommy and daddy. again all wrapped.

WE have no stockings at our house because selfish Nana has always over done them and it didn't make sense to me to try to explain why they had two stockings. SOOOO

When ever bil is in town, sometimes christmas day after lunch time or up to a week later, We drive over to Nana's, where low and behold (ahem did i mention NAna overdoes EVERYTHING) Santa has left Yet more gifts 5-6 of them -plus there are gifts tagged as from nana/pappy and aunt and uncle AND cousins. Seriously and HOUR later when all the gifts have been opened ( and no we don't all watch we just dig in there is just seriously that many prestents) Then we find out stockings and find all the little stuff that nana, myself, and the aunt have filled them with, toys gift cards, hair do's, candy, gum, toothbrushes,notepads etc. some wrapped some not wrapped and some set under the stocking because it was just too full. Although i feel our stockings are on the small size and i've seen much huge-er ones. Not as huge as what i'm imagining yours lol.
Merry Christmas no matter which way you hang 'em

We do it exactly like you do!!! Except we "tweaked" it a few years ago, cause the kids wanted more presents on Christmas morning. So they only open a few from us on Christmas Eve, and from all the other family members.

My son is at the age of knowing but not really sure. He is homeschooled and 10. THe girls are 14 and 16.

Santa brings stocking stuff. Maybe 6-8 little things, yoyo, earrings, lip gloss etc. In the stocking there is an orange and candy, sometimes he brings poptarts or small cereal boxes, a small stuffy and candy cane.
THen under the tree are about five gifts, a clothing, a book, a toy, the most wanted gift (this is the one they asked for at the mall), a game/puzzle or something similar. Sometimes they get a shared BIG gift. Last year they all got a trampoline and not so many little things. 3 years ago the Wii.

On Christmas Eve they get the mom and dad gifts and those from each other. Gma gifts are opened Christmas day. Mom amd dad always give pj's. And one year i did not get my 22 year old pj's, I heard about it for a whole year. Major Santa fail that year.

Santa still fills my husband's and my stockings too.

I LOVE stockings! It all depends on how you want to celebrate your Christmas...we have been slackers at our house on the stocking end of things but I miss them so I am trying to bring them back but just because you start out believing it's a "Santa thing" doesn't mean you have to get rid of the tradition once Santa is no longer believed in...If you like them keep doing it! I found this awesome stocking stuffer gift list that has given me some inspiration so this "Santa" ;) is going to have to do some shopping..p.s. there are some really fun kids gift lists too > http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/larissa/fun-yet-practical...

You fit shoes in your stockings?

My parents always did lame gifts in the stockings - a toothbrush, some candy, a pair of socks. Granted, Grandma made the stockings and they were fairly small.

With my ex-husband, they put nice things in the stockings - a silver bracelet or charm, gift cards, etc.

I'm remarried now for 4 years. The one time we've been to the in-laws, they didn't have stockings that I remember. (Granted, they don't do the whole Santa thing). At my house, I did do stockings last year, put on our doorknobs, and filled them with small presents (wrapped) and candy. At my mom's, and just like when I was a kid, she did the 'barely anything' in the stockings thing - a bag of candy for each stocking. This year, I don't have the stockings up yet - no doorknobs nor mantle nor any of those cute weight things at our house. So I may skip it. My son is 3.5. He likely won't care or remember.

Santa always "over" stuffs the stockings at our house and used to provide one big gift. (Stockings at my house have never been hung by the chimney with care...or hung anywhere else for that matter. lol) Now that my kids are older and, uh, more expensive, Santa simply fills the stockings because at my girls' ages, the big gifts fit inside the stockings. Since I am divorced, my girls and I celebrate Christmas whenever our time is...whether it be Christmas Eve, Christmas Dy, the day after, etc. It's all about the spirit and my girls know and appreciate the meaning of Christmas.

Who says your tradition has to be like everyone else's? Do what works for your family and let it be your tradition.

I would love to find a Santa to bring me diamonds. :)

Santa brings the crappy stuff. Mom and Dad bring the good stuff.
That's how it is in our house. I aint giving santa credit when he doesn't earn the dosh.

We open gifts on Christmas Eve from friends/family. We have a nice dinner, go to church, have communion, change the kids into their warm pjs and drive around looking at Christmas lights, come home, have cocoa and open presents, read the Christmas story, sing carols in the living room. The gift from mom and dad is always the annual ornament for each person, and a book (we have a little Christmas themed book collection going, and read one a night on the nights leading up to Christmas). It's just what we do. It's fun though because the ornament is always something special having to do with the year.
In the morning, we do Santa (gifts and stocking). When they are old enough to know that Santa isn't "real", we'll still play Santa but they can be Santas too! When they're old enough, we'll do like I did when I was growing up: the kids can pick out a neat ornament for the parents, and a small gift. On Christmas day, there will be presents and stockings from "Santa" but the kids can be sneaky and take part in gift giving and sneaking presents under the tree too. I remember laughing and trying to guess who slipped what into my stocking as a highschooler. We all would try to sneak stuff in when noone was looking into other people's stockings. Mom was always in charge of the "basics" though: the fruit, nuts, candy. Sometimes it'd be a silly novelty item, a funny or sweet note, something sentimental, something awesome, you never knew.

Growing up, our Christmas was exactly like yours. I will continue the tradition with my son!

We spend Christmas Eve watching a movie together or playing a game, etc. Santa comes on Christmas Eve and fills the stockings for everyone and leaves some gifts for the kids under the tree. We open all gifts on Christmas morning. Our kids know about Santa, but we still wrap Santa gifts in special paper. Just because your kids know about Santa doesn't mean you don't still stuff stockings. Maybe the kids would even want to help stuff them?