Christmas is Coming!

I really love this time of year.  As a child, it was a really magical time and we looked forward to the entire holiday season.  One of the things I remember was our stocking tradition.  We had one each year, and you could be sure there would be an orange, an apple, candy canes and lifesavers along with other assorted goodies. 

It's one tradition I wanted to bring to my home when we married, and we did have stockings those first years, but nothing fancy. I did get a pair of pearl earrings that first year that I still wear.  When our first daughter was born just a couple of weeks before our fifth  Christmas, there wasn't time to make anything special, but for her second Christmas I found a Vogue stocking pattern that I loved, and have used in the 35+ years since to make stockings for our family. 

When the granddaughters came along, their first stockings were sewn like long johns with the back flap being the opening.  We're retiring the last two of those this year and Kathryn and Elizabeth will get their big girl stockings.  The third one I made recently is special.  My Mom now spends winters with us, and last year I noticed we didn't have a stocking to hang for her.  This year she'll get her very own stocking!  Holiday traditions are indeed wonderful!