And The Stockings Were Hung

 by Margie Senechal

This week the Wranglers have been waxing holiday. We've covered songs, movies, presents...

I'm going with stockings because they're my favorite part of Christmas.

I come from a family that doesn't have a lot of generational traditions. The first nine years of my life were spent in four different states, and one foreign country, and never had a Christmas with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins. 

Christmas stockings became our tradition. They were always full of special surprises--canes filled with flavoring lip balms, Sweet Honesty, Juicy Fruit gum, and always a tangerine in the toe. 

When we girls got into our twenties and I had my daughters, my mom decided she didn't need to do our stockings anymore. The horror! What was Christmas without stockings? Sure, Mike and I did stockings, but--sorry, honey--in those early years, he was no mom when it came to the stocking stuffing. And my unmarried sisters didn't have anyone to stuff a stocking for them.

So sister Deb suggested that we draw names and exchange stockings. And our tradition was born. We made a $50 minimum so nobody felt cheated if their stocking was lacking.

We draw names in the spring or early summer, so we can gather presents through the year. As my daughters got older they graduated to the stocking exchange as well. We open the stockings before gifts, one person at a time. And we try not to get the same person each year and if you draw your child or husband, you draw again because you shouldn't have to do them twice.

My nephews are getting to the age where soon they'll get to decide when and if they want to jump into the stocking insanity. Their father opted out, never quite understanding our obsession. But, for us, it's tradition.

What's your favorite tradition? Like everyone else, I have a gift--possibly Snoopy related or stocking or--to send to a lucky commenter--I'll draw from the names on the blog and on FB as some friends only comment there.