Advent Calendar - Christmas Stockings

From the first year we held the Christmas Eve celebration at our house until the present, my husband and I filled stockings for each of our grandchildren. The stockings were hung along the staircase leading to our living room. The children's stockings hung along side mine and my husband's ("Mom" and "Dad") and, for the past two years, our dog, Bessie's.

As the children grew older, we began wrestling with the dilemma of when one stopped the tradition. We finally decided that when a grandchild reached - or would reach prior to the next Christmas - the age of 21, they would be deemed an adult and no longer receive a stocking. Last year, our oldest grandson, Stewart got his last filled stocking and was given the stocking that had been used since his infancy.

This year would be Derek's turn, except this year the party moves to another house. Oh my!! Now what to do. I guess all good things must eventually come to an end so this will be the last year for this. Santa will drop three stockings at our house which we will deliver to the new location. Derek, Kristin, and Randi will get to keep their stockings and Kristin and Randi will find a little something extra inside just to make up for the few years they'll be missing.

Even as they got older, the grandkids still seemed to enjoy looking for the treasures in those stockings.

Randi, Kristin, Kim (Derek's girlfried; he had to work), and Stewart Dec 2009