The Stockings Were Hung

by Margie Senechal

For as long as I can remember, stockings have been the highlight of Christmas for me. I'm sure it may have originated with the Icelandic tradition of putting our shoes in the window for a visit from the Yule Lads. My sister and I had elfin slippers in that chipped gold from the late sixties--after all, it was Iceland--that we'd put in our windows before we settled down to sleep, hoping to get a piece of chocolate or even better a Kronur. 

The love affair with stockings continued through my childhood and into my teenaged years where we usually got socks, waxy 70's lipstick/chapstick, Sweet Honesty, and always a tangerine in the toe of the stocking.

After KB was born, my mom took my two sisters and I aside and declared that she thought it was time to stop with the stockings. The horror! At the time, I was the only married one and it wasn't fair that I got a stocking from Hubby and they got nothing. Plus, bless his heart, he wasn't a great stocking stuffer yet.

We all probably take credit for the greatest idea ever--the stocking exchange. In which we

draw names sometime in the summer so we were able to shop for a while--collecting gems we knew our person would love.  We try not to have any repeats and not our children or spouse since we'll celebrate with them on Christmas Day. Oh, I forgot to mention that our family gets together on Christmas Eve at my mother's home. We do a potluck of finger foods and desserts--oh, the cookies we'll have.

First it was just our immediate family, Mom, Dad, Me, Debbie, Wendy, and Mike (hubby). When my uncle Les began visiting more from the Seattle area during my grandparents' illnesses, he joined in on the fun as well. When Alec began dating Wendy, he also joined in for a while. And as our children grew up, they joined in as well. When KB's bestie, Daniel, joined us for a few years, he also played along.

The best giver in the beginning was Uncle Les. The year he drew Mike's name, he gave us a trip to Reno. A few years later, he drew my name, and I got a family vacation to DIsneyland when the girls were 9 and 6. 

For me it's never been about the getting--although, a family trip was amazing--but finding things that my mom (this year) or my sisters will love. Searching just the right thing for one of my nephews. It's about the solar power hot air balloons for Wendy's deck or a new Tigger for Debbie. It's about love and family.

We Wilkinsons don't have a lot of family traditions. Almost none, actually. But we all look forward to the stocking exchange each year and the love that goes into the effort of finding just the perfect fillers in the stockings we give.

I hope you have a grand Christmas and I'd love to read about your special traditions. 

Margie Senechal is a Pacific NW based writer who had a short story published in Once Upon a Book Club's 2020 Advent Calendar and writes a bi-weekly column for Great Thoughts, Great Readers on Facebook.

  I don't have anything to hock right now, but I'm hopeful that one day I will and I'll see you again in between the words.