As soon as the middle of November hits, I always start to feel the Christmas spirit. I’m definitely a “decorate before Thanksgiving” kind of person, and always have been. I love the coziness of Christmas decorations, and there’s something so special about bringing out the same decorations year after year.
My family has always had very strong traditions around Christmas time. Going to church together on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, playing cards with all my cousins, aunts, and uncles on Christmas Eve, decorating cookies, crowding into the same room to open gifts and stockings, and eating lots of good food are just a few of our traditions.
Stockings have always been one of our traditions as well. At my grandma’s house, she would create a scavenger hunt for us. We would read the clues, going from one room to the next, until we finally found our stockings. We would race around the house, laughing and having fun, as we tried to be the first to find the goodies!
At my mamma’s house, she would put together stockings for every member of the family. Many years, we would have guests: new significant others, fiances, or friends that were invited so they had a place to spend the holidays. She made sure that everyone had a stocking filled with goodies to open. It was one of the ways she made sure everyone felt welcomed and included into our family’s celebrations.
As I’ve gotten older, these traditions have changed. We no longer run through the house on a scavenger hunt, and because my mamma is gone, we have changed the way we do stockings there too. Now, we all bring items to stick into each other’s stockings. Even though the way we do stockings is a little different, we continue to carry on the tradition of including everyone in the fun.
Creating stockings is another way that I get to carry on some of these traditions. My mamma was an avid quilter, and when I create quilted stockings for you to use with your families, I ge to continue her legacy of creating, as well as including everyone into celebrations. I truly love getting to make something special for your families that you will use for years to come.