by Tierney O'Hara

Created on: November 08, 2009   Last Updated: August 20, 2010

It's wonderful if, like the poem, we can "hang the stockings by the chimney with care", but where do you put the stockings if you have no "chimney," no fireplace and no mantle?

You have many choices on where to put the Christmas stockings. One choice would be to place the stockings on the doorknob of each child's room. It would be just like Santa to surprise children by filling a stocking and hanging it on the doorknob so that children wake up to a present even before they leave their room.

Some parents, even those with fireplaces, hang stockings on doorknobs to buy themselves a little extra sleep time on Christmas morning. Many allow the opening of the stocking to be done in the child's bed, with the caveat that the child stay in bed, playing with the new toys, till the parents wake up.

Stockings can be hung on any knobs, kitchen cabinet knobs and dresser drawer knobs are also spots where Santa might very well leave a stocking filled with surprises.

Bedposts are another great spot to hang a stocking. How much fun to wake up and see your stocking miraculously filled sometime during the night.

Not everyone has a bed post but most people have kitchen chairs and most chairs have a spot that will hold a stocking hanger loop. How exciting to be called to the breakfast table to find a stocking brimming with toys, hanging on the back of your chair. A filled stocking can also lean on the back of the chair waiting to be grabbed and explored by eager little hands.

Staircases can hold a stocking or many stockings if you insert nails or screw hooks to hold up the stockings. If you don't want to nail into the wood, it's fine to place the stockings on the stairs, leaning into the balustrades so they won't fall.

A rectangular piece of wood, painted the color of your walls and installed with hooks is another great spot for hanging stockings. You can use the rack for coats and hats right up to Christmas time, when you will need the rack emptied so children can hang their stockings in anticipation of Santa's visit.

Small, realistic, electric, fireplace-style heaters cost less than one hundred dollars, look cozy, emit heat and can create the feel of a real fireplace. Place a shelf above the fireplace or create a faux mantle with molding and trim wood, and you have a place to hang Christmas stockings that's nothing less than perfect

There's always a place to hang a Christmas stocking, and even if you absolutely can't find one in your home, line them up against the wall near the Christmas tree and they will please little hearts just as much as if they were hanging by the chimney with care.

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