by Sunshine Simmons

Created on: December 07, 2009   Last Updated: December 08, 2009

Nothing says Christmas like bright colorful stockings hanging by the fireplace. Even the poem says, 'the stockings were hung by the chimney with care'. Although there are many theories as to the beginning of stockings hanging by the fireplace, most believe that a wealthy nobleman dropped some gold coins down the chimney of some poor sisters, and they fell into the stockings that were drying by the fire. What do you do if you don't have a fireplace to hang your stockings from?

Hang them on the wall up high enough that your little ones can't reach them. Make sure they're in a place where a child can't easily push an object to stand on and reach them. You can purchase hooks that stick to the wall and are easily removed. Use your garland to hang stockings. It's pretty, and you can get creative. Try hanging them along your banister, or around a doorway. Wrap a curtain rod with lights and use the string of lights to hang your stockings. They are beautiful against the lights, especially if they blink. Go to your local craft store and purchase a shelf with pegs. Paint it to match your decor, and you can leave it up all year round. Mount it on the wall, and hang your stockings from that. String some pretty ribbon and hang your stockings from that. Start a new tradition and hang stockings by each bedroom door. Every day your child is good during the twelve days of Christmas, they might find a small treat in their stocking! Hang stockings from bedroom doorknobs and tell your children that they can open their stockings in their beds on Christmas morning, and buy yourself a little more sleep. Have each child hang their stocking from their bedpost on Christmas Eve. This is another way to get a couple of extra Christmas day winks. Use some small nails in your mantel. It will leave some holes if you remove them, but if you leave them, you can use them to string decorations for every holiday. If all else fails, use thumb tacks, but make sure the stockings are not accessible to small children, as thumb tacks are a choking hazard as well as a poking hazard.

No matter how you hang them, your family will love what you've done. Creativity creates Christmas memories that far outlast the memories of what comes in the stocking, or what gifts were under the tree.

Learn more about this author, Sunshine Simmons.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.