stockings hung from the staircase with care

(via here)

This picture reminds me of how my mom decorated our houses for Christmas. Even though we had a fireplace, she would hang the stockings on the staircase just like this instead of hanging them from the mantel. Most of our old govt. houses on base (military family!) had wooden staircases just like this and my mom would decorate the banister with garland and hang the stockings like so. Last year was one of the rare times my actually mom hung them from the mantle:

(notice my dad's "Army Boot" stocking)

Almost all of my family's stockings are handmade. My mom made my dad's Army Boot stocking many years ago, but she accidentally sewed up the toe, so you can't really fill it up much. One of our family traditions is that everyone receives an orange in the bottom (toe) of their stocking (don't know where this one came from) but my dad doesn't usually get one since it would fill up the whole thing!

My Memomma (my maternal grandmother) made all three of my sister's and mine's stockings. She was a very talented seamstress and could do just about anything with a needle and thread, so she sewed and cross-stitched a stocking for each of us when we were born. Each one is personalized with our full name, birth date, and birthplace and has a variation on the same pattern. They are so special and are quite the treasures.

My stocking. Sorry, I had to blur some of the info to retain some privacy. (Yep, my real name is Elizabeth)

I love my stocking, not only because it's beautiful and unique, but because it reflects the love and time my Memomma put into making it, and it will always remind me of her.

Too bad our apartment doesn't have a pretty staircase I can hang it from!