Advent Stocking Garland

As far as I'm concerned, the holiday season I really love starts the day after Halloween. It's full-on christmas/solstice around here now...crafts, music, decorating, gifts. Oh yes, I'm sure it's highy annoying to anyone in my life, but I don't care...I LOVE it. I think it has to do with my dear Meme, who started decorating for christmas in October. She had a full room in her house (no joke) just for storing christmas decorations, and she'd literally take EVERYTHING off her walls, counters, shelves, etc...to make way for christmas stuff, leaving no square inch in her home untouched with the holiday spirit. A little insane perhaps. But I loved it. Loooooved it.

Oh yeah, so the advent garland. In my post-Halloween excitement, I've been cranking on these. It was a blast--I thought it would get boring, or I'd run out of ideas on how to make them each different, but the opposite happened-- I wanted more stockings to use all the other ideas I had (yes, yes...we've already established my insanity).  I hung it to "test it out" on my window (hence the bad lighting photo above). I used a mix of embellishments, some embroidery, some buttons, etc. And all the stockings are on cordoroy, except the flannel prints. Here are some closeups (and can I just whine about my camera? grr....Santa?? you listening??):

Now I just need to come up with what to put in the stockings each day--without getting lots of trinket-y kid junk. That's one thing for each child, for 24 days. Um, 48 little "things"? Hmnn...ideas welcome!

Comments

[Niki]

Great idea! Hmmm...tough one on avoiding the kid junk. I just found these cool sheets of magnets at the dollars store that you adhere photos to the front. Maybe give them magnets of themselves? Maybe make them Santa Claus beards to wear made of cotton balls on felt? Snowglobes? Oh, I'm on a roll...Ha!

[jen]

Those stockings are awesome - and they look fabulous together!

RE: things to stuff them with...here are some ideas:
- books (reading or activity)
- dress up / costume items
- from the entries I've read, it seems that your kids love make believe / dressing up...so what having a card in each stocking that has a name of something they can be that day. E.g. 'clown'.
- if they collect something, an item for their collections
- crafty items - crayons, big pads of paper, fancy scissors, modeling clay
- each day include a 'clue'...after the 24 days, they have to use the clues to figure out something. Not sure what that something could be though...what a present is?

PS - I adore your blog and check it every morning and most nights - it's in my top 3 fave list! It blows me away how you manage to turn out so much crafty goodness AND be, what sounds like, such an awesome mom to 3 kids! You put me to shame and I don't even have kids! :S (/end disturbing stalkerish-type fangirl talk)

[CraftyCowCreations]

Marbles
Stamps
Colored Pencils
Chalk
finger puppets
Dinky Cars
Beads for stringing
Silks
Fabric Crowns
Homemade Bubble blowing wires with bubble Mixture
Wooden Flutes
Swords made from twigs
pinecones (that you can help them to string up for the birds with peanut butter in them)

ok thats it ant think of anything else
Isnt it exciting time thou I adore..no i
A D O R E your stocking garland

[robin]

we do an advent calendar with doors, so i have the trinkety issue too. here's a few suggestions: beaded jewelry, chocolate/sweet, rubber stamp, a drawing, picture or photo, christmas tree ornament, seeds (to plant), fairies/gnomes, eraser, dollar coins (which i suggest they use to buy gifts), tasty lip balm, etc...... mine are 7&10. not sure how old yoours are yet. anyway, the stockings are incredible as, it seems, everything you do is!

[Kat]

State quarters, silver dollars, Sacajawea dollars... old-fashioned candy sticks...

[ivy]

I'm going to put small chocolates in most of the advent pockets for my kids with a few toys, bath stuff (fizzies, soaps etc) and maybe a few trinkety toys.

[Jeni]

you already received some great little things ideas...

here's another one:
bendy people http://store.naturalplaythings.com/products/
Danielle has *really* cute bendy people and little wool people.

The stockings are great; I love all of them together. Great job (I would have gotten bored with it!).

[Kat]

What a great idea!

As for gifts how about: craft supplies, dress up accessories, little games (like Jacks), temporary tattoos, penny candy, rubber stamps, stickers, postcards for sending to friends and family (mail is fun!), disposable cameras...

[kiwi]

how about taking apart a 50 piece puzzle and putting one piece in each stocking?

[Sarah]

these are gorgeous! Is that an Alexander Henry print? the one with the kids and snowmen?

[hannah]

what a great idea for advent! and so many great ideas for gifties. you are amazing. i wish every surface in my house was covered in holiday goodness!

[amy k.]

oh-soooooooooooo good. I am very very happy about this! we have an advent box with little doors and I am stumped about what goes inside as well. sadie is still pretty "chewy" so I need to think of non choke-y stuff. . .

they look amazing! and i hope you DO get a new camera-you deserve it!

[Stephanie]

amanda, they look great hung together. you are such an inspiration; i can't wait to get mine done. i'm putting two "goodies" in each of mine too. you've received some great suggestions. i was thinking that i'd put a combination of really special and very simple things. some days toys or chocolate. some days a new toothbrush or a knock-knock joke written on a piece of paper (my kids LOVE knock-knock jokes, even if they don't usually "get" them).

[Gemma Grace]

- a silly idea
- an act of kindness each could do for someone else in the family
- something smelly
- a cookie cutter
- a hand-made jigsaw puzzle (in pieces that they have to put back together)
- a rhyming poem written just for them
- a new word that stirs the imagination
- a little wee scrapbook for each to glue or draw in
- a magic trick
- a secret handshake

[Gemma Grace]

oh... a couple more...
- a little kaleidoscope
- a crystal prism
- a selection of beautiful stones

[kyrie]

i like the idea that the little things could add up to be a big thing- maybe just over the course of several days, not the whole time.

also, when i was a little girl my mother wrote us notes on valentine's day that said something about why she loved us so much- i still have that note!!! the little things that you write are really precious treasures, too.

[Pink Rocket]

An advent calendar, that's wonderful! I am a fan so I read your blog daily and I was wondering what you were going to do with so many stockings! I've been working on a simular idea but I'm making little mittens from felt instead...I think I like the stockings better! As for little gifts, I like the idea of ornaments but from what I gather your family is more into Solstice. Since I know nothing about Solstice I just did a search and found a site, I'm not sure if it pertains to the Solstice as you believe but I found the idea of the Children's Day Shrine enchanting...it lists little toys/favors to give based on senses, etc. http://www.shambhala.org/arts/fest/childayshrine.html

[Strikkelise]

I love the stockings. And I'm blown away by the fact that they are all different!
I've taken notes of severeal good ideas from above.
Here are a couple of ideas from me, I like to get something that's a bit useful in with the trinkety stuff, and to divide the things into smaller pieces:
1.Socks with cool motives and/or colours (I bought some with Jolly Rogers on for Junior)
2. Lots of hair stash, clips etc. Princess loves glittery ones (euuh) and tends to lose them.
3. Beads and string/elastic.
4.Sticker book, stickers for a couple of days after that.
5. Coloured pencils or crayons, buy a set and give out one or two a day
6. Erasers
7. Doll clothes, small items like a hat, a scarf etc.
8. Stamps and an inkpad (one thing per day)
9. Other things to make Christmas cards with, like glittery glue (euuh, but popular :)

[Stephanie]

how cute! I don't know how you do it.

[kristen]

Wonderful advent garland, and so clever! This will be one of your kiddies best memories of growing up, I just know it. How fun it will be in your house with such festiveness.....makes me think of that Seinfeld episode with festivus, for the rest of us ~ hahahah!!

Anyway, for the tiny stockings......
crayons, finger puppets, beads, mini water color sets, play jewelry, tiny books, jacks, whistles.....I imagine anything you put into these stockings will be appreciated and cherished.

[bellablue]

Looks AWESOME!!!!! Almost identical to mine! lol! Can't quite start decorating yet as I will hear the endless question, "WHEN WILL CHRISTMAS BE HEEEEEERRRRRRRE?" which will drive me seriously INSANE!!!!!! but the day after Thansgiving I will join you in all your Christmas-loving glory! Ha!

[hillary]

I remember being so excited when it was my day (had to share with my sister) to open the advent calendar window. I was sooo excited just to see what the picture behind the window would be. man, was I gipped! your kids are very lucky :)

[Kate]

Each of my three have their own homemade pocket-type Advent calendar, and I pop chocolate treats in every night (it's the Advent Calendar Fairy, talk about inventing your own mill-stones!). Having said that, I liked Stephanie's knock-knock idea, and as you're just starting, you could have lots of fun with paper items - jokes, nice pictures to enjoy, or colour in, little stories, letters from the Elves. That way you are encouraging a nice tradition but not being too heavy on the materialism. And saving money to be spent on crafting things (okay, toys for Christmas!). They'll love whatever you do, just remember this is a tradition you're starting (and Adelaide will want one too, sooner than you think!!)

[scribblesnbits]

That is freakin' awesome!!!! They all came out so well! I would have gotten stumped. Stuff to put in there:
-watercolors
-crayons (it seemed like when I was a kid, I was always accidentally breaking them when I pressed really hard on the paper)
-coloring books. You could totally make your own on the cheap. There are all sorts of coloring pages on the internet. Here's my favorite: http://members.fortunecity.com/colorbook/thelist.htm
And since it's already online you could just copy it and print it out. On second thought, that might be insane, but it was one of my thoughts
-Stickers
-Special candies
-those sewing cards where you connect the dots with yarn
-Some of those homemade coupons. I don't really know what to suggest they could be redeemed for, but I know if you like that idea, you could definitely come up with some stuff
-a bit of shopping money for holiday gifts
-Different suggestions for daily activities that could be used the next day. Like have them draw pictures of something like the family or their favorite animal on a specific size sheet of paper then the next day, they would get their picture back in a frame!
-notepads and neat pens topped with feathers or with the glitter floating inside
-you could get some of those little totes and those embroidered iron-ons
-some of the small, pre-primed canvases they sell at the craft store
-Do you put up a tree? Their own personal ornament might be neat!

I know some of these are kind of labor-intensive, and may not even be lifestyle-,age- or interest-appropriate, but I thought I'd throw them out there anyway!

[bellablue]

Speaking of paper items, did anyone mention origami animals?

[lk]

what about something assemble-able? You could go with purchased- legos or knex or lincoln logs... puzzle pieces...
or perhaps, parts of a story, pieces of a craft project, clues to a riddle- one day a hint, the next a photo, the following a map...

[Kara]

How about putting in the things to do activities you are planning for Christmas. For example, sprinkles for cookie baking day. There's also individual bags of popcorn for movie night (to watch Frosty, etc.)Also, a coupon for a treat while out Christmas shopping would be another idea. Good luck! Oh, one more, you could put in the accessories to decorate little gingerbread houses - don't forget the Necco's and the gumdrops!

[Amy]

I love the garland. Can I steal your idea? I probably won't do it this year (lots of baby things to make!) but someday...

My husband and I sometimes do a 12 days of Christmas gift thing in our stockings or notice that the "elves" left things in them all through December. For us, the hard part is finding little things for each other that aren't always food-related.

[Toni]

Wow Amanda, that is such a wonderful garland. One that will be used for many, many years to come! A keepsake! You have gotten lots of good ideas for stuffers so I won't elaborate. I will say that my kids were ALWAYS happy to get something yummy to nibble on. Maybe some healthy treats, and a couple of not so healthy ones..hehe.

[brandie]

the stockings are gorgeous amanda! i have never, ever done an advent calendar (sniff, sniff) and am very inspired by your stockings. hmm...do i have time to whip out 24 stockings?

[AngelaM]

They are beautiful Amanda.. Sadly, my kid loves the trinket-y kid junk, and I stock up on extra happy meal toys to use for this exact purpose. I love all the suggestions above though, and am going to have to use some....

[Nathalie from Innamorata]

but......shouldn't you make 72 little presents :-))))))) ???????

[lisa]

love these!! i recognize some trims!!! YAY! and i got adelaide's card yesterday!! so beautiful, it's going up.
lisa

[lyn]

Amazing, when do you sleep ? The stockings are fantastic.
What about little pebbles, painted with a letter a day to spell out words like, H.O.P.E , P.E.A.C.E and L.O.V.E. Then they can jumble up the pebbles to make new words like P.O.O.P and P.E.E.
That would guarantee hysteria in our house, there's nothing like rude words, to help the spelling along.

[channah]

The stockings really are amazing! Such fun to have something neat to do every day as a family. I love the stones with letters on them - Maybe a special pouch to put all of their collected items in (from the stockings.) We loved the nice jack sets we got and pick up sticks, rubber stamps was a great idea and Materials for home made craft projects that can become "gifts" from litte ones to family memebers.

[jean]

AHHHHHHHH!!!! I love the garland!!!! Everybody has fab ideas for little things. Somebody above said pinecones. The sweetest little birthday present I saw was a pinecone for a two year old wrapped up by older kid cousins way, way up on Moosehead Lake for an August birthday. No chance to buy plastic. The birthday boy was thrilled.

[joy madison]

oh my gosh...okay you have a million comments (I'm a comment snob, anymore than 20 and I don't normally comment) BUT I'll make an exception this time! I love this idea. I've been trying to come up with an idea for 6 years now, on an advent calendar, and this might be "the one" thanks to you and stephanie (little birds) for the inspiration!

[Pink Rocket]

Oh! I was thinking about what I could put in my son's advent calendar (the mitten one I'm making) and thought that I would make a Pirate Map and rip it into pieces so he would have to put it together, then follow the map to find his presents!

[kelly]

It looks fantastic! I see lots of incredible suggestions here... I'll probably steal some!

[Marie]

Those are amazing! You are such a fun Mom. :) You've already received really great ideas for stuffing them so I won't add to the list unless I think of something so great that I just can't keep it to myself. Not likely though. hahaha

[Snowbear]

What a great garland!
How about buttons(pins) to wear and magnets made from those glass beads (you paint on the bottom)--- Paper hats, crowns--I'm busy thinking the same thing for my Christmas Crackers!

[molly]

I was obsessed with our family's advent calendar when I was little. I could not wait for it to get hung on the kitchen door each year. Ours was a christmas/barn scene with lots of little doors that folded back. My mom glued little notes inside each door...some were treats (my favorite being "you can have a pepperoni and cheese on crackers before dinner."--don't ask me why?!) and some with ways to be helpful around the house. Here's a few I remember:
--stay up an extra 20 minutes
--popcorn and a movie tonight
--take out the kitchen trash for mom
--excused from dinner dishes
...now I'm blanking on others, I'll have to look at it. I asked my mom to send it to me last year so that I can do it with my children now...
Anyway, just thought that everything might not have to be gift-y but could be little notes with ideas/chores/special treats, etc. Might be a way to save $$, because I know how these little things can add up!
I think your stockings look great! Can't wait to see what you do for the treats inside.

[debra cooper]

These are precious! I've been thinking of making stockings this year--we've never had any, but haven't been hit with the inspiration yet. Of course, the 90+ degree weather we have been having here makes Christmas seem like a memory from last year, and hard to get inspired to decorate.

[Betty]

I receive an advent basket many years ago when my children were young....
For a Christian parent, I improvised to make the lessons more memorable for my children. After reading each of the Bible verses, the object in the stocking or in the advent basket is limited only to your imagination...
This is rather long....but since Christmas is almost here for this year, you'll have a whole year to prepare it!!
Merry Christmas

ADVENT STOCKING OR BASKET

Dec. 1 Quarter
A quarter! That equals 25 cents. But 25 also stands for the number of days till Christmas, when God gave us his best present. Jesus told about one woman’s gift and the way she gave it.
Read Mark 12:41-44

Dec. 2 Grape juice
Grapes make jelly, juice, raisins & wine. But Jesus didn’t need grapes to perform his first miracle.
Read John 2:1-10

Dec. 3 Smiley sticker
Here’s a smile! A smile usually expresses happiness. Jesus gave us many instructions to keep us happy.
Read Matthew 5:1-12

Dec. 4 Fish toy or fish ornament
Fish! Well if you were surprised to find this fish, wait until you read the story today! Others were surprised to find fish also! Read Luke 5:4-7

Dec. 5 Birthday candle
A birthday candle? As you know, we are getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Remember he did not remain the babe in the manger but lived a full abundant life so that he might be our example in everything. However, Jesus talked about something else that is related to the candle. Light!
Read Matthew 5:14-16

Dec. 6 Jingle bell
You could make some noise with this. But it would not have bothered a certain man until he met Jesus.
Read Mark 7:31-37

Dec. 7 Bread treat
This would not go very far if you were really hungry! But Jesus could make much out of little. Surely He knew how to multiply!
Read Matthew 14:13-21

Dec. 8 Cotton balls
These cotton balls would be helpful in a thunder storm, wouldn’t they? We could use them for ear plugs to muffle the loud noises that thunder makes. But we know someone who doesn’t need cotton. Jesus can control the weather.
Read Matthew 8:23-27

Dec. 9 Torn map
People needing to use the other parts of this map are in trouble! Don’t you get lost today!
Read John 14:1-6

Dec. 10 Travel soap bar
It’s soap! Do you like to wash your hands and face, behind your ears….? Washing turned out to be a happy time for a man who met Jesus.
Read John 9:1-7

Dec. 11 Hearts.
Wordlessly, they speak of love, don’t they? Jesus spoke some commands about love.
Read Matthew 22:37-40

Dec. 12 Cross
We use the cross as a symbol representing Jesus. Do you know why?
Read Phillippians 2:1-11

Dec. 13 Salt packet from restaurant
Ordinary salt. Yes, Jesus related salt to us and our behavior. He also gave us some advice.
Read Matthew 5:13 and Colossians 4:6 (Notice that he doesn’t recommend pepper!)

Dec. 14 Sand in a small vial
Don’t try to eat this! It’s sand. It reminds us that Jesus knows something about architecture and about buildings…and building lives.
See his instructions: Matthew 7:24-29

Dec. 15 Something flowery
Flowers are pretty, aren’t they? Jesus used flowers to teach us a reassuring lesson.
Read Matthew 6:28-34

Dec. 16 Raisins
Many children are given raisins instead of candy for a snack. That’s because they are a health-promoting and delicious fruit. Jesus told us how we can product good fruit.
Read John 15:1-5

Dec. 17 Package of seeds
Jesus told a story about seeds that a man planted. Then he explained it, revealing its deep meaning.
Read Matthew 13:3-8 and Matthew 13:18-23

Dec. 18 Music cassette or CD
Christmas is just about a week away! And here is an appropriate song. Sing it loudly!
Then read Psalm 100

Dec. 19 Polished stone
A hard stone! Can you change this stone into a piece of bread? Do you think Jesus could? Jesus was asked to do just that. Do you know how He handled it?
Read Matthew 4:1-4

Dec. 20 Aluminum foil
Try to smooth out this piece of aluminum foil and use it as a mirror. It’s hard to see your reflection plainly isn’t it? Many circumstances are hard to understand, but someday everything will be clear.
Read I Corinthians 13:12

Dec. 21 Angel sticker, ornament, etc
Angels have served as messengers for God to send news of coming events, past events, as our guardians and also for songs of praise.
Read Luke 2:13-14

Dec. 22 Dove ornament
We’ve learned that the cross represents Christ, but do you know what the dove stands for?
Read Matthew 3:13-17

Dec. 23 Wool fabric item
The threads that compose this fabric came from the wool of a sheep. Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd. So you know who his sheep are?
Read John 10:7-18

Dec. 24 Marble
A marble! Do you know what is sometimes called the “big Blue Marble”? The World. God made the world for us. What does God continue doing to the world? And who is the world?
Read John 3:16

Dec. 25 Baby Jesus in a cradle ornament.
Isn’t this baby cute? When he was born, he made a whole family happy. Jesus was born a baby too! He came to make the whole world happy!
Read Luke 2:1-20

Enjoy your celebration today! Continue to learn about Jesus and love him forever! For the more you learn about Jesus the better you know him, and the better you know him the more you can love, trust and depend on him!
HE IS THE ANSWER!

A MOST BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND JOYOUS NEW YEAR TO YOU & YOURS!

[Toni]

I only have one idea. You could put supplies to make Christmas ornaments in the stockings. You could also do popcorn and make a popcorn garland for the tree.

Happy Holidays!
Toni

[kris]

A small magnifying glass (plastic) can provide hours & hours of entertainment, indoors & outdoors.

[Amy]

My littuns LOVE baking so maybe a recipe for something to make that day. OR the pieces to a craft project to do.....

[Lauren]

ooooooooh, I just love the advent stocking idea. Stockings are a BIG deal in our family, and I've been looking for an advent calendar or idea for one for 3 years now (the age of my oldest) and this is by far the best. Thanks for posting-- now my mind/heart is all fluttery with inspiration! (Not the first time I've had this feeling from reading your posts.)

[aleciagrimm]

lots of gret suggestions here. Great job on the garland. Now I want to make one too, :-) !

[Gaylen]

My sister fills her's with things to do with the kids. Baking Cookies, delivering cookies, caroling, making cocoa and taking an evening walk to see the lights, ice skating, wrap presents, make wraping paper - whatever, but she fills them with "experiences" rather than things. I realize from reading your blog that you give your kids tons of experiences, maybe a combination of both? g