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Older kids moving out -- What to do with their stockings


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This will be our first Christmas since our two oldest kids moved out. Our son (21) is a junior in College and is sharing a house with friends near our home. Our daughter (19) is in basic training (Navy). We have 9 kids total in our blended family. His 4, my 4, and 1 together. We all have matching stockings from Pottery Barn. My question is what should we do since those 2 don't live with us anymore. Should I give them their stockings or just keep them here and hang with the rest? Santa still comes to see any child (no matter the age) still living at home. Therefore, he would not fill the stockings for those not here. I don't want to hurt their feelings by not hanging them or having them hanging empty. Please share your tradition concerning this. I need suggestions please. Thanks in advance.
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This will be our first Christmas since our two oldest kids moved out. Our son (21) is a junior in College and is sharing a house with friends near our home. Our daughter (19) is in basic training (Navy). We have 9 kids total in our blended family. His 4, my 4, and 1 together. We all have matching stockings from Pottery Barn. My question is what should we do since those 2 don't live with us anymore. Should I give them their stockings or just keep them here and hang with the rest? Santa still comes to see any child (no matter the age) still living at home. Therefore, he would not fill the stockings for those not here. I don't want to hurt their feelings by not hanging them or having them hanging empty. Please share your tradition concerning this. I need suggestions please. Thanks in advance.

I think I would ask them if they want them, or you could just leave them with your christmas stuff and not put them up in case they ever come back home for christmas.

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I'd keep them and save them until they are really on their own (I.e. have their first real place and are setting up their first Christmas tree.)

 

You can always put them up at your home and put coal in their stocking for when they come home to visit this year....heh heh heh :g_good2ba:

 

For your daughter in basic training....will she be on leave for Christmas? If not, you may want to fill it and send it to her. Might help ease being away from family during the holidays.

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maybe fill them... then the younger siblings can help you mail packages to the 2 who are away... keep the stockings at home for next year.... neither college nor Basic is permanent.... once they set up their own home, as others have said, I'd offer them the stockings
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For your daughter in basic training....will she be on leave for Christmas? If not, you may want to fill it and send it to her. Might help ease being away from family during the holidays.

Any basic training I've ever been to/heard of will not allow things like this to be sent to recruits. Contraband, etc....so I wouldn't advise this.

BUT, if she's coming home after the holidays, you can always save it for her filled up, saying that Santa left her things b/c he was so proud of her for serving her country.

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This will be our first Christmas since our two oldest kids moved out. Our son (21) is a junior in College and is sharing a house with friends near our home. Our daughter (19) is in basic training (Navy). We have 9 kids total in our blended family. His 4, my 4, and 1 together. We all have matching stockings from Pottery Barn. My question is what should we do since those 2 don't live with us anymore. Should I give them their stockings or just keep them here and hang with the rest? Santa still comes to see any child (no matter the age) still living at home. Therefore, he would not fill the stockings for those not here. I don't want to hurt their feelings by not hanging them or having them hanging empty. Please share your tradition concerning this. I need suggestions please. Thanks in advance.

Wowo, I have tow in college and Santa still comes here and fills stockings,

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My Mom made all of our stockings, when I got engaged my Mom made new stockings similar to our original ones. She made a set for my now DH and I and we received them as a gift when we got married. My Mom also made a stocking for DH to keep at my parents home. My husband and I received them filled on Christmas morning. (My now DH spent the night at our home and he joined us for our traditional Christmas morning. He had so much fun! he had his own stocking and just as many presents as my brother and I. He was so excited! he hadn't had a stocking in years. My parents love and adore him and so do I!) :)

 

My parents have all of our original stockings and hang them up every year and we have our stockings that Mom made for us. Since we are in different states and my brother is in Germany, my Mom doesn't fill our stockings at home, but does send stocking stuffers to us and we stuff our stockings with gifts for each other and from Mom and Dad. (we also send stocking stuffers to Mom and Dad and to my brother)

 

Santa comes to all of us. On Christmas eve DH fills my stocking and I fill his and then we hide them until morning. Also on Christmas eve DH goes to bed and Santa (Me) places all of the gifts under the tree and we wake up Christmas morning and it is just like when we were kids. :D

 

 

 

How about keeping the stockings and hanging them up and for the children that will be home, filling their stocking and then later when they have permanently moved out and/or gotten married you can give them their own stockings.

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Thanks so much for all your ideas. I really would like to have them all hanging. With so many, it really has a dramatic effect. My daughter will not graduate from basic until after Christmas so she won't be home. Her enlistment is four 4 years, so it may be a while before she can actually be home for the holidays. My college son and his girlfriend will be here to open presents with us Christmas night. I have decided to get her a stocking too! I think I will start a tradition where Santa fills everyone's stockings whether or not they are home at Christmas. This will of course include any future significant others/grandchildren. Then, I can just mail the contents of the stocking to them along with their presents from us but keep the stocking here. Santa just won't be bringing any other gifts like he does for the younger ones still at home. I hope this will meet with everyone's approval. I'm sure if the kids had their way, Santa would still come and leave lots of gifts, but the reality is you have to grow up and start a life of your own and start your own traditions with your new family.
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My mom still has mine and all my siblings. She now has them for our spouses.

I do stockings for all my kids and their spouses, (yes I changed my mine about the gift cards) My DD6 gets a huge stocking and the rest will be regular size. I am limiting the amount I spend per stocking. One of my DS's was really disappointed that I was even thinking about changing the way things have been, that I didn't have the heart to change it. Some traditions are worth keeping.

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I'm from a blended family, and I've "recently" moved out on my own (okay, so it was 6 years ago, but it doesn't feel that way), and it's always nice to see my stocking at my mom's place (if I do make it there for xmas) - it satisfied a need to know that there's always a place for you at home. (She hasn't stuffed stockings for years, so there's nothing in it, but seeing it is nice). Ask them if they want to hold on to their stocking; if not, keep it up until they're married with children. :)
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Thanks so much for all your ideas. I really would like to have them all hanging. With so many, it really has a dramatic effect. My daughter will not graduate from basic until after Christmas so she won't be home. Her enlistment is four 4 years, so it may be a while before she can actually be home for the holidays. My college son and his girlfriend will be here to open presents with us Christmas night. I have decided to get her a stocking too! I think I will start a tradition where Santa fills everyone's stockings whether or not they are home at Christmas. This will of course include any future significant others/grandchildren. Then, I can just mail the contents of the stocking to them along with their presents from us but keep the stocking here. Santa just won't be bringing any other gifts like he does for the younger ones still at home. I hope this will meet with everyone's approval. I'm sure if the kids had their way, Santa would still come and leave lots of gifts, but the reality is you have to grow up and start a life of your own and start your own traditions with your new family.

I guess every one has their own traditions and that is wonderful, But Tradition is very high in my house, and my two older ones may not be living at home because they choose a higher education they are still apart of the family. Until they choose to live on their own and have families of their own then then tradition will remain the same.

 

Santa brings the same amount of gifts for them as he does their 10 year old brother and 12 year old sister. Because in this house santa isn't ready for them at 22 and 19 to be all grown up

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Ohhhhh! Traditions!

 

Here is my family tradition...when my brother and I were kids, mom & dad bought the santa gifts -- stuffed the stockings and piled wrapped presents under the tree.

 

Now I am an adult (and the only child now.) and **I** am the one stuffing the stockings and piling wrapped gifts under mom & dad's tree!

 

And let me tell you! .....THESE OLD PEOPLE ARE INCORIGABLE!!!

 

My mother insists on receiving her Christmas presents for her birthday (Nov. 27th) and her birthday presents for Christmas because she wants to "celebrate all month."

 

I caught my dad unwrapping his gifts 2 weeks before Christmas last year because "he had nothing to wear to his Senior Center Christmas party". (And he found his new Bugs Bunny sweater and was unhappy because my mother refused to let him wear that to such a dressy event!")

 

You just can't trust these old people! I told them that if they didn't start behaving themselves they weren't going to have ANY pretty packages under their tree until Santa brought them on Christmas morning!

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Ohhhhh! Traditions!

 

Here is my family tradition...when my brother and I were kids, mom & dad bought the santa gifts -- stuffed the stockings and piled wrapped presents under the tree.

 

Now I am an adult (and the only child now.) and **I** am the one stuffing the stockings and piling wrapped gifts under mom & dad's tree!

 

And let me tell you! .....THESE OLD PEOPLE ARE INCORIGABLE!!!

 

My mother insists on receiving her Christmas presents for her birthday (Nov. 27th) and her birthday presents for Christmas because she wants to "celebrate all month."

 

I caught my dad unwrapping his gifts 2 weeks before Christmas last year because "he had nothing to wear to his Senior Center Christmas party". (And he found his new Bugs Bunny sweater and was unhappy because my mother refused to let him wear that to such a dressy event!")

 

You just can't trust these old people! I told them that if they didn't start behaving themselves they weren't going to have ANY pretty packages under their tree until Santa brought them on Christmas morning!

oh I love it

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My Mom only fills the grandchild who are under high school age stockings but she still hangs all of our stocking each year. The only ones that have been removed are my Dad and brother who both passed away. New ones are added for new spouses and grandchildren as they join the family. It is quite dramatic to see all the stockings hanging on and around the mantle.
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IMO, if you aren't planning on filling the stockings, you should pass them along to the kids that aren't living at home. I think it may raise questions by the smaller children as to why some of the stockings aren't filled. Of course, it may raise questions about why the older 2 don't have stockings hanging too... In my case, my mom still fills my stocking at her house (the same one I had as a kid). When I got married, she added a stocking for my DH, and when we had our sons, she added stockings for them as well. She fills them all, every year. DH, our sons, and myself all have stockings at our house too, and they get filled by me/DH. My mom just tells our boys that Santa stopped at her house for us too :)
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I am filling my sons stocking and sending it to him.. well my moms so she can give it to him christmas morning. My son(19) moved up to NY to help my dad do his landscaping business. I will have them bring it back for me to fill next year. The kids help me each pick out something special to put in it.
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im 32yo and my parents STILL have stocking for me and my dh as well as my kids... i guess im just very lucky.. I say keep them and fill them for them, btw I haven't lived at home since I was 19

Me too! I'm 33 and they still have the stocking we made when we were little! My grandma still has the stocking boots she fills for us....And they've added stockings for my 3 kids and hubby!

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Ohhhhh! Traditions!

 

Here is my family tradition...when my brother and I were kids, mom & dad bought the santa gifts -- stuffed the stockings and piled wrapped presents under the tree.

 

Now I am an adult (and the only child now.) and **I** am the one stuffing the stockings and piling wrapped gifts under mom & dad's tree!

 

And let me tell you! .....THESE OLD PEOPLE ARE INCORIGABLE!!!

 

My mother insists on receiving her Christmas presents for her birthday (Nov. 27th) and her birthday presents for Christmas because she wants to "celebrate all month."

 

I caught my dad unwrapping his gifts 2 weeks before Christmas last year because "he had nothing to wear to his Senior Center Christmas party". (And he found his new Bugs Bunny sweater and was unhappy because my mother refused to let him wear that to such a dressy event!")

 

You just can't trust these old people! I told them that if they didn't start behaving themselves they weren't going to have ANY pretty packages under their tree until Santa brought them on Christmas morning!

Bless their little pea-pickin' hearts!

I'd love to do for such appreciative folks-it must be a blast at their house on Christmas morning! :P

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Hansie wrote:

 

Bless their little pea-pickin' hearts!

I'd love to do for such appreciative folks-it must be a blast at their house on Christmas morning!

 

Awww thank you! We do enjoy ourselves. But actually it will be about 1 pm Christmas Eve afternoon. (I have to work at the hospital Christmas Eve evening and all day Christmas) And trust me, my 79 year old parents are not objecting to opening their gifts before the rest of you all!!

 

We put up their all their stockings (about 12 pairs) and their Christmas tree yesterday. (Keep in mind, Mom already opened her 12 coffees of Christmas and Dad his Christmas Cocoas because they "knew what was in the package") Dad was snooping through the packages....er...putting packages under the tree and found mom's chocolates. "Are these your mom's chocolates??"...."yes"....."Since I know what this package is, can I open it and have some??". :eyepoppin I know the stinker is looking for his white chocolate peanut-butter covered popcorn -- BUT HE AIN'T GONNA FIND IT BECAUSE I DISGUISED IT. :cool:

 

Oh, and get this!! Thanks to all the news reports, Mom just discovered Zhu zhu pets. Guess who wants a Zhu zhu pet now.

 

But we are having fun. ;)

 

May you all be blessed with a fun and joyful holiday!

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Hansie wrote:

 

Bless their little pea-pickin' hearts!

I'd love to do for such appreciative folks-it must be a blast at their house on Christmas morning!

 

Awww thank you! We do enjoy ourselves. But actually it will be about 1 pm Christmas Eve afternoon. (I have to work at the hospital Christmas Eve evening and all day Christmas) And trust me, my 79 year old parents are not objecting to opening their gifts before the rest of you all!!

 

We put up their all their stockings (about 12 pairs) and their Christmas tree yesterday. (Keep in mind, Mom already opened her 12 coffees of Christmas and Dad his Christmas Cocoas because they "knew what was in the package") Dad was snooping through the packages....er...putting packages under the tree and found mom's chocolates. "Are these your mom's chocolates??"...."yes"....."Since I know what this package is, can I open it and have some??". :eyepoppin I know the stinker is looking for his white chocolate peanut-butter covered popcorn -- BUT HE AIN'T GONNA FIND IT BECAUSE I DISGUISED IT. :cool:

 

Oh, and get this!! Thanks to all the news reports, Mom just discovered Zhu zhu pets. Guess who wants a Zhu zhu pet now.

But we are having fun. ;)

 

May you all be blessed with a fun and joyful holiday!

That made me LOL! Your parents sound like a hoot! Enjoy every minute of it. I live an ocean away from my parents.

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