One of our favorite Christmas traditions (or one of mine anyway) is the ritual around the stockings. Growing up, my little brother had "real elf pants" that my Daddy gave him when we became a family. They were the coolest thing - it wasn't at all hard to imagine a real, live elf wearing them. I was always a tad jealous because of course pants have two legs, which meant Rich would get more in his stocking than I would in mine. Or so I reasoned in my child's mind. Petty jealousy aside, the thrill of the stockings on Christmas morning was definately a high point of the whole celebration for me. We'd usually get an orange, or if we were really lucky we'd get a mandarin or a tangerine. And Santa always knew the secret wish of my heart.




Our kids are especially gifted because their stockings are handmade with lots of love knitted in by my dear friend Sara (an honorary Grandma for the kids). They are works of art as well as gifts of love. I've included some pictures of them here, as well as a few pictures of our kids happily unpacking their stockings. It seems that over the years, Santa has not lost his knack. Phew!