eagerly anticipating a worn-out spoon in my Christmas stocking!

I am really excited for this year's Christmas stockings. When D and I first got married, we agreed that stockings aren't just for kids, and so every person in our family has them and we all hang them up Christmas eve and find them laden with goodies (so heavy they are laying under the Christmas tree) the next morning.

It is a good thing my kids don't read my blog. Yet. Spoilers ahead! We have never told them there is a Santa Claus (i.e. we never lie to them, ever) but we have read stories that feature Santa and so they have made assumptions we have not corrected. But if they ever ask, like 4-year-old B did just last week, how Santa comes down the chimney when we have a fire going in the fireplace and the doors closed so tightly, we just say, "That's a really good question. What do you think?" G, turning 9 this weekend, has been asking such questions for years, but just this year really listened to my responses, and has figured out there is no living person called Santa Claus. But she is still eagerly awaiting the stockings and Christmas morning gift-giving (ok, the receiving). She is on her way to figuring out that Santa Claus is a symbol for the joy of giving (and receiving), and for spreading love through giving (and receiving) as a way of celebrating God's gift of Jesus to the world.

The kids don't get anything extravagant in their stockings: new undies, a new book, new toothbrushes or flossing tools, socks, slippers, hairthings, art supplies. Sometimes there is a small toy, but nothing plastic or cheap. Last year they all got different music makers: harmonica (a REAL one), mouth harp, kazoo, percussion sticks (for the baby boy!). And every year each child gets a yellow chocolate banana slug. (It's a Santa Cruz thing.) But the kids are so easily pleased, and rejoice over every little thing--it is really fun to share with them.

D and I fill each other's stockings. I make it easier on D by buying a few things for myself when I see them at a good price and saving them for my stocking. So this year, I know my stocking will at least have some awesome new SmartWool patterned socks (the best socks I have ever worn in my entire life) a Josh Groban Christmas CD, new dish-washing scrubbies, and the Christmas ornament pictured above that I just love for its symbolism. All these things I bought during really good sales, up to 75% off (one of the reasons I shop year round!). The night before Christmas, "Santa" will add his own surprises, like my favorite expensive tea and yummy dark chocolate treats.

Filling D's stocking is hard for me. Most of the things he wants I can't afford, or can't pick out without his help (new car parts, tools, etc.). So I have some basics that he gets in his stocking every year, and that I know he does enjoy: (no spoilers here! ; ) something dark chocolate, coffee beans, and a blue-label Chimay beer (at $7 a bottle, it's a special treat). But I never know what else to add, and confess that sometimes I am just trying to think of something to buy because I want to fill his stocking, not because I know he really wants it. I hate that, although I am careful enough in my shopping so that I think he does generally like the items I get him--but they are not necessarily anything he needed or really wanted. This kind of gift-giving is not at all in line with my ideals, which I have been sharing here recently.

This year we are faced with a very limited budget. As in not really any "extra" at all. So I am very thankful that because I shop year-round we are almost completely done with all our gift-giving. Except for stockings. The girls are pretty well covered--the few things we still need to buy they actually need, like panties and socks, so we will still get those, and of course we want to have the traditional chocolate banana slugs, which are not very expensive.

So it was really just D's stocking that I had been bummed about. What was I going to put into it that would be a surprise, really inexpensive, but--most importantly--meaningful?

And then divine inspiration hit. D and I decided that this year we are going to fill each other's stockings with things from around the house that represent something we love about the other person or are thankful for in the other person.

This idea represents everything I love about Christmas, and fits our budget! It is unique and memorable. It spreads love. It does not generate waste or add clutter. It is free.
And I think this idea will make filling each others stockings so much more fun--no more feeling like I need to buy something just to fill up the stocking, no more worrying what he will like. It may be an old sock, but it will be full of loving meaning and worth a chuckle to boot. I have a feeling this will be a new tradition, even when we have "plenty" of money for gifts.

I am eagerly anticipating Christmas morning and discovering what "Santa" has put in my stocking.

And THAT"s a good Christmas feeling.