Stocking Night
Coal Catchers’ Night
Stockings Are Hung by the Mantel, Shoes Tucked by the Bed
About Stocking Night
Stocking Night is a celebration of Christmas stockings and the delightful surprises they hold. Stockings are a joyful lagniappe, an unexpected extra to the already abundant celebration of Christmas. Each family member (and pet!) gets a stocking tailored to their personality, from simple and homemade to elaborate and luxurious. The night centers on the tradition of hanging stockings by the chimney or any Santa-friendly spot, accompanied by singing a carol like “Up on the Housetop.” For extra cheer, candy canes are hung around the house and line the stockings themselves. Filled with candy, trinkets, fruit, or coal, stockings are the flourish that crowns the holiday bounty. And candy canes? They’re the flourish beyond the flourish. Sweet, superfluous, teeth-destroying arcs of peppermint joy.
Ways to observe
(A) Low effort
Hang stockings for everyone in the household, including pets. No chimney? No problem! Stockings can be hung on doorknobs, walls, or even bedposts.
(B) Recommended
Combine the traditions of hanging stockings and decorating with candy canes. As stockings are hung, let each person place a candy cane in someone else’s stocking to kick off the spirit of giving.
(C) High effort
Host a Stocking Craft Night. Provide felt, sequins, and other crafting materials so guests can create their own personalized stockings. End the evening with a caroling session featuring ‘Up on the Housetop’ and other bright, cheerful carols.
Inspiration
Stockings! As if Christmas weren’t already an absurdly bounteous affair with presents, feasting, and caroling, we also hang up a giant sock just to make room for extra gifts. It could be a symbol of excess, but it isn’t. It’s too charming and earnest. It’s a sock, a giant fur-trimmed (if you’re fancy) or hand-knitted (if you’re crafty) sock, proudly mounted on the mantel. And it’s full of tiny, thoughtful bonus gifts: candy, nail clippers, toy dinosaurs, fancy soap, maybe an orange no one asked for but everyone expects. The story goes that Saint Nicholas once tossed gold coins into the stockings of three poor sisters who had hung them by the fire to dry. Over the centuries, that tale evolved into our modern stocking ritual.
In Germany, children leave out boots on December 6th for Nikolaus. In the Netherlands, it’s shoes by the hearth for Sinterklaas. The vessels change, but the joy is the same. Who can sleep knowing that on Christmas, you’ll wake up to find something unexpected, maybe personal, alongside a host of tiny treats tucked into a humble sock, all of it capped off with a candy cane and a cheeky note from Santa.
Adornments
Watch
Klaus (2019)
A spoiled young postman is stationed in a dreary northern town and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a reclusive toymaker. Their secret plan to deliver toys to children rekindles joy in a feuding community and accidentally creates new Christmas traditions.
Listen
Petit Papa Noël by Tino Rossi
A gentle lullaby from a child to Father Christmas. Debuted by singer Tino Rossi in a postwar film, it’s about a child’s earnest prayer for Santa’s safe arrival with toys.
Nuttin’ for Christmas by Art Mooney and Barry Gordon
Sung from the viewpoint of a mischief-making boy who catalogs his naughty deeds, it comically laments he’ll get “nothin’ for Christmas” but a lump of coal.
Up on the Housetop by Benjamin Hanby
A lively tune about Santa Claus landing on the rooftop and sliding down the chimney with toys. Surprisingly old, as secular Christmas songs go, written in 1864.
Here Comes Santa Claus by Gene Autry
Written and first performed by cowboy crooner Gene Autry after he was inspired by a Christmas parade chant. A perennial favorite in my household.
Read
Santa Claus: A Biography by Gerry Bowler
Historian Gerry Bowler traces the evolution of Santa Claus from his origins in Saint Nicholas legends to the jolly gift-bringer known worldwide. Bowler explores how diverse cultures shaped Santa, from the saint who slipped gold into poor sisters’ stockings to the influence of poets, illustrators, and marketers.
The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket
A living lump of coal (who dreams of being an artist) finds himself given as a “present” to a boy on the naughty list. Waiting in the spoiled child’s Christmas stocking, the little coal is despondent until an unexpected turn of fate leads to a miracle.