What do we see when we reveal what’s behind door 13 of the Meery Christmas Advent Calendar? Stockings!

The Christmas Stocking is usually an over-sized red sock, dangled over a fireplace so that Santa can fill it (give me strength), and be on his merry way. Growing up, we didn’t have a fireplace, so my parents had sacks for my brother and I, and my wife and I have a sack for my daughter.

The stocking idea is a pleasant-enough notion, but I’d wager it’s more a feature of older houses, where fireplaces once burned. Modern homes don’t usually have a chimney, so naturally there’s no fireplace! Thus, the quaint little stocking isn’t seen in moat modern UK homes. Well, it’s not seen in my home, at least. Other forms of stocking would also be much more welcome!