all hung by the chimney with care

There has been a traumatic shift for some people in my family this Christmas. Ever since anyone can remember, we've used the stockings our Grandma Mayron handmade for us each of us. Felt, sequins, wobbly eyes for the Santa stiched in the middle, our names embroidered on the rim... these were elaborate stockings. But after years of holding heavy candy canes, pencils with our names printed on them, and the occasional instamatic camera, our fair stockings were not faring so well. Many were worn clear through in some places. So, this year they've all been relegated to purely decorative status and thicker, younger, and certainly more generic stockings have been brought in to do the heavy lifting. A new method by which to hang the stockings has also be employed--a sort of weighted hook that sits on the mantle. Our weighted hooks each have a place for a picture and so yesterday I set about making the presentation a bit more personalized. Below are the new stockings and the pictures that each one now hangs from--oldest to youngest. I hope Grandma Mayron will approve.