Pantyhose stockings…
When I was a little girl, we would nearly always spend Christmas Day with my Mom’s parents who lived at the beach. My Grandpa was as big of a kid as I was and one of his favorite things to do for our family was to give us pantyhose stockings in place of Christmas stockings. You see, Grandpa was a professional painter and he strained his paint with pantyhose. So there was always an abundance of them around.
Growing up I seriously assumed other families did this, but I am 35 now and have yet to meet another family who does crazy the same way we did. I really wish I had a picture to share with you because there was something extremely comical and jaw-dropping about seeing pantyhose loaded up with gifts.
To start, there was always an orange at the toes. After that was a knot. Then a present. Then another knot. Then a bunch of almonds or walnuts…knot…present…knot…present…knot…apple…repeat ad-nauseum.
My favorite gifts to open were cassette tapes. I got at least one Carpenters tape a year, which made me a very happy camper.
My Grandpa has been gone for 24 years now. I still miss him, especially at Christmas. My Grandma passed away a few years back and with her, the pantyhose tradition stopped. But I don’t think it died. Let’s just call it a coma. As I write this, I realize that the tradition needs to be revived for my kiddos and for my parents, who also held the tradition dear as I was growing up.
As life progresses and changes, I realize that at times, we need to take a break from traditions to make them special again and to help us truly appreciate them when they’re re-introduced. Is it weird I’m already looking forward to Christmas 2017?
Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine!
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