Christmas stockings are a staple around the holidays. Whether you plan to fill them with fun treats or just use them as decoration, I’ve got a way that you can display your stockings without ruining your mantel!

When I was little, my mom used to hang our stockings on the mantel with a thumb tack. By the time the mantel fell down in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, it was riddled with holes! (By the way, I don’t think the tiny holes from years of Christmas stockings assisted in the destruction of the mantel…the earthquake did the damage.) But if she still had that mantel, it would look a bit worn down from all the years of love.

So can we have the love without the holes! Yes! And I’m going to show you how with a DIY Stocking Holder Box. Not only does this protect your mantel from holes, it also adds to the décor of the holidays. You can decorate the outside of this box any way you would like, and can fill the inside of the box with festive holiday cheer.

You Will Need:

• Craft boxes or box trays (you can get any size that would fit your mantel perfectly. I am using boxes that are 9” deep by 12” wide and 4” tall)
• Ribbon
• Clothes pins (I’m using the large, chalk colored clothes pins. Note: You can also use hooks to hang your stockings.)
• Glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Chalk hanging tags
• Chalk (or chalk pens)
• Pine cones (or any décor you’d like in the box)
• Paint (acrylic or spray paint)
• Glitter
• Balloon weights
• Stockings

How to:

1. Paint the boxes the color you would like them to be. You can use a dry-brush technique to keep some of the wood color showing through, or you can spray paint them for an all-over even look. I am dry-brushing the box and adding glitter for some holiday cheer.
2. Using hot glue, attach the clothes pins to the box where you would like the stockings to hang (the spacing will depend on how many stockings you plan to hang).
3. Add decorative ribbon to the clothes pins by using hot glue
4. Attach the chalk board tags to the middle of the ribbon using ribbon and hot glue.
5. Fill your box with balloon weights (at least two per box).
6. Fill your box with holiday décor. I am using pine cones – both silver and brown scented.
7. Attach your stockings to the clothes pins.
8. Set out on your mantel. Voila! No holes!

 Notes: This is also great for people who do not have a mantel…you can hang these boxes off of a table or a countertop.

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XOXO,

Paige