Christmas Stocking Hanger

When my first husband died, he left me with 3 small children (ages 3, 6, & 7). That first Christmas, funds were limited, and so I had a family council with my children. I told them that we had enough money to give each other gifts or to fill our Christmas stockings, but not both. We decided to exchange Christmas stockings. We would rotate around each member of the family, filling each other’s stocks. This has become the best part of Christmas. At one point, I bought a stocking hanger with 5 hooks and we used it every year. Then, everyone grew up and left home, and we stopped using it. Until last Christmas, when we had family living with us, while my son was in Afghanistan. So I got out the hanger and every one of my kids mentioned how much they loved that stocking hanger. So for Christmas this year my hubby and I made stocking hangers for each of our children’s families. We made 7 hangers with the number of hooks ranging from 4 to 8. This is how we made them.

Supplies:
Scrap lumber (we used what we had in the “Man Cave” my hubby’s work shop)
Red paint (got a 8 oz sample from a home supply store for $3)
White paint (got a 8 oz sample from a home supply store for $3)
Green paint (got a 8 oz sample from a home supply store for $3)
Craft wire (18 gauge)
Sandpaper (18 grit)
Vinyl template of words (made with my Cricut, learn how I did it here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Personalized-Mugs/)
Wood snowflakes (bought for $1 at a craft store)
Glitter
Wood glue

Equipment:
Pencil
Band saw
Sander
Drill and drill bit
Paint brush
Transfer tape
Clamps
Pliers

My hubby took the original with him into the “man cave”

and he traced hook shapes out onto pieces of wood and used his ban saw to cut them all out.

He also cut out pieces of wood that measured 3 inches (7.5cm) x 24 inches (60cm, some were as long as 36 inches) x ½ inch (1.25 cm) to attach the hooks to. He sanded them smooth, then brought them into me.

I painted the wood. I painted the hooks white then let them dry

Then I free hand painted red stripes to make the hooks look like candy canes. I didn’t paint the place on the candy cane that would be glued to the back of the face board.

On the face board, I painted white on the front and sides, and once dry, painted the front surface with green.

Once it had dried over night, I place the template on the green and then used 2 coats of white to paint the message onto the board.

I removed the template and let the message dry.

Once everything was dry, wood glue was used to glue the hooks to the back of the face board, spacing them evenly. Using clamps to hold each hook in place, I let the glue dry for 24 hours.

Next we drilled small holes into the back of two of the hooks and strung craft wire though the holes and up over the edge of the face board. Pliers were used to twist the end of the wire so that it would not come out.

Last, I glued on the snowflake we got at our local craft store. I had painted them white and sprinkled white glitter onto the paint while it was still wet. It took 24 hours to let it dry. Done!

This year we have chosen to have the kids open their presents just after Thanksgiving so that they would be able to use them this Christmas season. We hope they like them. Enjoy!