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 By the 1880s Santa was asked to accommodate another switch back to the Christmas Stockings. An editorial in The New York Times in December of 1883 noted a definite decrease in the demand for "The German Christmas Tree a rootless and lifeless corpse." The writer, tongue-in-cheek, speculated that stockings had fallen into disfavor because:
The New England stocking, though admirably suited for holding presents like paper cutters or knitting needles, did not have sufficient room for the ordinary Christmas presents for even an economical home.
On the other hand the tonnage of the Western stocking—especially that of the Chicago type-was so great that it could not be filled except at a cost which few fathers of families could afford.
What was needed, the Times continued, was the newly invented Smith Christmas Stocking, which looked like ordinary hose, but was made of elastic and thus "suited to the circumstances of every family. The inventor has also provided it with a watertight metallic compartment in the region of the toes for the reception of molasses candy," the soft, sticky substance responsible for ruining many perishable gifts.
Bigger and better Christmas stockings have been a favorite theme of Christmas chroniclers. Frank J. Bonnelle's poem "Greedy Jim" tells the story of a boy who planned to increase his share of toys by hanging a long rubber stocking "That would reach from his head to the floor / And contain quite as much as a tub / Or, if stretched enough, possibly more." Santa, surprised at the size of the stocking, "laughed till giant tears wet his eyes." In the morning the Christmas stockings were so full that to reach it Jim had to climb on a chair, but alas he was punished for being so greedy, for the stocking held nothing but air.
Toward the end of the 19th century, bright red, gaily decorated, specially designed Christmas decorating stockings came on the market, along with the first prefilled Christmas Stocking Stuffers, ranging in size from 8 inches (10 cents) to 30 inches ($3.00). B. Shackman & Co. advertised that:
These surprises, so appreciated by the little ones, are made in transparent nets of various colors, through which the contents can be easily seen. They contain Jewels, Curios, Picture Books, Christmas decorating crafts, Fans, Umbrellas, Dolls, Humming Tops, Cornets, Prizes, Toys, Elegant Christmas Crackers, etc. These are made separately for boys and girls.
But, of course, it is neither the size nor the quality of the stocking that counts. Jan Struther, in her story of Mrs. Miniver, written in 1939, captures the timeless and universal appeal of the tradition. The scene is set at 6:00 A.M. on December 25th. The three Miniver children have claimed their Christmas stockings and straggled into their mother's room to empty the contents on her bed:
Waiting downstairs covered with a Christmas decorating red and white dust sheet were a banquet of real Unique Christmas Gifts. The stocking toys had a special and exciting quality of their own. Perhaps it was the powerful charm of the mini toys; perhaps it was the sense of limitation within a strict form, which gives to both the filler and the emptier of a Christmas stocking or the atmosphere, in which they were opened— the chill, the black window panes, the unfamiliar hour; perhaps it was.
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