Alyse French | Fine Art Portrait Photographer | Houston, TX »

1 For Me // 1 For You | December 2011

Merry Half-Christmas, Internet! Today is the day Dylan and I celebrate Christmas as our own mini-family. A recap thus far includes stockings opened in bed, huevos rancheros for breakfast, and then opening up my forever-coveted Kelly Moore bag and food processor! I may just have to chop a whole onion in that thing (the processor, not the bag) today JUST because I can. But we didn’t want to leave you out of the gift-giving. So when I was perusing Urban Outfitters for Dylan’s stocking, I came across some goodies I AND you HAD/HAVE to have. First, let’s review the rules of how 1 For Me // 1 For You works, shall we?

  • What is it? It’s pretty simple! If I have one of something that I find fashionable, functional, or just plain fun, I send the winner a duplicate.
  • Who can enter? Friends, past/present clients, random readers! Basically anybody. (Please see the not-so-fine print below for full rules and restrictions.)
  • How long do I have to enter? You’ll have until next Saturday, December 17th at midnight CST to enter. The winner will be chosen at random using the random number generator at Random.org and announced the next morning, Sunday, December 18th.
  • Sweet! Now how do I enter? You must comment (and answer the specific question asked at the end of this post) to enter. It’s suuuper easy!! Comments left via Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere will not be taken into consideration.
  • But why? Because it’s Christmas!! And stockings are just about the best part of the entire morning, duh. ;)
First up is this lovely 20-count set of blank-on-the-inside Polaroid Notes. SO dreamy. And the envelopes are just as classy.
AND going along with our photo theme, I fell in the love the second I laid eyes on these Snap Shot Magnetic Photo Frames. My fridge is about to look GOOD.
Question: What’s your stocking opening tradition? My fam’s always opened them last, but Dylan’s has always opened them first. Those Morrissey’s… ;)

Not-so-fine print: Only one entry allowed per person. All contestants must live within the continental United States and must be able to provide a valid mailing address upon winning. I am not responsible for items that are lost, stolen or damaged during shipment. The winner will have 24 hours to contact me and redeem the item or a new winner will be chosen.

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  • December 11, 2011 - 3:42 PM

    Amanda M - our family usually opens them last, we all usually don’t have our stocking at the same time cause people open presents at different speeds:) haha

  • December 11, 2011 - 4:03 PM

    Breanna Klontz - We would always have to first wake up the parents.. then run downstairs to make sure “Santa” came… then we would make sure the millk and cookies were gone.. then we finally went and
    opened stocking!! Stockings first cause presents took FOREVER to open them!!! :)

  • December 11, 2011 - 4:38 PM

    Kathy - My family’s tradition growing up was not to have stockings. Don’t know why… come to think of it, I should ask my parents about this.

  • December 11, 2011 - 4:38 PM

    Heather - Stocking’s FIRST! It’s the one thing you’re allowed to open before waking up Mom and Dad! <3 Happy Holidays

  • December 11, 2011 - 5:45 PM

    Imani F - My family opens them last as well! It’s like the icing on the cake to your presents!

  • December 11, 2011 - 6:24 PM

    Erin - usually we do stockings first, so they can open something early, then a nice breakfast. We also have been doing our small family celebration a day or two early so we have some time together before all the traveling and big families :)

  • December 11, 2011 - 6:26 PM

    Patty - We do not have a stocking tradition but it looks like we are going to start one this year. I am excited. I will make sure we open stockings first. :)

  • December 11, 2011 - 7:01 PM

    Katie L. - Stockings last! …and santa always seems to go over the top with the goodies inside!

  • December 11, 2011 - 8:26 PM

    Elaine Spaeth - We always opened our stockings first. My brother and I would wake up early and we were allowed to go investigate our stockings first thing, usually when my parents were still asleep. Then we would entertain ourselves/each other with our stocking loot until my mom finished making “Christmas breakfast” when we would eat and then open the rest of the presents. =)

  • December 11, 2011 - 8:33 PM

    Karen - In my family, we have to wait until everyone wakes up. Because I am one of eight, that can take a while! We always get a tangerine in the toe of our stocking as well :)

  • December 11, 2011 - 8:34 PM

    Catherine - Our family hangs stockings with our names in glitter, but we don’t actually stuff them! We use them just for the decor. However, both of our pets have mini-stockings that we put little treats in for Christmas!

  • December 11, 2011 - 8:54 PM

    April Islip - While Mom and Dad were fixing their coffee, my younger sister always took the stockings down and put them at everyone’s seat at the table. Then we all open our stockings while Dad cooks breakfast. Even though I am married and out on our own we still have to be at Mom’s bright and early for breakfast and to open our stockings!

  • December 11, 2011 - 9:06 PM

    Lindsay Kukla - We always open the stockings first, anxious to get to the other room with the big gifts. But we take a mandatory breakfast break although I want to run into the other room…

  • December 11, 2011 - 11:13 PM

    Molly W - Stockings first. Orange in the toe, a must.

  • December 11, 2011 - 11:18 PM

    Lauren Jolly - My family always opened them first. Like everyone HAS to be done opening everything from their stockings before anyone can start opening real presents! I love it that way! Also, what type of Kelly Moore bag did you get? I’m getting a Posey for Christmas and I CANNOT Wait!!

  • December 12, 2011 - 12:16 AM

    Ari G - We open them first! My brothers always woke me up at the crack of dawn and we would go through our stockings and wait for our parents to wake up so we could opent he rest of the presents.

  • December 12, 2011 - 8:10 AM

    Brittany Nissley - We always open our stockings on Christmas Eve and then our gifts under the tree Christmas Morning. I love doing it like this.

  • December 12, 2011 - 10:14 AM

    Susan Green - We always open our Christmas presents on Christmas eve – my dad frequently had to work on Christmas day, so we celebrated on Christmas eve. He is retired now, but we just can’t wait to open presents, so our Christmas eve tradition persists. Christmas morning is for gifts from Santa and our stockings!

  • December 12, 2011 - 10:21 AM

    Heather - First off – YAYYYY for you….you got a Kelly Moore bag! {so jealous}! As for stockings, it’s kinda funny actually. My mom always had our pretty stockings with our name engraved on them hanging on the fireplace, but now I look back and realized she never actually USED them! I guess they were just for decoration b/c she always had our “stocking stuffer gifts” in little Christmas gift bags sitting on the fireplace. HA!!!

  • December 12, 2011 - 10:43 AM

    Debby Morales - Our stockings were the only things we were allowed to open before everyone woke up in the morning…it was my parents and grandparents way of pacifying us while they slept in;)

  • December 12, 2011 - 3:27 PM

    Jen - Beautiful Polaroid gifts! We always open our stockings first and let the suspense mount for the other gifts…

  • December 12, 2011 - 3:30 PM

    Dana S - We always open ours first on Christmas morning!!! We love opening lots of little gifts before the big ones :)

  • December 12, 2011 - 8:24 PM

    stephanie rita - We always save the stockings for after all the other presents. Sometimes even a few days later… It’s like keeping Christmas going for a few extra days! =) Or just because we forget about them in the excitement of the other things. One things we ALWAYS get in our stockings: an orange, stuffed down in the toe. I don’t know why, but those oranges are always there! ~s

  • December 12, 2011 - 9:11 PM

    Carine - Always on Christmas Eve before bed. And being all girls, it is always filled with nailpolish, new chapstick and hair ties! lol.

  • December 13, 2011 - 3:32 AM

    Alison - Always open first! Then a painstakingly long breakfast and THEN presents : )

  • December 13, 2011 - 9:00 AM

    kate d - stockings are always first! you can open those up as soon as you wake up.. but we have to wait for all seven of us to be awake and settled in the family room to open presents!

  • December 13, 2011 - 12:22 PM

    Jessamyn - We didn’t get to have stockings growing up, so when we started dating my sweet husband bought me an awesome stocking for our first Christmas and filled it with many lovely things. We’re still trying to figure out the order of how things should go, but I’m liking the “stocking -then breakfast – then presents” idea!

  • December 13, 2011 - 12:25 PM

    Kathleen Clipper - We are an “open our stockings on Christmas Eve” kind of couple. It gives a little sneak peek of Christmas morning :-)

  • December 13, 2011 - 12:28 PM

    Stephanie Bonner - My family has always opened them last. We also take turns one gift at a time :)

  • December 13, 2011 - 12:35 PM

    Hayley Hughes - My family always opens stocking stuffers first! When I was much younger, my brothers would wake up early (we’re talking 5am) and bring their stockings into my room. They woke me up and we dumped our goodies on the floor to see what each other got! Without fail, the toe of our stockings were filled with either an orange or an apple from Mom who was attempting to keep us somewhat healthy. =)

  • December 13, 2011 - 12:38 PM

    Rebecca - We open our stockings on Christmas eve, and the rest of the presents on Christmas day. Simple as that. :)

  • December 13, 2011 - 12:41 PM

    Jeanie - We always opened them first, because it was the only thing we could open without Mom and Dad, and we got to eat the candy! I’m definitely going to continue this tradition with my family!

  • December 13, 2011 - 1:27 PM

    Katie - Stockings are always first in my family. My brother and I still open our respective Winnie the Pooh and Dalmatian stockings every year, despite us both being in college…my mom insists.

  • December 13, 2011 - 3:40 PM

    elizabeth - Oh my goodness…what a LOVELY giveaway! :)

    We do our stockings on Christmas morning! :) Right after eating cinnamon rolls. yum! such a cozy time!

  • December 14, 2011 - 12:03 PM

    Allison B. - My family always does the stockings last, its like a little extra icing after a fabulous cake!

  • December 15, 2011 - 3:52 AM

    Amber Halliburton - Well, my family opens there stockings first thing! We also always open ONE present on Christmas eve. :)

    Amazing giveaway!

  • December 15, 2011 - 9:32 AM

    tina - Cuute gift idea! Our family normally doesn’t do stocking stuffers; the stockings are just to dress up the mantel :) We do open one gift each on Christmas eve as a teaser and then the rest Christmas morning. I just love having family around for the holidays!!

  • December 15, 2011 - 4:17 PM

    Heather M - Our stockings are always some handbag my mother has bought us. She fills it with candy, bath stuff, and of course underwear. Our stockings were always opened first and have always been my favorite. It always amazed me how mom found the coolest little knick knacks to stuff them with. We always open PJs on Christmas Eve so everyone in the house is wearing somewhat matching pajamas on Christmas morning.

  • December 15, 2011 - 8:12 PM

    Mischelle - We have done both. It generally consists of some ramdon, some times wierd, gift and candy. Maybe some underwear, hehehe.

  • December 16, 2011 - 2:39 AM

    Hannah J - My family always opened up the stockings last too!

  • December 16, 2011 - 11:24 AM

    Sara Ciccone - For the past three years with our puppy, my family has opened stockings first because she steps on all our presents to get to her treat-filled stocking!

  • December 16, 2011 - 1:20 PM

    kelly pape - for as long as i can remember my sisters and i have always gotten the same gifts inside our stockings, but the catch is that my dad has always individually wrapped each of them. so one of us will grab one and describe what it feels like and we all try to pick the gift that looks wrapped the same and open it at the same time(:

  • December 16, 2011 - 4:19 PM

    jules p - Our tradition is to look into the stockings on Christmas Day…after checking out what Santa brought us. Lucky for me, my hubby’s fam did not have a set tradition on this. :)