A stocking looks like a simple purchase until you remember it will hang, by name, for thirty years. Four decisions do the work.

Sew the name, don’t print it

Embroidery is thread in the cloth and survives decades of boxing and handling; printed names are the corner cut that shows first.

Save printing for what it is brilliant at: photos and edge-to-edge designs.

Buy the set as a specification

Your family will grow; your stockings should be able to.

Order from a maker who holds body, cuff, thread and name style on file, so year-four additions match year-one originals.

Respect the weight

A filled stocking is two to four pounds on one loop for a month.

Check the loop is bar-tacked, the seams load-sewn — and hang it from a holder rated for a FULL stocking.

Treat December as a deadline

Late stockings are refunds, not gifts.

Get your order-by date in writing, and distrust any maker who takes every date cheerfully.

Then choose the pretty things

Velvet or knit, plush or ribbed cuff, cream or gold thread — the joyful decisions come last because they are the ones you cannot get wrong.