Hang Up the Baby’s Stocking

Summary


"Hang Up the Baby's Stocking" is a charming Christmas poem about a child determined to make sure Santa doesn't overlook the newest member of the family. The baby is experiencing her very first Christmas, and her older sibling hatches an ingenious plan: borrowing grandma's longest stocking so Santa won't miss it. The poem captures the warmth of family excitement, the innocence of a newborn's wide blue eyes, and the sweet logic of a child who refuses to let the baby's tiny sock go unfilled.

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Hang up the baby’s stocking:
Be sure you don’t forget;
The dear little dimpled darling!
She ne’er saw Christmas yet;
But I’ve told her all about it,
And she opened her big blue eyes,
And I’m sure she understood it—
She looked so funny and wise.

Dear! what a tiny stocking!
It doesn’t take much to hold
Such little pink toes as baby’s
Away from the frost and cold.
But then for the baby’s Christmas
It will never do at all;
Why, Santa wouldn’t be looking
For anything half so small.

I know what will do for the baby,
I’ve thought of the very best plan:
I’ll borrow a stocking of grandma,
The longest that ever I can;
And you’ll hang it by mine, dear mother,
Right here in the corner, so!
And write a letter to Santa,
And fasten it on to the toe.

A girl hangs a giant stocking beside a tiny baby's stocking over a glowing fireplace, scene from "Hang Up the Baby's Stocking."

Write, “This is the baby’s stocking
That hangs in the corner here;
You never have seen her, Santa,
For she only came this year;
But she’s just the blessedest baby!
And now, before you go,
Just cram her stocking with goodies,
From the top clean down to the toe.”

Credits

Emily Huntington Miller was a 19th-century American poet and author known for her sentimental verse and writing for religious and family publications. This particular poem reflects her gift for capturing domestic warmth and childhood wonder, making it a beloved piece of Victorian-era Christmas verse.