We are in full Christmas mode over here. We had a great time making garlands for the children’s rooms last night. It was their advent activity and we all did them together. If you are looking for an unbelievably cute craft you have to check these out. Seriously darling and such a steal. They are the Creatology garland kits from Michael’s. I tried to find a link but no such luck. The kids were so proud to hang them in their rooms. I highly recommend them and for only about $5 it was an hour of good family fun. Today I am showing you a super quick DIY that was born from necessity. Hanging our stockings has always been an issue. We do not have a very large mantel and I have never wanted to buy stocking holders as most of them are extremely heavy and that scares me {those have been know to fall and it makes me crazy thinking about a little one under there}. I knew I needed something to tie in with our décor while still keeping our stockings in place. I had everything I needed except for four $1 section pails I scooped up from here. This is what I came up with: 
I am really excited with how they turned out. And they only cost me $4 total. The striped ribbon is from Hobby Lobby and is the same one I used for this project. 
DIRECTIONS: {1} Once you purchase your pails {2} you will want to fill them with a bag of sand. I chose to put my sand in a bag just in case they accidently topple over at any point {aint nobdy got time to clean up sand off of everything!}. {3} cut the existing ribbon off of the pails. {4} Lace your own ribbon through the holes and tie knots to keep them in place. {5} My ribbon is roughly 14” on each side. {6} Place your holder on the mantel and tie the ribbon through the stocking loop. Done! 
To hide the bag of sand, I just placed a bit of the shredded gift paper that you see everywhere. I had a ton leftover from Christmas last year. 
These could not have been easier and add a fun addition to our mantel. Price can’t be beat either. 
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I am planning to personalize my stockings, but you could create smaller bows and personalize each pail, too. I am excited to show you the rest of my mantel tomorrow for the holiday link party! This mantel is traditional and simple. Quite a difference from last year’s color bonanza! Have a great day! Sources: Stockings, Ribbon, Pails
Thank you so much, fab tutorial, ive been worrying about how to hang the stockings this year, new mantle but this idea is great, thanks xx
Oh my gosh! This is awesome! You are the queen of DIY!! Thanks for this fabulous idea!
What a great idea!! I already have some pails on hand. We have stockings for the first time ever and don't have any stocking hangers, so this is pretty much perfect. I will be doing this for sure! Thanks!
I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to do with our stockings this year. What a darling idea.
Really cute! When I looked at the first photo I thought that the pails were filled with popcorn. Love the ribbon that you are using.
Great idea! I have been debating about stocking holders for years. These would definitely do the trick! (I may or may not overanalyze sometimes.)
This is a great idea! We were stuck on how to hang our stockings and ended up just doing a small screw hook underneath the mantle! This is way cuter!
Oh gosh I love this idea! I needed a codon craft for stocking holders!
I'd love for you to come check out my blog and see what you think!
Xoxo Chelsea
http://Www.theprice4love.blogspot.com
Great idea!!! And they're super cute to boot. 🙂
these are very cute! i also have always been afraid of the very heavy metal stocking holders. this looks like a great in-between weight – holds stocking but won't kill anyone if it topples over! well done.
Super cute. I have the heavy stocking holders and when stockings are filled, they fall. Finally last year I used command strips to adhere them to the mantel and it worked like a charm. Some of your readers who are too lazy to diy new stocking holders or just want to use what they already have might find that tip useful. 🙂
These are so pretty!
Such a clever idea Courtney! Those stocking are darling with the ruffled cuff.
These are darling! Can't wait to see the whole shebang tomorrow!
Such a great idea! I love the red and white striped ribbon and your stockings are so cute too! The thought of those heavy hangers makes me nervous too.
I love this idea, I have super cute stocking holders, but the minute the stockings are filled, they can’t support them anymore. I have everything on hand I need for these, except the sand, but I think I have some left over pea gravel in the tool shed… Perhaps I’ll improvise!
What cute idea! We have mismatched holders right now and while they are cute it kind of bothers me that they are’t coordinated But most stocking holder sets only come in groupings of 4 and we need 5. I never thought of making my own. Piinned. .
These are the cutest stocking holders! Love that striped ribbon and the little buckets!
That is super cute!