Customized, hand-sewn stockings

One of my mom’s best friends made stockings for all three of us to match the stockings that she had made for me and my siblings in childhood. They’re totally over the top, made from felt and thousands of hand-stitched sequins, and they stick out from the fireplace like a bright neon sign that says STOCKINGS STOCKINGS STOCKINGS, but they remind me so much of those cold Memphis mornings when my mom would walk out into the living room before any of us and scream because Santa had left presents during the night.