DIY Stocking Holder

No fireplace mantel? No problem. One of the wish list items for my new house was a fireplace. I like to seasonally decorate the mantel, use it as a candle ledge, and feel the warmth of a roaring fire on a raining day. But most of all, I love to hang the Christmas stockings on it.

My new living room is small and it doesn’t have a fireplace. Where in the heck am I suppose to hang the Christmas stockings? I like to hang stockings for each one of my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. Plus, the three kitties share a stocking. So that is 11 stockings!

My solution was a temporary stocking holder. It is basically a coat rack, but it will only stay on the wall during the Christmas season. After the holidays are over, it will be tucked away for safekeeping until the day after Thanksgiving next year.

Here is how you can make your own DIY stocking holder.

Supplies

6 feet of molding – I chose kind of an ornate piece so it (sort of) looks like a mantel
12 coat hooks
3 picture frame hooks
paint
paint brush
hammer
screwdriver or drill

Paint the Molding

I used my interior trim color. I always have a bucket handy for touch-ups. My trim color is Sherwin Williams Snowbound in semi-gloss. Allow drying then nail three picture frame hooks to the back of your board for hanging on the wall. Mount two toward each end and one in the middle.

Add the Hooks

Depending on how many hooks you want, do a little math and figure out how far apart you need them to be. For 12 hooks on a 6-foot board, your measurement will be to space them apart every 5 1/2 inches.

Mount to the Wall

Using a measuring tape and level, mark with a pencil where your mounting nails will need to go. Hammer in your nails and mount to the wall.

After Christmas

But what about the holes left in the wall from the nails used to hang the stocking holder after Christmas? Since I am not keeping my stocking holder up year around, my plan is for the holes left is pretty simple. I will fill the holes each year with a little bit of spackling and brush with a little bit of my wall touch-up paint.

What do you think of my no mantel stocking holder? Have you had to come up with a creative solution to hang stockings without a fireplace?