The first rule of Christmas stockings is: always fill them to the very top. A stocking should be bursting at the seams with small gifts and sweets (I don’t make the rules). It’s crucial to set the tempo for the rest of the day.
The second? The stocking should look as exciting as the presents tucked inside, especially if you’ve run out of time, paper, or patience and left them unwrapped.
Christmas stockings are as much a part of festive decor as the tree in your sitting room, the wreath on your front door, and the special tablecloth you only whip out for Christmas lunch, but they’re often the most overlooked. While other decorative elements might shift with trends or be tweaked over the years, many folks tend to hold on to the tatty stockings they’ve had for years.
The good news is that, in 2025, the humble Christmas stocking has undergone a serious style upgrade, and the time to invest in a fresh one is nigh. Long gone are the cheap felt designs of the past that could barely contain a punnet of chocolate coins; designers have turned their attention to making the Christmas morning treat as special as the rest of the day.
Today’s Christmas stockings feature dimensions as generous as the embellishments: think capacious stockings crafted from silk and velvet, finished with sequins, coloured beads, metallic thread, and artful embroidery. Others evoke the look of homely quilts, an heirloom aesthetic given a designer's finesse. Whether you’re all in for a statement look or a stickler for tradition, there are designer stockings to suit.
No matter how many Christmases you’ve clocked up, tearing into a preliminary pile of gifts is an experience that never gets old, especially if you’ve spent weeks dropping heavy hints to whoever does the filling (find inspiration for adult and kids stocking fillers here). A great-looking stocking? Well, that’s just the cherry on top.
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Fortnum & Mason Gold sequin Embroidered Cream Stocking
Glad tidings are here with F&M’s sequin-festooned, pleated-trim stocking. The cream and gold colourway makes it feel timeless and elegant.
Buy now £85.00, Fortnum & Mason
Rebecca Udall Quilted Velvet & Silk Christmas Stocking, Burgundy
A trad look given a luxe lift with velvet and silk in gold and burgundy, with quilting as an extra cosy detail. Kick it up a gear with an embroidered gift tag that you can hook it up with.
Buy now £65.00, Rebecca Udall
Elizabeth Scarlett Celestial Stocking
Another quilted design given festive flair with cosmic embroidery. Elizabeth Scarlett’s navy version features whimsical motifs of the sun, moon and stars. Sister versions come in red and green.
Buy now £50.00, Elizabeth Scarlett
TBCo Quilted Cotton Christmas Stocking
Part of TBCo.’s circus range, which spans PJs and bedding, this lovely quilted stocking will have you somersaulting towards it come December 25 morning. The 100 per cent cotton design is padded to protect delicate gifts and can be thrown in the washing machine when it’s time for a spruce.
Buy now £45.00, TBCo
Olivia Von Halle Lumiere Cosmos Green Leopard Stocking
Purveyor of fancy pyjamas has stuck out a leg into the wonderful world of Christmas stockings, with swoon-worthy results. It’s made from silk satin (so swerve any jaggedy gifts that might snag the lining) and finished with a jewelled leopard pattern to add style to the foot of your bed or on the mantelpiece.
Buy now £175.00, Olivia Von Halle
Merry Reverie Cotton Christmas Stocking
Liberty is famed for its archive of lovely design prints, so turning some into festive stockings must have been a no-brainer. If you’re hoping to inject some colour into your Christmas look, the Merry Reverie pattern is ideal.
Buy now £29.95, Liberty
Pottery Barn Classic Velvet Bow Stockings
Strictly no drinking mulled wine around this stocking, please. Well, unless you go for the red option instead.
Buy now £27.20, Pottery Barn
Jonathan Adler Naughty Stocking
Unapologetically bold and bright, it could only be a Jonathan Adler stocking. This one is for devilish types; angels can find their stocking here.
Buy now £128.00, Jonathan Adler
Kate Owen 19th-Century Reproduction Fabric Patchwork Stocking
Heart yearning for a crafty-looking stocking, but sewing skills lacking? Let Kate Owen do the heavy lifting with this patchwork Christmas stocking. The homely style looks like it’s been passed down through the generations, lovingly crafted from squares of fabric in the prescribed palette. A real memory maker.
Buy now £285.00, ABASK
Sophie Allport Festive Forest Christmas Stocking
Traditionalists will love the festive scene on Sophie Allport’s illustrated stocking, which includes the obligatory snow-dusted ferns and English wildlife dressed in Santa hats. Spend a tenner more to have it personalised.
Buy now £23.00, Sophie Allport
