How to Hang Stockings Without a Mantle: 11 Expert Tips

Christmas is around the corner, and you must be thinking about different creative ways to hang your stockings. While a mantle is ideal for hanging any type of stockings, things can be difficult if you don’t have enough space on your mantelpiece. Or, in the worst case, what if your fireplace doesn’t have a mantle at all?

Let’s make it clear: the Christmas tree is not the only important decorative piece—stockings have the same importance. After all, what’s more adorable than watching kids peeking inside them to find gifts on Christmas morning? So, to get the actual essence of Christmas, you need to be creative and know how to hang stockings without a mantle.

Here are 11 tips to help you hang stockings without a mantle, making it easier for Santa to stuff goodies into them!

The 11 Tips for Hanging Stockings Without a Mantle

1. Treat Your Credenza as the Mantle

If you have a credenza in your living room, you don’t even have to worry about having a mantle. Credenza makes the best replacement for a mantle when hanging different types of stockings.

Simply take out your garland, a couple of candlesticks, and a Christmas figurine and attach them to stocking hangers. Then, hang them on the credenza as you would do with a mantle. It will give you the exact festive look you want, and you won’t even remember that you don’t have a fireplace in your home.

2. Create a Stocking Mountain

Another great alternative to a mantle is creating a stocking mountain. All you have to do is take boxes in different sizes and wrap them in your favorite Christmas wrapping paper. It would be great to find the wrapping paper according to your holiday color theme. Then, stack these boxes and style them in a mountain shape.

This is now a stocking mountain. Bring your garlands and Christmas figurines, attach them to the hooks, and hang them on the mountain. You can even treat this mountain as a Christmas tree and accessorize it with a tree topper.

However, you must keep a few things in mind when creating a stocking mountain, such as:

3. Use Your Staircase Railing

Staircases are the most prominent place in every home. So, you can use the staircase railing to hang your stockings. First, decorate your staircase with a garland, and then hang your favorite stockings along the railing. It will give you the ideal decoration that you usually would put on a mantle.

4. Use Hooks to Hang Stockings From Garland

You can use hooks to hang your Christmas stockings from a garland. It will look even better if you use fancy ornament hooks. So, once you find ideal ornament hooks, use them to secure a fine or holly garland from any of these places instead of a mantle:

5. Decorate Your Book and Wall Shelves

Another great place for hanging stockings is the bookshelves. No matter what room of your house has a bookshelf installed, you can adorn it with cute Christmas stockings with the help of hooks.

You can also put Christmas figurines on the shelf or drape a garland on the sides and hang stockings through it. Fortunately, bookcases are only one of many options for displaying Christmas stockings. You can also install floating shelves on your wall and hang your stockings on them.

You can easily find temporary floating shelves on the market that are super easy to install. The best place for these shelves is behind your Christmas tree. You can decorate the shelf with Christmas lights and different ornaments to create a nice atmosphere.

If you have space underneath the floating shelves, you can place a bench or a credenza and decorate them with Christmas pillows. This is a bonus point!

6. Buy Stocking Holders

You can also buy decorative stocking holders and place them on any flat area, such as a bookshelf, table, or floating shelf. Stocking holders are the easiest way to hang your stockings wherever you want. This means you don’t have to drape a garland or buy hooks separately.

The exciting thing is that stocking holders come in various sizes, styles, and materials. They can be small or medium-sized, perfect for your bookshelves, and large enough as a mantle stand.

Considering style, you can get these holders in various Christmas themes, such as pine, reindeer, and snowman. Stocking holders also come with different finishes, so look for the one per your preference.

7. Recycle Skis, Ladders, and Sleds

Head toward your attic and see what you can use as the mantle’s replacement. Even if you’re not a professional skier, you will still have a pair of skis lying somewhere in your home. If not, you can look for an old sled or a wooden ladder to use as stocking holders.

Simply place your skis on a wall and hang stockings on it. They look good whether you place them horizontally or vertically. If you are using the sled, you can lean it against the wall and hang stockings on it.

The ladder works the same as a sled. You can easily get a wooden ladder from your nearest store. Lean it against any wall, decorate it with a garland, and hang stockings on it through the hooks.

8. Use Your Dresser

Dressers are another great place for hanging stockings. They have multiple apertures and knobs that provide ideal places to hang any type of stockings. If not the dresser, you can opt for any furniture piece with knobs, whether in your living room or bedroom.

To create the perfect Christmas vibe, you should integrate the stockings with your room’s color scheme. Doing so will create an ideal festive look in your home.

9. Secure a Tinsel Strand

You can also secure a tinsel line in front of your fireplace screen or above the firebox. Then, take some brick wall hangers and hang stylish stockings on the strand.

If you are afraid that the strand will compromise your fireplace’s aesthetics, you can camouflage it using cute bows and other ornaments. This is hands down the best way to hang stockings on your fireplace, even if it doesn’t have a mantle.

10. Use the Coat Racks

You can also utilize the coat and hat tracks installed on your home’s walls. Simply remove all the items from the hooks and put them in the attic or cupboard. Then, take out your Christmas stockings and hang them in their place.

The good thing about this tip is that coat and hat racks allow you to hang different types of Christmas ornaments. For example, you can hang faux poinsettias, Christmas ribbons and bows, cute socks, garlands, Christmas bells, and holiday greenery—all on these racks.

In case you don’t have wall coat racks, you can install some in different places to include every part of your home in the Christmas celebrations. These can be the best alternative to adhesive hooks.

11. Cut Tree Branches

Last but not least, you can also cut tree branches from your nearest garden and mount them near your Christmas tree. If you have enough space, you can place them above the firebox or any wall you want to decorate. The best trees for this purpose are cedar, birch, or pine.

Simply mount the tree branches on the wall and use rustic nails or ornament hooks to attach your favorite stockings. This will create an aesthetic and the perfect vintage festive vibe in your living room.

Conclusion

Your Christmas shouldn’t be boring. If your fireplace doesn’t have a mantle, you can still have fun hanging your stockings and making your home welcoming to the guests. If you have a Christmas tree, you can definitely hang your stockings from it. However, you can also create a stocking mountain from boxes and treat it as your Christmas tree.

From the above 11 tips we gave you for hanging stockings without a mantle, you can choose any and decorate your home just as you like. After all, it is the only time of the year to relax and enjoy the best time of your life.

Featured Image Credit: Africa Studio, Shutterstock