How to Hang Christmas Stockings Without a Mantel

If you’re like us without a fireplace, you might be figuring out how to hang Christmas stockings without a mantel.

If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll know that we recently moved from our first home where we grew our love of DIY. In that house we had a big brick fireplace where we made a DIY chunky mantel and we hung stockings from it last year for our very first Christmas both married and as homeowners. It was really special and gave me all the feels as an Australian kid who’d grown up only seeing fireplaces and cold Christmases in movies.

I loved that fireplace so much, but the new house has a lot of the old and not a lot of the charm, so, no fireplace. Since this year is an absolute disaster and this will be our first Christmas with a baby in the house, I’m of course already leaning in hard to the magic of the holidays, so came up with a quick little beginner DIY to show you how to hang Christmas stockings without a mantel.

In addition to a fireplace, our last house also had two long photo ledges we built to display art work and family photos down our hallway. We already wrote a DIY post about it here and while this project is very similar, it’s got a sneaky little Christmas twist.

I knew when I made the plans for this project that I wanted it to look like a regular photo ledge most of the time but have the ability to hang garlands or stockings or whatever other decorative elements we wanted the rest of the time.

I’m thinking a string of photo clips to display baby girl’s artwork one day and garlands for every season. It’s going to be amazing.

I love this little ledge so much, and it’s a really easy beginner project. I made this one totally out of scrap wood, but the cost would come in at under $15 of wood if you bought the wood as well.

So yeah, it’s early November and we’ve got Christmas stockings up.

Tools & Materials

• 1×2
• 1×3
• 1×4
• Sander
• 220 grit sandpaper
• Wood glue
• Nail gun
• Nails
• 1” screws
• Wood stain (I used a combo of Early American and Weathered Oak)
• Polycrylic
• 3” screws
• Clamps
• Stud finder

How to hang Christmas stockings without a mantel

Make your cuts

The length of your ledge depends on the space you have and how long you want it to be. There’s really no limit on the length, but to fit between the two windows I wanted, mine are about 40”.

Cut each of your wood pieces – the 1×2, 1×3 and 1×4 – to the same length however long your photo ledge will be. I found it easiest to stack them all on top of each other on the miter saw and cut through them all at once (just make sure they’re clamped down really good).

Sand your pieces down

Give all of the wood pieces a good sanding on the top and the edges with the 220 grit sandpaper so it’s all smooth, especially the cut ends.

Add your screws

This is where the sneaky magic happens and it will be how you hang your stockings or garland. On the back side of the 1×2 pieces, add five of the 1” screws evenly spaced, but make sure they don’t go in the whole way. Mine stick out probably between ½” and ¼” on the back.

Height-wise, you’ll want to make sure they won’t be visible from the front of your finished ledge, but that there will also be enough clearance for you to get your stocking or decorative piece underneath to hang properly, so about 1/4 inch down from the top of the 1×2.

Assemble the ledge

Stand the 1×4 upright in the back, then lay the 1×3 along your work area right in front of it, followed by the upright 1×2 in front. Check the photo below to see a visual of how it looks.

Add a dab of wood glue along each seam, then use clamps and your nail gun to secure it all in place. For good measure, keep your clamps on while the glue dries for a few hours.

Stain and seal

Use whatever stain or paint you’d like and give it all a good coat, paying attention to get all the spots around your concealed screws and in the cracks. I used a combination of Weathered Oak and Early American.

Make sure to seal it all with polycrylic so it’s easier to keep clean and protected.

Attach to the wall

An ideal height for artwork on the wall is to have the center at 60” above the ground. I did my ledge at about 55” from the ground and started by marking the center of the wall, then measuring the 55” up and making a mark.

Grab your stud finder and use painters tape or a pencil to mark where the studs are in your wall, then drill a screw through the 1×4 into as many studs as you can.

For me, it was two screws. Make sure where your screws are going in will be covered by the artwork (i.e. don’t do it really close to either end) and that both sides are level.

Hang your stockings and enjoy

So there you go, now you know how to hang Christmas stocking without a mantel! To hang, just loop the top of your stocking around the screws in the back of the 1×2 portion of your ledge.

I went with five screws so I could hang three stockings for my family and still had two outer screws for a garland, but you could mix it up and do as many screws as you need or add more if your ledge is longer.

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