There are plenty of things we associate with our favorite holiday of the year. Presents, inordinate amounts of food and cheesy Christmas hits are all part and parcel of the festive season. There's also the Christmas tree (a vital addition to your living room during the holiday season), extravagant decorations and quality time spent with family.

At the heart of it, though, Christmas is about giving - whether it's in the form of material possessions or simply putting smiles on people's faces.

In fact, one particular hospital in San Antonio, Texas has been putting smiles on the faces of new parents for decades now. Every Christmas for over 50 years, The Methodist Children's Hospital has sent newborn babies home in a Christmas stocking with an adorable matching hat.

The stockings are made by a volunteer group known as the Bluebirds of Methodist Hospital, a group that does a great deal of good for staff and patients throughout the year.

Overjoyed by the sentiment behind the stockings and matching hats, parents go on to keep them and treasure for years and years to come.

Other hospitals have taken inspiration from the Christmas stocking tradition and have started their own versions:

Parents have been sharing their own experiences of finding their newborns clad in stockings:

"When my youngest daughter was born [New Year's Day] she was wrapped in a white stocking with a red band while the other holiday babies were in red ones," one person said.

Another recalled that "when [her] son was born, he was too big to fit in the stocking, so they put a Santa hat on him."

"This is how my son came to me in the hospital," a third wrote.

There are plenty of things we associate with our favorite holiday of the year. Presents, inordinate amounts of food and cheesy Christmas hits are all part and parcel of the festive season. There's also the Christmas tree (a vital addition to your living room during the holiday season), extravagant decorations and quality time spent with family.

At the heart of it, though, Christmas is about giving - whether it's in the form of material possessions or simply putting smiles on people's faces.

In fact, one particular hospital in San Antonio, Texas has been putting smiles on the faces of new parents for decades now. Every Christmas for over 50 years, The Methodist Children's Hospital has sent newborn babies home in a Christmas stocking with an adorable matching hat.

The stockings are made by a volunteer group known as the Bluebirds of Methodist Hospital, a group that does a great deal of good for staff and patients throughout the year.

Overjoyed by the sentiment behind the stockings and matching hats, parents go on to keep them and treasure for years and years to come.

Other hospitals have taken inspiration from the Christmas stocking tradition and have started their own versions:

Parents have been sharing their own experiences of finding their newborns clad in stockings:

"When my youngest daughter was born [New Year's Day] she was wrapped in a white stocking with a red band while the other holiday babies were in red ones," one person said.

Another recalled that "when [her] son was born, he was too big to fit in the stocking, so they put a Santa hat on him."

"This is how my son came to me in the hospital," a third wrote.