In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Monday, December 22, former NFL center Jason Kelce talked all things retirement and future brother-in-law to Taylor Swift.
Hanging Christmas stockings over the fireplace mantle is one of the more popular holiday traditions.
It not only acts as a lovely decoration alongside the Christmas tree and other holiday décor, but it also serves as a sentimental way to celebrate family, mark special milestones and honor loved ones.
For some families, that means hanging a few (maybe five or six) stockings each year as the family grows.
But for other families — like the larger-than-life Gieske family — it means hanging 104 Christmas stockings as more members are added to the family every year.
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The family’s tradition has gone viral ever since Martina Gieske posted about it on Instagram.
“As an only child I had no idea what to expect when I first started dating Matt over 14 years ago,” she wrote in the caption. “This family took me in as their own and are some of my best friends.”
In the video, one family member shows off the long line of stockings, each engraved with a name on it.
He counted 80 on the mantle, but there were another six that were made but not hanging — and more than a dozen that hadn’t been stitched yet.
In an interview with TODAY.com, Martina and her husband Matt opened up about the tradition.
"There is one long board with nails in it, and the stockings are permanently attached to that board,” Martina, a mother of four, told the outlet.
“As family members are added, you squeeze them in with that little cluster of stockings from each sub-family," she added.
READ MORE: Christmas traditions for families that make the season unforgettable year after year
Martina’s husband is the second-youngest of 14 siblings born to Walter and Julia Gieska — the latter of whom has been responsible for stitching each of the personalized Christmas stockings.
And it’s a tradition she continues to this day.
"She actually had her sewing machine out the other day," Martina told TODAY.com "Even just having gotten out of the hospital from surgery, she was making stockings."
Does the Gieska family fill all the Christmas stockings?
Many parents understand the struggle that comes with trying to fill a Christmas stocking.
But can you imagine having to fill 104 stockings? Don’t worry — neither can the Geiskas.
"A long time ago we used to, but it got to be too much,” Martina’s husband told TODAY.com.
While they don’t fill the stockings, they do gather under the same roof every year as a family — which makes for quite a large gathering, especially since most of the family lives in northern Kentucky.
"It was very overwhelming trying to remember just the names of his siblings alone, and then all the nieces and nephews tend to look alike. So it took me a few years to memorize all the names,” Martina said.
She went on to describe the family’s Christmas traditions as “loud.”
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"They are the nicest people ever," she added. "I was so nervous that I would have to win them all over. And they just made me feel like family instantly — before I was even a part of their family."
