St. Nick

I’ve never held myself to high standards when it comes to Christmas decorating, and this year that’s especially a good thing. 

I’m not bothered by the tree being naked on top. 

Nor am I stressed out about the random selection and clustered placement of ornaments…

…many unsophisticated…

...some downright scary.

One tradition that we do take much more seriously than most is St. Nick’s Day. Many delightful childhood memories of mine took place on the morning of December 6th. Naturally, I wanted to pass this tradition on to my family. We’ve taken it a step further than a stocking (some families use shoes) filled with fruit, peanuts, miniature Hershey’s bars, and a small toy or office supply. Office supply? Yep. My mother, the St. Nick’s Day procrastinator, had to work with limited shopping opportunities in the rural community where I was raised. If you are wondering how exciting office supplies are to a preschooler, give a three-year-old a paper puncher and a glue stick and he’ll be happy as a lark. Really in a pinch? Four or five-year-olds are fascinated by clipboards.

Anyway, Steve and I have chosen to not only allow St. Nick to make an annual visit to our home in the middle of the night, but this guy gets to deliver the bulk of our children’s holiday gifts. They still get one package on Christmas, but the mother load (have I ever mentioned that my kids are ridiculously spoiled?) arrives via St. Nick.

We love the early arrival of new toys and clothes. This allows plenty of time for the holiday present hubbub to fade so we can better focus on the one true GIFT of Christmas.