Feast of St. Nicholas 2015

The feast of St. Nicholas is such a sweet tradition: I really enjoy it!

Mary inserted her own wee gifts.

Between when the shoes were laid out at the fireplace and when I went downstairs to fill them, Mary sneaked downstairs and put tiny gifts in each one (except her own): little toys of her own that she was giving to her siblings. She gave her daddy a five dollar bill from her money jar and me a St. Therese necklace. This touching gesture made me teary, so I dug around my belongings and found a little guardian angel pin that used to be my mother's which I put in Mary's shoe.

Ready for the children to wake

My package from Mary

This year was decidedly simple: we stuffed the children's shoes each with the traditionally symbolic orange, a candy cane, and chocolate coins, as well as a new brown scapular (as those do fall apart at least once per year). Also, I put in the St. Nicholas holy cards, which I actually bought years ago, collect back each year, and put them in their shoes anew the next year!

Mama reading aloud "A Christmas Carol"

Some years I've given more and bigger gifts, but this year all I bought was a beautiful hard cover copy of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti. I will be taking the children to see the adaptation "Scrooge" at a local theater next week, so I intend to read the book aloud to them this week. I believe some afternoons of hot cocoa and popcorn will be in order!

We attended Mass followed by a festive potluck at which "St. Nicholas" made an appearance and the children's shoes were filled (again!). There was a table with a craft activity, older kids playing board games, younger kids on the playground, and so many beautiful, homemade St. Nicholas cookies.

Ready for St. Nicholas to show up