Christmas Eve is less than a month away. How do you get ready for Santa’s visit at your house?
When we were kids, my sisters and I left a plate of homemade cookies for Santa. But we also tossed a carrot outside for Rudolph. On Christmas morning, someone (usually Dad) would retrieve the carrot from the ground. We’d eagerly inspect the teeth marks on it, evidence that the reindeer had munched on it a bit while Santa unloaded his loot under our tree. (It’s a bit gross, I’ll admit, looking back on the chewed-up-carrot tradition as an adult with a full knowledge of Christmas Eve mysteries revealed.)
Do you have a certain kind of cookie — or a special plate for the cookies — that you leave out for Santa to find? Maybe you reminisce about your own special Santa visits, because he always left sooty footprints behind or because his reindeer left hoofprints in your yard. Or maybe your preparations include singing certain songs or reading special stories.
Click on "comments" below to tell us how you get ready for Santa, for possible use in a future WichiTalk issue.
Posted by Lori
2 Comments
When my boys were little, they spent most of December asking me what they were getting for Christmas. Out of exasperation, I one day told them that they were getting underwear and a toothbrush. Every time they asked, I gave them the same answer. As the month went on, I chuckled to myself, devised a plan, and bought them Spiderman underwear and fancy toothbrushes and wrapped them up. That was the first present they opened. The look on their faces was priceless. To this day (20+ years later), the first present they open is always underwear and a toothbrush. When they were young, they rolled their eyes and thought I was weird. As they got older and did their own laundry, they couldn’t wait to get that package so that they could wait longer between laundry days! Of course, they now request name brand boxers and socks, so maybe the joke is on me?
I remember full mailboxes–the one on the front of my house–at Christmastime. I love to send cards, keep cards, receive them too. E-mail is just another forward usually with nothing to make me feel as if the person was thinking of me.
I save cards from previous years and read them again. I often use the fronts for tags for packages. Easier to pack and ship or stack without a bow but just as festive.
Christmas Eve has been a 45 year tradition at the folks house–my in-laws–even since my husband died. We exchanged draw name gifts until Roy died and then we went to dollar anonymouse gifts that we open and trade while cards are played and snack devoured. The folks–Ray and Ruth Phillips–have opened their home and hearts to many who need a family get-together. I love this long tradition with family.