Do you celebrate St. Nick's Day?

Saint Nicholas Day is December 6th.  I only learned about this recently living in Wisconsin where there is an abundance of Lutheran Churches, but it is celebrated all around Europe.

Saint Nicholas would put coins in the shoes of children who left them out for him.  He was well known for his charity in the name of God.  We all know that Santa Clause is a form of Saint Nicholas that has changed over time.  Our American stockings are the shoes that children left for Saint Nicholas.  So, why not have a little Christmas fun by celebrating Saint Nicholas and teaching about charity rather than receiving gifts.

Here are a few ideas of how to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day.

1. Have your children leave one toy that they choose to give away by their shoes on the night of the 5th.  Saint Nicholas will take the toy on to another boy or girl who needs it and leave some candies or coins in the child's shoes.

2. Have your children leave their old shoes outside of their door for Saint Nicholas to pass on to children who need shoes and leave his treats in their current shoes.

3. Put together little "stockings" that you can get from the dollar store and fill them with a few candies and a mini story of Saint Nicholas, then late at night you can go hang them on the doors of your neighbors.

4. Of course the original celebration by having them leave a shoe out and putting treats in it always works also.

Spend some time talking to your children about Saint Nicholas and how giving he was in the name of God.  This is a great opportunity to talk about giving without having to ruin the magic of today's Santa.

For all REAL parents out there, yes, this is what kids shoes should look like! Dirty Dirty Dirty :)