Monday, December 6, 2010

Advent and St. Nicholas

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This past week I worked on the trees that would be added to our Advent calendar. I loved creating each one of these, I made a forest!

And our angel happily journeys along the starry path.

For this week I should be working on some little animals. But... I need to be making actual Christmas gifts too, so I am thinking we may have to add a few wooden animals for this Sunday and next year I can make some little wool sheep and a donkey. Of course Mary cannot wait, I better get started on her soon!

So we had our nice quiet Advent Sunday. This week we baked gingersnaps, a beginning to our holiday cookie baking. And the girls left some out for St. Nicholas, even though they know his horse would probably have preferred a carrot.

We have read St. Nicholas stories for the past few years but we never did much to actually celebrate the day, the girls never left out their shoes and we never did any gifts on this day. This year though the girls really wanted to leave out their shoes to see if St. Nicholas might pay a visit.

I wasn't sure what kind of ideas Chloe had in her head about this. At ten years old was she really going to just suddenly believe that St. Nicholas made an appearance? We actually thought it would be obvious that he did not.

We got a couple oranges from the store and tiny pieces of sesame candy for St. Nicholas to leave in their shoes. But we also had a bigger surprise...My mom got the girls new boots for Christmas, but we decided since it is already so cold and snowy that it would be nice for them to have them sooner. It seemed like a perfect St. Nicholas gift.

So the girls left out their old shoes and found new boots in the morning! We were not trying to trick them into thinking St. Nicholas left the boots, we told them that Grandma was St. Nicholas' helper. They accepted that, and did not even question who left the orange and the candy. Those were obviously from St. Nicholas. He ate his cookies too.

I love how simply and joyfully our children accepted this bit of magic into their day!


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15 comments:

Genevieve said...

The tree's are beautiful & your Advent sounded lovely!

kendra said...

renee, i love how you combined the magical aspects of st. nicholas with the practical boots from grandma. my partner and i were just discussing our childhoods yet again and the need for magic without betrayal. this is a most lovely combination that i truly appreciate. i love your sweet advent spiral too!

a little crafty nest said...

Renee...I love your trees! The whole advent spiral is so beautiful...truly! And how perfect is the gift of boots from St. Nicholas.
xo Jules

Mama Ash Grove said...

Dear Renee, what a sweet Saint Nicholas story!
Our children also easily accept magical moments to their days- it is so wonderful to see the world through their eyes! They allow me to enjoy the magic too. :)
I love your beautiful wool advent scene~ such fun we'd have felting together!
<3

TwigandToadstool said...

Lovely to see your clan enjoyed celebrating it too. Love the magic of it all!

W-S Wanderings said...

What a lovely story you shared. And the trees, they're wonderful! I've been admiring handmade trees on many blogs, have crafted some myself, but have not yet seen any needle-felted ones! So now you've given me *more* crafty ideas. Thanks, thoughtful creative mama!

Sara said...

Those are wonderful trees! I'm glad to hear you had a nice St. Nicholas experience. I also find it interesting at how easily children accept the magic. What's even more beautiful to me is how such a simple treat in their shoes delights them each and every time. :)

Tonya Gunn said...

Renee,
All you make is so obviously done with love and care - just beautiful. What did you use for the base of the trees, or is it all wool?
Warm wishes, Tonya

Sarah said...

Very sweet!

Catherine said...

That advent calendar just gets cuter and cuter! I love it! My girls asked the big question this year (mommy, are you St. Nick?). Good thing I was out of sight at the moment... Then, the other twin said: of course she is not, have you seen the huge footprint outside? I didn't make the footprint... They probably was her dad's when he went to the barn in the morning... I am just amazed at how much they want to believe...!

Unknown said...

Renee, Your header is lovely, give a wonderful wintery feel. Those little trees are very pretty, they are perfect little pine trees. St. Nicholas came to our home to, the boys put out their croc boots by the fireplace (yes in DR) with huge carrots in. We usually put clementines and a two small chocolates. The children were so excited, Sania woke up at 5 to check his boots. Such simple things can be so magical. I'm sure the girls must love their boots. Keep warm, Renee. Sending you and the family lots of holiday blessings.

gardenmama said...

I love this so very much Renee!
Pure magic and sweetness : )
I truly love this special day of celebrating!
I would enjoy knowing what books you would recommend? Enjoy this beautiful season xo

Heather said...

Thank you for sharing a piece of your advent with us Renee! I love the trees and the spiral, such magic and joy they bring.

Elisa said...

I love what you're crafting. It is so beautiful. St. Nicholas is one of my favorite celebrations. We've been celebrating it every since I was little.

leaningapplemama said...

what a lovely way to celebrate advent! i had such wonderful dreams for this years holiday season but with my new baby and a two year old...i decided that next year will be the year to make more decorations:)