We are so honored to having Cindy here with us today!
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Hello everyone! My name is Cindy and I blog at Skip to my Lou. I love making home made gifts and celebrating holidays!
When we were living in Germany we celebrated St. Nicholas Day. We have brought this tradition home to the states and our children big and small still love it!
The night before December 6th, children (however we do our whole family) leave their shoes by their door for St. Nicholas to bring them gifts and treats. Traditionally the shoes are filled with coins, sweets, fruit and or small gifts.
Saint Nicholas was a real Saint who was known for being kind, helping those in need and his love for children. A wonderful model for us all this time of year! What I loved most was that this simple gift giving from St. Nicholas happened early in the month and then the focus shifted to the birth of Christ. It seemed to help preserve a Christmas Day with the focus on the Christ Child and not St. Nic.
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We call this the New Year’s baby and do it New Years Eve. My kids love to see what the New Years Baby brought on New Years Day.
In Mexico it’s done on Epiphany and the Magi bring the gifts.
My parents are of Dutch heritage and so we celebrated Sinterklaas on the 6th. We actually made it our big party – got the tree, decorated the house, opened gifts, ate a fantastic dinner. I loved that a) I got to open gifts before any of my friends and b) we separated holiday gifts from the gift that is Jesus’s birth. My husband isn’t keen on the idea (traditions are hard to change!) but I would love to continue this with our two kids.