Remembering St. Nicholas

In my efforts to steer materialism away from December the 25th, and create new family traditions, I thought a great idea would be to give gifts on St. Nicholas Day. Only problem is, it was yesterday! But the kids don’t know that, so we’re going to attempt a remembrance of St. Nicholas and his “spirit of giving” some day soon. Here’s some thoughts on what I have planned.

Read: Santa and the Christ Child by Nicholas Bakewell
For years, we’ve known the true story of St. Nicholas and how he loved Jesus and gave his money and possessions to the less fortunate. In fact, my favorite Christmas decoration is a ceramic sculpture of Santa Claus kneeling down worshiping the baby Jesus.

Watch: Nicholas, The Boy Who Became Santa
(btw, I DID NOT spend close to $100 on this book like it’s selling for on amazon!)
This is a wonderful cartoon video about Nicholas. Here’s the box summary. Nicholas was still a young chld when he discovered a very special secret that changed his life. It was the gift of giving, by which he brought happiness to many people; but in sharing this great gift Nicholas had to face many dangers.

Here is a fascinating story of the boy whose love and care for others make him one of the most popular figures of all times. Today, more than sixteen centuries later, the entire world celebrates the kindness and generosity of the man we call Santa Claus.

Discuss: Nicholas’ life and contrast it with today’s version of Santa Claus. We can also talk about ways we can give to others throughout the year.

Do: Every year we write a letter to Jesus and put it in our stockings. We never wrote the letters on the same day, but writing it on this day seems like a way to remember St. Nicholas’ love for Jesus. Then on Christmas Day we can read all the letters we wrote from previous years.

Exchange: Gifts to one another in honor of St. Nicholas.

Does anyone else incorporate the real story of St. Nicholas into their holiday traditions? I’d love to hear what you do!