Whooo celebrate's St. Nick's Day?



In our family we celebrate St. Nicks day (which was yesterday for those of you who don't).  This isn't something that I did as a child, but my husband did. So this a tradition that we have incorporated into our childrens' Christmas celebration, as we are trying to blend both of our loved childhood traditions for our own family. Now the approach we have taken with the Santa Clause side of Christmas is a back seat approach. You really can't raise children in the U.S. without having to tell them something about Santa Clause. Let's face it, America has commercialized Christmas to the point that Christ is pretty hard to find in it anymore. That's not what we want for our boys.

Celebrating St. Nick's day has actually helped to balance the Commercialized aspect of Christmas for our family. If you don't know anything about St. Nick, go ahead and google him and you can learn the history of the holiday. Here are the basics: St Nickolaus was a real man, he wasn't called a St. until after he passed away of course. But while he was alive he wanted to help people. I've heard a version where he is helping a few young women in need of money by putting coins in the socks they have hung out their windows to dry in the night.

 So knowing that Nickolaus was a real man that helped others, that loved God and who our traditional Santa Claus is patterned after has helped us explain the Santa Claus phenomena in a way that allows them to pretend if they want to, keeps us from lying to our children, and prevents the sometimes deep disappointment they can feel when the truth is finally learned. Of course we always tell our kids that it is a the parents job to tell their kids about Santa and they should just pretend along with their friend if their friend thinks Santa is real. It's a good solution for our family and it allows us to put the focus back on Jesus when it comes to December 25th. As exciting it is to get presents, we want to do all we can to stress the greatest gift of all that came down to earth as a baby on that most holy of days. Jesus, the Light of the World. My Savior.

 So, next year maybe you'll join us in our celebration of St. Nick's Day. On the morning of the 6th our kids get their stocking,s which by now they know are actually filled by Mommy and not St. Nick, because they know he's dead, as they might tell you if you asked. :) Another tradition we have that my mom started for me when I was a kid, is to give them a new Christmas tree ornament every year. I try to find something that pertains to something new they did in the past year, or maybe a special interest they have developed. Well Christmas ornaments are expensive people!  Who can afford to spend six bucks on a glittery bauble? Plus, in case you haven't noticed yet, my kids are a little obsessed interested in owl's. I didn't look around a lot, but I didn't find any inexpensive owl ornaments in the stores. So, I decided to make some. Aren't they cute? I found the pattern in a Christmas book from the library called 'Holiday Crafts' 2010, published by Better Homes and Gardens. It was originally listed in the book as an owl garland (which I may make later) by April Foss whom you can find at aprilfoss.etsy.com. I adapted it to make ornaments for my owl crazy boys because they were adorable and the perfect size. And easy. 2 of my favorite qualities in a craft! Not only that but I already all the supplies on hand so this craft was essentially free! My 3rd favorite quality in a craft!

The boys absolutely loved them! So much so that they don't want to hang them on the tree! I had to ask them all for the little guys just so I could put hooks on them and take the pictures for this blog post. They wouldn't let me keep the ornaments on the tree either. I may be making three more. Silly, sweet, funny little boys. So happy St. Nick's Day everyone! One day late. Next post I hope to show you our advent calendar and share with you the things we like to do to celebrate the coming of Jesus' birthday

Hoot!

Isn't this little guy cute? I admit it, our house is a little obsessed with owls lately. I'm blaming those kids books and that movie ''Guardians of Ga'hoole". My boys have been on an owl binge ever since. But it's not just them. owl's have been popping up everywhere lately. I've seen them on towels, clothes, mugs, plates, stationary, wall decals, bedding and more. And why not? They are adorable.

So I decided to help feed the owl love in this house and I made this little guy. I haven't named him yet but I think he's cute enough to earn one. He's made out of felt and fabric scraps with some beans in his bottom so he'll stand up. Super thrifty craftiness going on here! This little guy probably cost about $0.50 to make.Yippee!

Oh, and I pulled out my Super Mama cape and helped each of my boys make one in a no-sew version for themselves. Theirs don't stand up but that's o.k., they like to take them to bed.  The little owls help them have sweet dreams. We used a hot glue gun for the no-sew version so just be careful with that around your little ones. I've had more than one finger burned by that stuff and it does not feel good. Shoo-wee!

I'll be keeping this little guy around to help cheer up the house this fall. The mantle will make a great perch for him. Get creative and make a little owl for your home!