I miss that the boys are not young enough to participate in the Christmas Eve activities any longer. They were so much fun!The night would begin with Christmas stories and the laying out of the snack for Santa.
Once the boys went to bed the fun for me really began. Ingredients needed to set up the next day included, one bag of flour, one pair of large boots, cotton, carrots, and sleigh bells.
I know, this is one crazy list! But once I start putting things together, the list will make a bit more sense. First and foremost the cookies must be ate. I considered this chore my responsibility..........ahem......after leaving behind some crumbs from the cookies - now to the milk....YUCK - this was always my husbands job.
Next step - Chew on some carrots and throw them around in the back yard. (What? Reindeer have to eat too!)
Back inside the house I tear up some cotton and place it on the limbs of the trees to make it look like Santa got caught a few times in the tree while putting down the gifts.
On to the messy phase - I would spread flour all over the flour and use the boots to stomp a trail through the house.
Last and the most fun - At the wee hours in the morning I would sneak outside and shake the sleigh bells outside the boys bedroom windows. It was always a close call, but I would make it back into the house and into my room before the boys would excitedly run out of theirs into the living room and then to our room to wake us up.
My boys would always get a kick out of how messy Santa was. My youngest left a note for Santa one year suggesting that he might consider wiping his boots off before coming down the chimney so mom does not have to work so hard cleaning up after him.
It may sound a little nuts to put forth such an effort, but the preparations were so much fun and the reward came when we saw the excitement in the boys eyes that Santa was in the house.
As the boys got older, my youngest started making requests from Santa in his letters. Over the years, our preparations became a bit more technical and took a lot of thought to pull it off. Such things as a paw print from Rudolph with an autograph, a small lock of Santa's beard, and a picture of his sleigh and reindeer on our roof. (I almost had a Christmas in traction over that one)No matter, how messy, how much work was involved, or how tired we were from getting no sleep, I would have not done anything different. And yes, I think I had more fun then the boys did. Now 22 and 17, we sometimes reminisce over the fun they had on Christmas and laugh when they hear everything we did for Santa's visit.
I no longer have to clean up after Santa...........that is until we have grand kids one day :)
