Having traditions is very important in children's lives. They are something they can anticipate and count on happening at regular intervals - whether its annually, semi-annually, monthly, or weekly.
One of the traditions that the girls look forward to is preparing for Santa's visit each year. On Christmas Eve, they make reindeer food (oats and candy sprinkles); and peel and cut carrots for the reindeer.
They choose 2 cookies and fill a glass of water for Santa and place it on the dining room table.
They write (or dictate and I write for them) a letter to Santa, and then place it next to the cookie plate so Santa can write a note back to them.
And then, with a lot of excitement (yet being quite serious with such an important task), they open the window that overlooks the mudroom roof. They carefully spread the oats and carrots on the roof, and then talk about how Santa's reindeers will land on the roof. They hope that they've provided enough food to give them energy for the night...or until the next family feeds them.
The girls then are able to open one present before they head off to bed early..."because we wouldn't want Santa to fly right over the house because you're awake!"
It's amazing how quickly they fall asleep...despite their excitement.
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