Over the weekend, I did my very first craft show.  While I was preparing, I made up a couple of items similar to a tradition my family used to have so I could share it with others! 

Nate’s gotten to the point where he’s not surprised by anything he sees me doing when he walks through the front door.  One night last week he came home to me pouring glitter into a container of dry oatmeal. I proudly told him “I’m making magic reindeer food!” That one actually stopped him in his tracks. I showed him the little sacks that I had ironed on reindeer design and was filling with the oats, but he still looked at me blankly. He’d never heard of the “reindeer food” tradition before!

I forget where my mom got my sister and I are first pouch of the magic oats, but I remember having an absolute blast running around in the cold sprinkling it all over our front yard.  Never tried it before? Your kids will love it and these other two very easy Christmas traditions.

  • Magic Reindeer Food

    Ever wonder how Santa and his reindeer find your house in the dark every year? Rudolph’s nose certainly helps, but even he needs a little help finding his way.  That’s where these sparkling oats come in! Sparkle them on your lawn and their gleam in the moonlight will help the reindeer guide Santa’s sleigh to your home! For this tradition, simply fill a little container with dry oatmeal and mix in a healthy dose of glitter.  This year I used little sacks that I found at Hobby Lobby and ironed on the words “Magic Reindeer Food,” a reindeer and snowflakes.  When you give the kiddos whatever you decide to fill with the feed, read them this little poem (or print it out for them!)

    “Sprinkle on the lawn at night. The moon will make it sparkle bright. Santa’s reindeer fly and roam.  This will help them find your home!”

  • Christmas Pickle

    Misty tells us that the one thing she absolutely hates about Christmas morning is listening to her tribe squabble over who gets to open the first present.  To solve the problem, her family uses the tradition of the “Christmas Pickle.”  When Santa drops presents off on Christmas Eve, he hides a pickle ornament that’s the same color as the tree’s needles somewhere on the Christmas Tree.  On Christmas Morning, anyone in the family who wants to open the first present signs up for the “Pickle Race.”  A line of masking tape is placed on the floor and each contestant lines up behind it together.  When the referee screams go, its every good little boy and girl for themselves! The person who finds the pickle gets to open the first gift!

  • Santa Trap

    Shirley says her husband loves to tease the grandchildren with their “Santa Trap.”  One year he claimed that he was tired of that son of a gun breaking into his home every year, so he was going to trap him.  In the past, grandpa made it look like Santa’s boot had gotten stuck in the chimney flue or snapped his fingers in a mouse trap that was set with milk and cookies. In the battle of jolly old men, who wins? Grandpa or Santa? Santa’s got a perfect record, always leaving behind a note that says “Better luck next year, suckers!” While the idea initially scared the grandchildren, they loved it the very first year when they realized that Santa got about five years.

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