Saint Nicholas Day..more Advent Adventures!

Today was Saint Nicholas Day and we started our celebration first thing in the morning. The girls had put their shoes out last night and this morning (after Mama remembered last minute and made a sign and quickly filled their shoes) they discovered gold coins and $5 that they must use to bless someone else in a way inspired by the real Saint Nicholas of Patara and his love and devotion to Jesus. We read this book and then learned some about the historical figure of Saint Nicholas.  Although we don’t do “Santa” we do like to embrace the story of Saint Nicholas and how he gave to others without expecting anything in return.  The girls already have some ideas and I’m excited to see how they bless others with their money.

In the afternoon the girls and I headed to the library for a Saint Nicholas story time and both girls got selected to help retell some of the stories.

Evy was an angel and Anni was a creature that brought switches to parents of naughty children…I die!

It was a great time and we learned a lot more about the history behind the legend and how the modern versions of Saint Nicholas are celebrated around the world.

After our Advent time we surprised the kids with a quick trip to the oldest house in Westmont; built after the Chicago Fire to house the man who started making bricks here to rebuild the city. It was a Victorian Christmas celebration night and the girls learned a bit about the Victorian age and Abishai pretty much tried to tear the place apart.

On further reflection taking a toddler to a house museum might not have been our brightest idea but we still loved checking it out (although we did not stay long because antiques are not toys y’all!)

Hope your Advent celebrations are full of blessing and joy,