https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 23 May 2026 10:55:46 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2379234 Sun, 06 Dec 2015 09:17:39 +0000 honeybear 2379234@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: That looks great! What is in the letter/scroll? </p> <p>LO got new shoes and a fancy chocolate bar, which is going to be rationed more tightly than normal, because we're making cookies today too! @Foodnerd81: I hear you on the food gifts. We live in a climate where there are always bugs, so leaving food out doesn't work. St. Nicholas had the courtesy to deliver my son's chocolate bar in a Ziploc. Not particularly cute, but practical. ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2379219 Sun, 06 Dec 2015 08:47:40 +0000 JerricaBenton 2379219@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>St. Nicholas left a set of nativity window clings, religious Christmas stickers, some gingerbread men peeps and a candy cane in LO's shoes. We read a little story and look at a St. Nicholas prayer card. We treat Santa and St. Nick as separate. She still gets a regular filled stocking on Christmas. It's difficult for me to reign it in, but I just wanted a few little treats for today. There's so much going on this time of year for us. I think as she gets older we'll just do the oranges and candy kinda thing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2379215 Sun, 06 Dec 2015 08:37:18 +0000 Foodnerd81 2379215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We only did stockings from St. Nick growing up, then after St. Nicholas day they were hung up as decoration. I didn't realize until I got married that people put small presents in them for Christmas! I can't really remember how my parents explained the difference, but our stockings always just had fruit in them, no toys or other gifts. </p> <p>Now we have really fancy stockings that MIL made so I don't want food anywhere near them. My aunt just sent LO a few presents and said to open them today since she will be overwhelmed on Christmas. We will figure out a way to explain it all when she gets older I guess- at two she is happy to open any present any time. :)</p> <p>Oh and my dads family is german, which is where the tradition came from on my side. Dh thinks it's made up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2379207 Sun, 06 Dec 2015 08:06:25 +0000 MamaG 2379207@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We skipped stockings this year and got new shoes and ornaments along with a few other things. DH was really not on board this year. </p> [attach=1509/15/nyxtqq.600x600.image.jpeg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374545 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 15:27:04 +0000 LindsayInNY 2374545@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: Growing up I only got a St. Nick stocking. But DH does Santa stocking hence why we need to distinguish the two. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374462 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:32:09 +0000 MamaG 2374462@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LindsayInNY: I really don't recall an explanation for the difference between St Nick and Santa. But we only got our stockings from St Nick. We always got a huge apple and orange along with some candy and trinkets.</p> <p>I really like the idea of new shoes and an ornament. Unfortunately, I don't have any shoes I want LO to get rid of right now :( I need better planning. She does however need some new "dress" shoes. We've done her stocking in the past from St Nick, but I'm really trying to think how I can make this shoe thing work and save the stocking for Christmas. I also really like the holiday PJ from St Nick - but LO needs hers for Friday for a school field trip :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374456 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:20:42 +0000 LindsayInNY 2374456@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@honeybear: I like those ideas... I want to incorporate some of them with traditional Christmas ones. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374382 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:29:00 +0000 honeybear 2374382@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: December 5, the feast day of St. Nicholas is December 6. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374353 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:02:38 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2374353@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you put out a shoe, when are you supposed to do it? </p> <p>We did the German (i think) tradition of setting the clog out and getting a new ornament. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374349 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 12:59:29 +0000 honeybear 2374349@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LindsayInNY: The new shoes are not my idea, I got that from a Catholic blogger. :) (Carrots for Michaelmas is her site, if you want other liturgical year-type ideas.) </p> <p>My LO is 5, and explaining the differences is easy because we don't technically "do" Santa. (But I'm not a killjoy, I swear!) St. Nicholas was a real person, so we read his biography and celebrate with Speculoos cookies on his feast day (we're going to try making them this year, but I'm not above buying them from TJ's!), and Santa is a fictional character that we read about in picture books. We do have stockings, but we fill them for each other on Christmas Eve. I do LO's after he goes to bed so it's still a surprise in the morning. </p> <p>I figure if I make the saint's days/big feast days fun and festive, I can safely ignore Santa and LO will never feel deprived of holiday magic. There are plenty of fun things to do with small children in Advent--we've got an Advent wreath (electric candles, so LO "lights" the appropriate candle(s) each night at dinner) and I let him add an element to our creche every day. St. Lucia's feast day is when we'll put up our lights. And we'll keep celebrating Christmas for a while after Christmas Eve/Day, too--I think we'll do a "Twelfth Night" party this year, although I still have to figure out what we're doing besides eating cake! ;) I guess that sounds kind of involved when I write it out, but really, it's maybe a few minutes every day for the wreath/creche (and he really looks forward to these things, so it's a fun few minutes!), and we'd put up our lights and make cookies anyhow. The calendar simply gives those activities more meaning and provides all the explanations for me. Anyhow, I think your LO is still a baby, but maybe these are some things you might like to do in the future! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374277 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 11:58:49 +0000 LindsayInNY 2374277@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@kiddosc: Yeah that might be the best approach - decide now and figure out how to explain later! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374251 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 11:47:52 +0000 kiddosc 2374251@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LindsayInNY: we had a lot of issues to work out over how we'd celebrate holidays since DH and I grew up doing it completely differently. St. Nick? Presents under the tree before Christmas? Wrap Santa gifts? We just got the plan hashed out, now we can start coming up with explanations :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374222 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 11:27:23 +0000 LindsayInNY 2374222@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@kiddosc: Haha. Clearly I'm thinking WAY too far in advance on this! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374201 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 11:21:04 +0000 kiddosc 2374201@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LindsayInNY: he's only 3, so distinguishing between the two hasn't really been an issue yet. I'm not quite sure what we'll say. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2374178 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 11:09:05 +0000 LindsayInNY 2374178@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ms.Badger: @LilSprinkles: @jetsa: Do you remember how your parents explained the differences between St. Nick and Santa? Or how you explain it? That's another thing I'm trying to figure out.</p> <p>@rattles: That was DH's suggestion with the shoe.</p> <p>@kiddosc: I thought about just using the stocking each time but don't know how to eventually explain to DD the difference(s).</p> <p>@honeybear: That's a cute idea! I was thinking St. Nick would gift holiday pajamas each year since she'll be growing and replacing them about as often. Maybe an ornament too? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367789 Tue, 24 Nov 2015 06:04:56 +0000 honeybear 2367789@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm planning to do St. Nick's as a gift of new shoes, because they're needed (I buy one pair per size until they're worn out, and the current ones are nearly shot), and maybe candy/fruit. I think we'll set out the old shoes and I'll replace them with the new ones overnight.</p> <p>I hesitate to make St. Nick's about presents because Christmas and birthdays feel kind of nuts even though we look keep them really small in scale. I figure shoes plus some edible treats keeps the 'precedent' low-key! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367617 Mon, 23 Nov 2015 21:42:12 +0000 jetsa 2367617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We also do shoes on st nicks and stockings on Christmas but really they contained the same types of things </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367544 Mon, 23 Nov 2015 20:26:33 +0000 jhd 2367544@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would do a shoe for St. Nick and a stocking for Santa to differentiate. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367534 Mon, 23 Nov 2015 20:18:23 +0000 LilSprinkles 2367534@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put shoes out for St. Nick and stockings for Santa. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367202 Mon, 23 Nov 2015 15:00:52 +0000 kiddosc 2367202@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We do both, since I grew up with St. Nick and DH grew up with a stocking on Christmas. There isn't a whole lot of difference between them at this point. He gets some treats and small toys for each holiday. We use the same stocking, just empty it out before Christmas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367193 Mon, 23 Nov 2015 14:53:18 +0000 rattles 2367193@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put a shoe out for St. Nick to fill and a stocking out for Santa to fill. I set a present and a treat on their shoe, basically, and then they get a regular stocking at Christmas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367140 Mon, 23 Nov 2015 14:22:25 +0000 Ms.Badger 2367140@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I grew up with both, and other than the day there weren't a whole lot of differences. We always got an ornament in our St. Nick's stocking, but not in Xmas stocking. In St. Nick's stocking, there was usually one expensive-ish gift (Jewelry, clothing, video game etc) while nothing in that range was in xmas stocking. </p> <p>We got candy in both. Little toys etc in both. My mom LOVES gifts and stockings in particular (she's sending both me and my son a St. Nick's stocking and will also stuff a stocking for both of us and my DH for Xmas and has god-knows-how-many gifts for him already.</p> <p>I'm planning on doing all the X-mas things in St. Nick's stocking - holiday PJ's, holiday book, ornament. 1 toy so I can see him get really excited. Eventually I'll add candy and holiday movie.<br /> X-mas stocking will mostly just be candy (puffs this year, maybe pouches if i need to fill it) and little things I don't feel like wrapping and probably a stuffed animal. Maybe also boring, necessary clothes like socks which are such a bummer to unwrap. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/stockings-from-st-nick-and-santa#post-2367108 Mon, 23 Nov 2015 14:10:19 +0000 LindsayInNY 2367108@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For those of you that do St. Nick, does anyone also have Santa stockings? I grew up with St. Nick stockings only and DH grew up with Christmas morning stockings. We want to do both going forward with DD but I don't know how to distinguish the two. Anyone in the same boat? </p>