Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

It's the Feast day of St Nicholas, patron saint of children, and inspiration for modern-day Santa Claus. It's our first time celebrating/observing the feast day, and in the spirit of celebrating his life, we'd planned to put a little something into stockings for our children: a gold coin, a candy cane and one thing each child needs.

As things would happen, though, half our gifts didn't arrive in time. Plans had to change. We decided to spend the day making Christmas stockings out of felt. We spent some time planning before going to Spotlight to gather the supplies we needed. As far as possible, we made use of materials we already had at home

Our big boy wanted a stocking that opened via a flap and had security features (ie. A padlock) to deter in-house theft. Our big girl wanted a stocking that resembled a santa hat. Our little man wanted a stocking with a Christmas tree and snowflakes. 

I taught the older children the blanket stitch and they were able to work quite independently in handstitching their stocking pieces together. 

We talked about and watched a show on the life of St Nicholas. They know the gifts coming from St Nicholas will be given by mum and dad, but we still evoke a little fantasy by talking about Saint Nicholas bringing them gifts. Sometimes they throw me a grin and say, "It's Mum-and-dad-St-Nicholas!"

We spent almost the entire day working on this project, one that they'll be able to keep for years to come. In an age where many things are mass produced and we have developed a taste for instant gratification, it is a thrilling change to practise a little rebellion and take the road less travelled.