Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Here are some crafts to help celebrate St. Nicholas Day.  Most years we try to make sacks to give to friends or to the children at our church for St. Nicholas Day.  This year I painted wooden peg people to put in the sacks.  Last year we made snowflake shaped paper Christmas ornaments and St. Nicholas prayer cards.  I also put clementines, candy canes, spice cookies and a story from the St. Nicholas Center website in the sacks along with an explanation of why those items are associated with St. Nicholas. (http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/home/)

The evening before December 6, I read a book about St. Nicholas to my children (We have this one and this one).  Then they put their shoes outside their bedrooms for St. Nicholas to fill in the night (usually chocolate coins and clementines or a small toy).  I read another story about St. Nicholas to the kids this morning using the peg St. Nicholas along with some other small props to help tell the story.  Then we enjoyed our spice cookies and some hot chocolate.  I sometimes read several stories about St. Nicholas to the kids during the week leading up to Dec. 6 emphasizing his kindness and generosity to others then we make the sacks together to give to our friends.

Wishing you all many blessings on this day!

Troparion of St. Nicholas
O holy bishop Nicholas,
You appeared to your flock as a rule of faith,
An image of humility
and a teacher of abstinence.
Because of your lowliness, heaven was opened to you,
Because of your poverty, riches were granted to you.
Pray to Christ our God to save our souls.