For more activities, craft ideas, lesson plans and everything Saint Nicholas, visit the beautiful and informative
Saint Nicholas Center.
Our plans this year are an adaptation of last year's plans:
I will need to bake special cookies the night before. It'll be fun to do it while everyone is sleeping, so they won't know what to expect exactly. I'll use the above Saint Nicholas coloring page to decorate the basket filled with treats.
This year, we will have a yummy special breakfast of hot chocolate and Haselnussmakronen(German Hazelnut Macaroons):
- ¾ cup (6 oz) sugar
- 1 cup (7½ oz) ground hazelnuts (filberts) or almonds
- 1½ tablespoons cocoa
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 egg whites
- a pinch of salt
Whisk egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture stands in stiff peaks. Add the remaining ingredients and fold in gently. Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture onto a greased baking sheet at least 1-inch apart. Allow to stand. Bake in oven at 300° for ½ hour. Carefully transfer to a cooling tray and store in an airtight container. They will keep for several weeks. (From Feasting for Festivals: Customs and recipes to celebrate the Christian Year by Jan Wilson)
St. Nicholas's Morning
The children will find their little shoes by the fireplace filled with some presents to open immediately. (This is wonderful because: 1) it directly relates to the story of Saint Nicholas and 2) it makes this day one for gifts and Christmas can be focused on the birth of Christ. Yes, they still receive some gifts from family, but they get their gifts from us on St. Nicholas's day.
We will drop off a "surprise package" of food and nonperishable items at our local homeless shelter. The food should be items that we chose together at the store.
We can play a game related to Saint Nicholas or St. Nicholas memory,and watch "The Boy Who Became Santa" in the evening ... while we eat more cookies, of course!
It's also the name day of our little one. Happy saint's day, little Nico!
6 comments:
Great minds DO think alike! I posted last night on your St. Nick paper doll and the St. Nicholas Center. I have always loved that site. So, Happy St. Nicholas Day to you and yours. I am off to print a couple of your St. Nicks :)
Evann,
Hee, hee. That site is one of my favorites ... It's so pretty and informative and fun, isn't it? And thanks! Happy St. Nicholas Day to you and your family as well! (hugs)
Another family made these at our German church's Advent baking day but I didn't know what they were. A very yummy memory.
Three cheers for yummy memories! ;) Now with St. Lucia Day coming up, there's bound to be more yummy memories to make.
He's wonderful! love that doll. and your recipe! thanks for sharing.
Hi! I just discovered your lovely blog and read about sinterklaas. I live in the Netherlands and Sinterklaas is a big festival overhere although it's very commercialised (like Christmas..). Still a great festival to give children presents and we also make jokes (surprises) with funny poems for the adults. Although this is celibrated by all the people, I think that not many see it as a catholic festival, it's just a cultural festival overhere.
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