The boys each got a new train (the battery operated kind, so that was super exciting), a new Christmas book (Merry Christmas, Strega Nona and Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey) and of course some chocolate coins and candy canes. David was really worried about the horrific state of dirtiness of his shoes as he was going to bed last night but I assured him that everything would be okay and St. Nicholas would not be too scandalized.....
We had a special breakfast of hot chocolate and donuts which went over pretty well.......
This picture is deceptive in that it makes it look like he actually drank the hot chocolate--in reality this is precisely two seconds before he spit it out all over himself and the table, declaring that "I don't think I like hot chocolate." Both boys ended up just eating the whipped cream off of the top and then pushing away the rest of the disgusting monstrosity that I had dared to place before them.....oh well, more for me :)
We've had a little confusion this year about St. Nicholas vs. Santa. David said he was excited that St. Nicholas was going to come but wanted to know when the real Santa was coming, you know, the one with the presents? Liturgical year parenting fail. I was quick on my feet and calmly explained that St. Nicholas is Santa and he loves God so much and is just so happy that we are celebrating baby Jesus' birthday that he comes back a second time on Christmas Eve to give even more presents! I think that settled things, we'll see....you never really know what's going on inside those little heads of theirs......
I think reading some books about St. Nicholas and discussing the beauty of giving gifts out of love of God are on the agenda for the rest of the day. We picked up an Angel Tree ornament at mass last week and went out earlier this week to pick out presents for a special little girl. David wanted to chip in so that the presents would really be from him too so he raided his piggy bank of all the dollar bills he had and was so excited to give his five dollars to the cashier to help pay for the gifts. Five dollars was a substantial amount of his savings but they ended up costing quite a bit more than that--I may have gotten a little carried away choosing a "winter outfit" for a little girl--I don't often get the opportunity to buy a fully accessorized girl's outfit complete with sparkling hair clips so you'll have to forgive me!
I think David is well on his way to being "even kinder than Cinderella"....which is his current prayer :)