“Do you think he’s gonna come tonight?” my small daughter asked me late one December evening many years ago.
“Do I think who’s going to come?” I tucked her into bed and smoothed the quilt across her chest.
“Santa!” The little girl’s blue eyes began to shine.
“Santa Claus? Look, Christie, we’re only a few days into December. That jolly old elf doesn’t usually come around until the twenty-fifth.”
“Oh, yes, he does. My friend Sarah says if you put your shoes outside on the porch tonight with a carrot and some hay for Santa’s reindeer, St. Nicholas will come and leave you candy treats.”
“Well, Honey,” I fumbled for the words, “don’t get your hopes up. St. Nick might make it as far as the Van Komen’s house tonight, but I don’t think he’ll get to our place until, let’s say, tomorrow night.”
“Are you sure?” The child’s face grew long.
“Almost certain,” I said, glancing at my watch with its hour hand already edging past the closing time of any local store. “Isn’t there a song about this?” I asked myself. "All the shops were barred and shuttered...."
“Well, I think I’ll leave my shoes sitting out there anyway,” Christie decided, clamping her lips together in a way that made her chin look square.
“You mean your shoes are already on the porch?”
“Uh huh! With a carrot and some hamster food inside. I hope Rudolf understands we didn’t have no hay.”
“Any hay. We didn’t have any hay. But listen, Sweetheart, I hope you won’t be disappointed in the morning if all you get is frozen shoes.”
“I won’t be disappointed,” Christie yawned and closed her eyes. “I know St. Nick will come.”
The next morning I watched with some anxiety as that little girl retrieved her icy shoes.
“He came! He came!” she squealed holding up two rolls of Certs breath mints and a pack of Wrigley's gum.
“Imagine that!” I heard myself exclaim, patting my emptied purse.
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| In my great-grandma Nauta's zeal to raise American children after immigrating to the United States from Friesland, many of the family's Dutch traditions were replaced by those of their new, adopted country. It wasn't until my little daughter's friend told her about Saint Nicholas Day that we began to yearn for more ways to celebrate our ethnic heritage, even if it meant purchasing pairs of wooden shoes on eBay. |
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I don't know if my kids remember this delicious warm, ice cream-based drink I used to make for them on cold days after school. I lost the original recipe that I originally got from my friend Sandra Shelley but found this version at Taste of Home.
Hot Almond Ice Cream Drink
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, cubed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
- 2 teaspoon almond extract
- Ground nutmeg
Directions:
In a small saucepan over low heat, cook and stir butter and sugars for 12-15 minutes or until butter is melted and sugars are dissolved. Pour into a large bowl; add ice cream and almond extract. Beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until smooth, scraping the bowl often. Freeze. To make one serving: Spoon 1/4 C (4 T) mix into a mug; add 3/4 C boiling water and stir well. If desired, sprinkle with nutmeg.
I used to freeze a double batch of this mix in a Tupperware container so my kids could scoop out 1/4 cup portions and mix their own on a cold day.
