Reading time: 4 minFinally, the day had arrived. It was the evening before St. Nicholas Day, and siblings Ellie and Owen could hardly wait. Right on time for St. Nicholas Day, the first snowflakes began to fall, gently drifting to the ground and forming delicate ice crystals on the wooden windowsill.
Christmas music played in the living room, and Mom and Dad were busy taking the beautiful paper stars out of the old boxes and attaching them to the windows.
Ellie watched her parents and was happy that adults still enjoyed St. Nicholas Day. She had once made the paper stars in kindergarten and was proud that they decorated the house year after year.
“Not quite perfect, but very cozy,” Ellie thought. Just as she was about to help with the decorating, her little brother came running around the corner. “Mom, when is Santa Claus finally coming?” Ellie heard Owen call out loudly.
Excitedly, he ran to the patio door and pressed his little face against the cold glass. It was already dark outside, and only the Christmas lights on the bushes and trees gave any indication that there was a beautiful garden behind the door.
Mom stroked Owen’s blond hair. “St. Nicholas will set off tonight. But there’s still a lot to do before that.” While Ellie already knew what needed to be prepared, her little brother had no idea. He listened to his mom curiously.
“First, we’ll make sure your winter boots are clean.” The three of them went to the front door together. All the family’s shoes were on a small shelf. Mom looked at the children’s boots. “A little water wouldn’t hurt them, I think.”
Smiling, she brought a rag and a bowl of warm water into the hallway. Together they cleaned the boots and then dried them carefully. “There, I think St. Nicholas will be happy with that.”
Owen was the first to put his little boots outside the door. By now, there was a thick layer of snow on the ground. Ellie’s shoes were placed next to them.
“Good – done!” Owen exclaimed happily. “Now St. Nicholas can come!” Mom and Ellie looked at each other and shook their heads seriously. Ellie took over. “No, Owen! We still have to prepare a plate of cookies for St. Nicholas. And we need a bowl of water and some carrots for his donkey.”
Owen was very excited. “A donkey?” he asked curiously. Without waiting for an answer, he immediately ran to the basement to get some juicy carrots. In the meantime, Mom had gotten a bowl of fresh water and Ellie had fetched Grandma’s cookie jar.
Like every year, they had received a package of fresh cookies from Grandma for the first Sunday of Advent. Ellie thought they were the best cookies in the world. Both siblings agreed that they would give St. Nicholas a few of the delicious cookies.
They carefully stacked the cookies on the beautiful red plate. “Now all we need is a glass of milk and we’re done,” said Mom contentedly.
“Now we want to hear a bedtime story about Santa Claus and his donkey!” Owen exclaimed excitedly, looking at his dad. “All right, but first we have to brush our teeth!” replied Dad.
In their pajamas, the two siblings snuggled into their beds and Dad dimmed the lights. “One night, in the deep snow…” they heard him say. But then they fell fast asleep and dreamed of St. Nicholas.
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