In the Nick of Time

Yesterday we celebrated the feast day of St. Nicholas and, as excited as the kids were (cut to Mimi waking up at 1:39 am and then waking the boys up to sit in front of the remaining fire and eat their chocolate coins etc.), I was more excited to have an excuse to use my brand new 4-square Belgian waffle maker! Seriously. Bye-bye pancakes and the whole one. pancake. at. a. time. process. Let me tell you: it works like a dream! Not only that, the waffles look pretty too.  Now, that is a win win situation.
But, I digress.  St. Nicholas day was celebrated with chocolate coins (idea from the blog Shower of Roses), fabric-wrapped gifts, a note from St. Nicholas encouraging each child to love God, pray and work on certain...character flaws.  For example: talking too much, whining and complaining, being contradictory etc.
Well, as the song goes: these are a few of my favorite things:

Saint Nicholas sugar cookies that take too long to make but sure look cute.  I really don't mind, the children only get one and the rest they give to their friends.

Here are the St. Nicholas coins I was telling you about.  Aren't they charming?

Brunch is served. See the waffles? That is what I'm talking about.

                           

Since I didn't post an entry from last year's St. Nicholas celebration, I thought I'd insert a couple of pictures from 2012. This year I forgot to make the sugar 'staff' cookies. It's a pity because they add height to the overall look of the table; not only that, they are GREAT for dunking in tea!