Happy St. Nicholas Day!

We never celebrated St. Nicholas Day before we moved to Germany, and I think it is a very sweet tradition. On the evening of December 5, children are supposed to clean their shoes and place them outside their doors for St. Nicholas to fill with goodies during the night.

I happened to come upstairs just in time to catch Luke finding his chocolate-filled shoes.

My friend Antje likes to spend St. Nicholas Day baking this traditional Swiss bread for her friends.  Can you tell it is shaped like a man?  All those white flecks are big lumps of sugary goodness.  I think it is the perfect Christmas treat.  I'm very lucky to be on Antje's St.-Nicholas-Day-Bread-Man List.