Santa's Getting Ready..

A little last minute relaxing before the big night of work.

My favorite part is the smoke/steam.  This actually took a bit of work to get the smoke to show up correctly.

Tomorrow, and over Christmas, I plan to take a break.....like I've been regular lately anyway.  I travel to see family, and with small kids, the holiday can get nutso pretty fast.  I plan to make a few bigger posts showing you some of the best places to see Christmas lights around St. Louis.  Not the "popular" spots where you have to pay by the car....you can find those on your own.  I'm talking about the more intimate spots you find while driving around.  Look for those, intermittently, in the coming days.

St. Nick's Day..

Tradition is to put out your shoe the night of December 5th so St. Nicholas (whom I thought was Santa Claus....what a double dip) can bring small gifts of candy to the children while they sleep.  My kids got some good stuff here...

But, zooming out to include the parents' shoes, too, you will find I scored big time this year.  A whole case of Chip's Ahoy....my favorite cookie.

Seems I may have to rethink this whole St. Nick's Day thing.  That or the wife is getting really, really smart in changing my opinion for me......