For all those who lo's (and adults) still believe in FC you need to do this on xmas eve!

[Lilyloo]

Basically bag of porridge oats and glitter (food and light) for the reindeers on xmas eve it's a ritual for us from mil and dc's love it ! But remember to sweep up after bedtime to aviod any questions in the morning been there! Usually put in a bag with a poem like this attached!

[lucysmam]

what a lovely idea! porridge n glitter going on my list of things to get

[Lilyloo]

we give bag to all neighbours lo's too is such a cheap but lovely thing for lo's and something they talk about and remember well after the pressies have been opened and played with!!

[glasgowgal]

Yep. Do it every year. Also take a bite out of a carrot for Rudolph and leave teethmarks. Dcs have never measured a reindeer's gnashers

[lucysmam]

pmsl@taking a bite out of a carrott! That's a good one too. I never thought about anything like that for my lo but bet she'd love it

[Bowddee]

Every year me and my brother left out a carrot for Rudolph. And we never noticed the excess carrot in the gerbils' food bowl on Xmas morning.

DS has an Advent Box so every night we sprinkle "Santa Dust" on the hearth up to this blardy box and shove a small toy/chocolate in the drawer.

DH thinks I get more out of it than DS does.

[Oliveoil]

yes we have done this for years, the playgroup the girls went to made the 'food' and card and they brought it home

and we bite out of the carrot, the mince pie and swig the whiskey

[lucysmam]

Think I'll add this thread to watch!

[MaureenMLove]

Last year I chopped up a carrot very roughly and threw it on the decking and a few years ago, I ripped a small peice of red fabric and stuck it just inside the chimney, as if FC had ripped his trousers coming down!

Not sure what I'll do this year, although DD is 13, so perhaps I'm making a fool of myself now!

[Lilyloo]

santa only has milk here as he driving and carrot for reindeers (dog finishes other half and mince pie (only bought for this as me and dp don't like)!

[Lilyloo]

Anyone do the talc with footprint on doormat / fireplace ?

[Chandra]

Erm... I guess DxH and DS have a bit of a geek spirit to it, we had the oats and the glitter, the carrots in the wooden shoes, the biscuits with milk a la Americaine, and.... a candle lighted landing strip in the back garden

[Furball]

I use birdfood and demera sugar, then the birds eat it to save me clearing it up

[MorocconOil]

yes lilyloo. We did footsteps from the downstairs fireplace ll the way up to the DSs bedroom. Probably won't do it again as DS2 was abit freaked by a strange, old man being in his room while he was sleeping.

[kiwibella]

dd is now 12... we still leave out a bottle of beer for Santa (only one Mum - he's driving and we don't want him drunk, Mum) and a bag of chocolate buttons for Rudolph. Not sure why she doesn't consider the other reindeer but I'm completely sure we will continue this ritual this year.

My dad always told my sister: stop believing, stop receiving.

[Lilyloo]

kiwi hope we doing it at 12 dreading ds stop believing he 6 !

[overthemill]

we're going to watch fc's progress on the nasa webcam!!

always bit a biit out of carrot an dmince pie - not sure we do this for now, reckon none of them believe

[swedishmum]

I use coloured sugar (decorating kind) with oats to be environmentally friendly. I'm making up bags for school Christmas fete. We have a Santa plate for mince pie (made by me and children on Christmas Eve after carols) carrot and milk. Also use that pretend snow you add water to with dh's big boots for footprints. I always bite the carrot and dh eas the mince pie leaving a note for dcs along with lots of crumbs.

[pinkspottywellies]

Sorry for being thick here but what exactly do you do with the oats and glitter?

[Lilyloo]

I mix them up in small bag tell dc we have to sprinkle them on the path to our house to light/feed the way and that's it sprinkle them and off you go!

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

oh we do that every year we also have a special santa key. santa comes down the chimney and then gets the key to open the door and bring the pressies.

last year i got dh's shoe and made a cut out on a cereal box. put it on the floor and sprinkled flour around it, making 'snowy footprints' from the fireplace to the front door and tree. dd1 was very excited and told everyone that she jjust knew santa was real as she had seen his 'feetprints'

[pinkspottywellies]

Ah. Thanks! Cute.

[shhhh]

how about a wellyboot being left half in/out of your fireplace/chimmney..?

"oh look, santas boot has been left" .

We do the carrot thing and even eat the mince pie and drink the drink...done it even on dd's 1st christmas...in fact we even did it when I was expecting dd .

the reindeer food is a brill idea..

[marmadukescarlet]

I make 100 bags of reindeer food ever year for my stall at school fete - I no longer use edible glitter as way too expensive but large crystal suger (jam sugar type without pectin).

Sprinkle on your lawn at night, the moon will make it sparkle bright, as santa's reindeer fly and roam this will guide them to your home.

(can you tell I once had to hand write all the labels)

We do floury footprint, nibbled carrot, wiskey, mince pie with a bit out and ring bells in the spare room - the bells usually drive them into a frenzy!

[onthepier]

We do this, reindeer food is a lovely idea! One year we slotted some jagged red felt just below the hinge on our front door + said, "Oh look, Santa must have been in a rush, he tore his coat on the way out!"

The dc's were more excited about that than the presents!!

[shhhh]

marma, lol at the "frenzy"

and thats just you and dh . Ohhhhhhhhhh I luuurrrvvveeeeee christmas, if only "families"(gp's) didn't make it so complicated...