Milk for Santa. Surely not!

[HostaCentral]

On another social media platform on British traditions, so many comments suggesting leaving a carrot and a glass of milk out for Santa.

When did this become a thing? Poor Santa. He always got a glass of whiskey or brandy from us. Kept him going all night. Also no mince pie??

Absolutely not…milk is not a drink for adults. He had sherry and a mince pie when I was a child, when my children were little he preferred whisky or Baileys with his mince pie.

In our house, the DC choose a drink and a snack for Santa based on what they think he'll like. Sometimes it's beer, sometimes juice, sometimes coffee, etc. It's been milk on a few occasions and I used to leave milk when I was a kid in the 80s. For snacks he usually gets a mince pie or a biscuit. Rudolph gets whatever veg DC like the look of (felt sorry for DH the year it was an entire raw onion and he had to bite a chomp out of it).

What's this? You're not an adult unless you drink at least 15% booze? I thought I'd seen it all but gatekeeping adulthood is hilarious.

But not as hilarious as taking offence at a lighthearted comment…

Ah yes sorry. Tinkly laugh.

I don’t think leaving Father Christmas a single measure of brandy on Christmas Eve equates to encouraging anyone to get wasted, does it? Bit silly to equate them.

I was born in ‘69 and my siblings various years up to ‘76 and Santy always had a mince pie and whiskey, and a carrot was left for Rudolph!

As I kid I left nothing. When my dc were little we left a mince pie, a carrot snd whatever booze we had to hand.

It was always a home made mince pie and sherry for Father's Christmas growing up. I was a seventies child

Love that you called him Santy, it reminds me of my nana as that's what she always called him.

Can’t have Santa drink driving! That was my logic when I was about 5 so we left out Milk (in hindsight my dad did try to persuade me it didn’t count for Santa!)

ds always left our milk or sometimes juice. One year he also left out Pringles for Santa as he thought he would be bored of mince pies

Bailey’s and a mince pie for the Big Man when I was a kid. Carrot for the reindeer. Now my girls leave out a soft drink for Father Christmas because times have changed and drink driving is both less socially acceptable and also punished more harshly by the law.

Midlands, 1960s. FC got a mince pie and sherry until the year he left a note saying could he have Scotch next time if we didn't mind (guess what Dad drank)

Baileys in our house.

No alcohol in our house so he will have to make do without! Going to ask DD what she wants to leave- I imagine it will be either Oat milk or orange squash

It’s another ghastly invasion from across the pond! I’d like it put about on SM that Santa/Father Christmas will avoid any houses where he’s expected to enjoy cold milk on a bloody freezing midwinter night, rather than a nice tot of something to warm him up! And mince pies, please, not sodding cookies!

No. I’m Scottish and in my early 40s and leaving milk was common then, at least among my peer group. As not everyone drinks alcohol I don’t think that they can be expected to buy some just for that only to pour it down the sink. I never have alcohol in the house unless I’ve bought some as a gift for a friend’s birthday. I don’t even use it for cooking or baking so I have no use for it as a non drinker. (Though I currently have a bottle of champagne in the cupboard that I’m trying to figure out what to do with it/who to give it to as I received it when I recently bought my new home but that’s rare.)

I'm in my 40s and left milk for Santa when I was a kid.

Santa in our house really dislikes mince pies... so please don't make this a thing!

Think it might be an Irish thing? I had a nana from Cork!

Brown sherry, mince pie and a carrot, here.

Milk and cookies were always the US thing. In my day - 1960s - it was a small sherry for Santa with a mince pie and a carrot for the reindeer

Although I remember my niece deciding over 30 years ago that what Santa would really like was a glass of Ribena and a peanut butter sandwich

Mince pie and either whisky or sherry with a carrot for the reindeer.

Could be! My great-grandma was from Kilkenny, they emigrated over here during WW2 when my nana was young. She used to tell me stories about playing in bombed out houses (they lived in Coventry). Did your nana ever make you sugar sandwiches? I've been told that's an Irish thing too.

As a child I found it odd that Santa's preference coincided with that of the householder where we were staying. GP1 Sherry, GP2 Whiskey, home beer.