Stocking Stuffers

During last Christmas season Cade was very into making me proud of his healthy choices.  We were walking through the candy aisle in some store, and he declared with much enthusiasm that he didn't want candy in his Christmas stocking.   And even went so far as to add, "I'd rather have Popi's chicken salad in my Christmas stocking."

Well, of course I couldn't pass that one up.  Too cute.  Somehow chicken salad has become a signature recipe of my Dad's and all the kids love it.   I told Dad, and he was all over having a little rubbermaid container of chicken salad for each of the kids stockings.

Well this Christmas my parents are in South Africa visiting my brother and family (they relocated there for a few year with Heinz).  That chicken salad had already become a relied upon tradition would never have crossed my mind, especially with the recipe calling for quartered grapes.  (Really now?  Who has time for that?)

But as soon as we pulled out the stockings after Thanksgiving, Bode's eyes lit up and he turned to me and said, "Remember?  Santa brings us chicken salad for our stockings!"

So here I am in the kitchen before the crack of dawn on Christmas morning quartering grapes.  And tucked in or under every stocking is Santa's gift.

Oh, the funny things we do for our kids to make Christmas magical.

May your day be filled with love, and the knowledge of the true miracle of Christmas.  That God humbled Himself to be born into this world, so He could show us how to truly love, and then made the ultimate sacrifice to pay for our sin, that we might have a relationship with Him.  To be His children and His friends. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Merry Christmas everyone!