Our Countdown to Christmas officially ends this weekend—only 5 days until Christmas.

The children are excited to bake cookies for Santa this week. They will each lovingly select one of their favorites to leave a plate out for him to snack on when he arrives at our house on Christmas Eve. If you leave a snack for Santa, don’t forget to feed his reindeer! They work hard all night pulling a sleigh full of toys. We’ll leave carrots or lettuce with the cookies.

We also have a special reindeer treat to sprinkle outside on the lawn. Our reindeer food sparkles in the moonlight to help guide them to our house. Mix 1 cup oatmeal with 2 Tbs red & green sugar crystals in a baggie. Have the kids sprinkle the food on the lawn before they go to bed. (Of course, a Tbs of brown sugar & 2/3 cup of milk will make it a yummy treat for kids too!)

If you want yet another reindeer treat for the humans to eat, Rudolph crackers are a quick, easy and healthy snack! Town House crackers make the best reindeer shape, but we use Glutino for our gluten free household—the round face tastes just as yummy! Add raisin eyes, a Craisin nose and pretzel antlers to finish your reindeer. It has been Brenia’s “healthy snack” to share at school for her December birthday for the last several years.

Originally published 12/24/2009