When my kids were little we lived in a townhouse that didn’t have a fireplace. At Christmas, they would wonder how Santa would be able to deliver his presents if he had no chimney to come down. Well, my mom came up with a brilliant idea. Something I would never have thought about but I’m so glad she did.

She sent me a Santa key. It’s actually an ornament for the tree but suggested that we use it as a key for Santa. Yes, what an amazing idea! On Christmas Eve we would get everything ready for Santa’s visit. We would leave cookies and milk out for him and then placed the key outside the door. When Santa came with his presents, he could let himself in and put them under the tree. (wink, wink) To this day, I thought that was the best idea. The Santa key has the following poem written on its box.

A Key For Santa

If a house has no chimney for Santa to come in,

or if the chimney is too small, since Santa’s NOT thin.

There’s nothing to worry about

because Santa can see

how to get inside if you leave him a key!

Along with this secret key, my mom also gave me a recipe to make reindeer food. Another “why didn’t I think of that” moment. It’s so simple to make and the kids loved knowing that they were helping to feed the reindeer when they stopped to deliver presents. It’s really simple to make. You just put some dry oatmeal in a bag along with some glitter. The oats are supposed to attract the reindeer and the glitter is to shine from the moonlight and light the way for them to land. On Christmas Eve, I made a small bag for each of the kids. They would go outside and sprinkle the oats and glitter all over the ground. So cute! I know we have pictures some where of them doing that.

Do you have any special holiday traditions that you and your family share? If not, start some. It definitely creates wonderful memories for years to come.