…the sixth of December, and German kids leaving out shoes. I know of no reason for St. Nicholas’s season to ever be refused. (Insert unfunny alliterative rant of words starting with V.)

We always “celebrated” St. Nicholas day by leaving out shoes the night before and finding them full of little gifts in the morning. For many years, my family has also made a point of decorating for Christmas on December sixth (takedown is New Year’s Day, na klar). California bound in less than two weeks, I still wanted to start the tradition properly in my own household (plus, I couldn’t resist the chance to cohabit with a real tree for the first time since 2004).

So I invited Oriana, bought a tiny Charlie Brown tree at the grocery store with Derek, made snowflakes and a playlist and over-whipped eggnog, and just like Santa Claus, I went to town.

A lack of Christmas decorations forced me into creativity at some points. (I don’t think this video includes the Santa hat I made for the lava lamp, or Grandma Sigi’s hand-painted Victorian Santa, for that matter.) It’s not a whole lot, but I still wanted to update and share my slightly bedecked hall, so here is another unlisted Home walkthrough, complete with cameos from Illest Derek and Post-Work Orielf:

Happy St. Nicholas Day!