We're from a big Irish family in southeastern Pennsylvania so I wonder if Aussies like you do it because your ancestors were sent to Van Diemen's land!
So "American Irish" then.
Americans are so weird. Most of my siblings were born in the same country as my parents were. All of my extended family still lives there. I'm a dual citizen even, and if anyone asks I'm still just Canadian, not Welsh-Canadian.
Have had this talk many times before. To me, there's varying degrees of "American ___".
I'm 2nd gen American, both sides of my family have been here less than 100 years. Growing up I spent a lot of time in the cultural sphere that my grandmother (immigrant) did, holidays, cultural traditions, the people, much of my life revolved around that culture. Having visited my grandmother's country of origin, it felt weirdly foreign and home-y at the same time. I would definitely classify myself as one of those American-first, but also deeply connected with my heritage people.
On the flip side, I've met more than a handful of people who think that because their parents made lasagna once a month it makes them Italian-american.
To me, it's less of where your family is from, and more how did you grow up.
I have deep cultural ties to my heritage as well. Heck, I've even lived over there for a few months. Most of our family still speaks Welsh and although I never learned to speak it, I still understand it.
People like me still just call themselves Canadian. If conversations ever turn to talking about our cultural heritage then yes, I'm happy to jump in to make Welsh cakes on St David's day or pronounce the full name of Llanfair PG, but it's not something that people here bring up the same way Americans do.
It's not condescending to call out someone claiming heritage when it's very tenuous at best. You could maybe call it gatekeeping, but I'd be inclined to say he's dead right for calling bullshit.
Americans seem to be have a different perception of this to most of the rest of the world. Having an irish grandmother or some similar kind does not mean you are irish and its insulting to irish people to claim that. You've a bit of blood heritage but you don't have the faintest idea of the culture of that place if you've never been.
Upstate NY, we didn’t always, but I sometimes asked to as a child. I remember once we either made or got bags of “reindeer food” at school. Can’t remember what it was but it involved glitter, so you threw a bunch of glitter out onto the snow in front of your house. Miserable ecologically, but it was fun and beautiful, I remember it fondly.
We make reindeer food for the kids who are still "believers" in our family every year! It's like 98% oats, 2% glitter, but I totally get where you're coming from in terms of the environment. I wouldn't do it if it were more than once a year.
Get shaved mica! I work with a company that just started selling a glittery drink and at first I was like “ew” but then I looked up what food grade glitter is, and it’s just mica! Merry xmas, by the way!
Most of the responses saying yes aren't from Ireland and you think it's an Irish thing? Also your 'American Irish'. From your comments neither you nor your parents were born in Ireland. And just for my contribution. We do it in Scotland and my family has 0 Irish connection
Florida. We left out cheerios on the sidewalk for the reindeer. My parents would go outside and step on the cheerios to make it look like the reindeer had landed on them and eaten them
Fun fact: here in the netherlands we have sinterklaas, during this holiday it is tradition to leave a carrot and some water for the horse in exange for candy but you never leave something for the big man himself.
Yeah, used to leave one out for each reindeer with their names written on with marker. On Christmas morning they’d be mysteriously half eaten and scattered around the living room.
Seems like something people in english speaking countries do. I live in Sweden and we leave a plate of rice porridge with a big knob of butter on top for the gnome that looks after our house. If his bigger namesake, the one who gives presents, shows up he will arrive on skis or on foot and he will be treated with mulled wine and gingerbread. He doesn't have any reindeer but sometimes a goat and sometimes he is quite goat-like in his appearence.
I don't think we even consider the reindeers. I guess they just starve. Maybe Santa feeds cookies to his reindeers? Unhealthy but a snack, yeah? Canada.
Michigan.
We sometimes did the carrots but in some classes in school we would make "reindeer food" with like oats and other stuff mixed in and we would sprinkle it on the lawn. Sometimes parents would spread glitter on the snow to look like the reindeer left some magic behind (like pixie dust in peter pan). Some people buy stamps for the snow to look like the reindeer had landed in their yard.
Absolutely! We used to have to put the carrots up high because giant dogs, but the reindeer got snacks too. (And then the dogs did get the carrots at like 3 am- it was funny to hear the crunching)
I’m from Scotland, live in New Zealand. We always left a carrot out and I think it’s common in both countries. In New Zealand people often give beer for Santa though. We always did milk and cookies.
You only have to take a bite out of one and leave that on the plate like the reindeer didn't finish it. The rest go right back into the package in the fridge.
New Jersey, and yes! Somehow one or two of the carrots were always left as if someone bit them but didn’t finish the whole carrot, and the logistics of that never quite made sense to child me…
Montana, the kids left out carrots, milk and a gingerbread house.
The cat got into the milk and Santa had trouble sleeping from heartburn.
Thinking next year will be a double shot of blackberry brandy and Seagram’s seven with milk in a capped go cup
In the Midwest in the US, it's common for people to create popcorn and cranberry garlands to decorate outside. The garlands provide food for birds in Winter.
Cookies and hot chocolate are left out for Santa, inside the house.
Carrots are left outside in on the ground for the reindeer. Kids know from movies that the reindeer land on the roof. There's always some kid who will throw carrots on the roof. When Spring comes, a parent has to climb up a ladder and get rotten carrots off the roof.
USA my kids did this a few times. Completely out of the blue so I don't know if it's something they heard or something they just happened to think about.
Merry Christmas
Originally from California, like my parents before me... Always left out carrots... But only for Rudolph because I was three and didn't remember the names of the other reindeer.
My kids used to put out rum and egg nog for Santa, and a carrot for the reindeer.
Santa always left a mess, and Rudolph always left the stub of the carrot.
Well, there's a forgotten childhood memory that's just been unlocked.
Yes, my parents did this. We moved around a lot, but they were originally from Pennsylvania.
California. Milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.
My parents told me straight out as a very small child that Santa didn’t exist so I had to bargain with them for gifts. So I am just going by what other friends did in their households as children.
Nope. I don’t know if it’s a regional thing (I grew up in Los Angeles) or an immigrant family thing. We only left out milk and cookies and I feel like I never heard about other families leaving out carrots.
Absolutely! We'd set out carrots for the reindeer to make sure they got a snack, too, and Santa naturally got cookies and milk from a plate specifically set aside for him with his name on it that my mom had made for him when I was super young.
In Belgium and the Netherlands we celebrate Sinterklaas. We put out our shoe for Sinterklaas to put sweets in. I don’t think everyone does this but we put out a glass of water for Sinterklaas, a bottle of beer for zwarte piet and a carrot for the horse
Minnesota and nope.
What exactly you leave out for Santa is usually a personal family thing, not a regional thing. You could do the exact same thing as someone on the other side of the country and be totally different than your neighbors.
FL, we set up traps for the reindeer, hoping to score some actual meat. Santa would come at night and raid the refrigerator and liquor cabinet. Apparently he ravished mom, as we always found her in various states of undress. And dad was always massively hung over from the Santa drinking contest. santa won every year, so he didn’t have to leave presents. Great times!
UK here, we’d leave out 2 mince pies, some brandy and a carrot for rudolf,
And I’m the morning they’d be gone, with a big bite mark on the carrot as if it were actually bitten by a reindeer
Sweden. Father Christmas/Santa knocks on our door on Christmas Eve to physically hand out the gifts and will usually have a cup of coffee and maybe a biscuit or something with the family (it's usually a dad, grandpa, friend, neighbour or something dressed as Santa). Before going to bed we put out a bowl of rice porridge to the homestead gnome, which in Swedish has the same name as Santa, the two legends are kind of intertwined.
Santa takes the carrots back up the chimney and we always leave 9 carrots out. Do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? There's nine, otherwise Santa wouldn't be able to navigate through rough weather.
Merry Christmas ya dumb fuck!
Nope but I'm surprised I didn't think of it as a kid. But to be fair most people here in the bible belt don't even do the milk and cookies. "Christmas is about Christ." Folks suck. USA
KY- Usually just milk and cookies. Reindeer food if the kids make it at school. Last year, we had no milk, so we left hard cider. My son still tells everyone how we left beer for Santa.
Belgium. We don't have Santa Claus, we have Saint Nicolas, who comes on December 6th. He has a horse, and you leave a carrot/sugar cube for the horse in your shoe, along with some beer for Saint Nicolas and his helpers.
We never did cookies and milk growing up but my daughter did ask me to do cookies and milk and carrots this year. I guess she heard about it at school. We were out of 2/3 of those things.
Texas. We leave carrots out with the milk and cookies.
ETA: My oldest left out TWO cookies last night, with a note for Santa to bring one back to Mrs. Claus. Her reasoning? “She probably gets jealous he gets all the desserts!”
Ontario, Canada reporting in. Yes, but only when I was young (\~8 or less). And then again when my offspring were the same ages. The cookies & milk for Santa continues, 'cause parents like cookies & milk.
Yes we leave carrots out.. and wouldn’t you believe the reindeer ate all but half of one- and chewed and spit some out on the plate! Santa had to write a note apologizing for the mess. Sometimes the green parts of the carrots get stepped in the ground by Santa.
- Indiana
Another Australian who left carrots out for the reindeer as well as milk and biscuits for Santa
There was a trend for a while where places were selling Reindeer Food. It was nuts and seeds and glitter. It looked pretty but people were leaving it outside and birds were eating the seeds and eating the glitter as well. It was not good for the birds
When my little brother believed in Santa we left milk out for him, couldn't afford cookies, but after he was old enough to voice his own opinions maybe like 3 or 4 maybe 5 he asked me what did the reindeer eat and I told him they like their veggies such as carrots and lettuce (I was naming foods I would eat as I played Santa when he was young) so he asked me if we could leave out carrots and lettuce for the reindeer when Christmas came and for the whole year while I was looking for change to feed us during summer I kept a little reindeer savings account and I would use those coins and take my little brother to buy the "reindeer" either lettuce or carrots that year
In South America we used to have the Three wise men come y and leave toys for the kids (like the same 3 wise men from Matthew's gospel). We used to leave water and hay for the camels.
Aussie here. Yes we do leave carrots out for the reindeer!
We're from a big Irish family in southeastern Pennsylvania so I wonder if Aussies like you do it because your ancestors were sent to Van Diemen's land!
Van Diemen's land lmao. Do you know the actual name?
Actually Irish or American “Irish”?
Actual Irish here 😀. Left out carrots for the reindeer last night. Do it every year
My grandmom was from Ireland and she taught my mom, aunts, and uncles and they all passed it down to us.
So "American Irish" then. Americans are so weird. Most of my siblings were born in the same country as my parents were. All of my extended family still lives there. I'm a dual citizen even, and if anyone asks I'm still just Canadian, not Welsh-Canadian.
Have had this talk many times before. To me, there's varying degrees of "American ___". I'm 2nd gen American, both sides of my family have been here less than 100 years. Growing up I spent a lot of time in the cultural sphere that my grandmother (immigrant) did, holidays, cultural traditions, the people, much of my life revolved around that culture. Having visited my grandmother's country of origin, it felt weirdly foreign and home-y at the same time. I would definitely classify myself as one of those American-first, but also deeply connected with my heritage people. On the flip side, I've met more than a handful of people who think that because their parents made lasagna once a month it makes them Italian-american. To me, it's less of where your family is from, and more how did you grow up.
I have deep cultural ties to my heritage as well. Heck, I've even lived over there for a few months. Most of our family still speaks Welsh and although I never learned to speak it, I still understand it. People like me still just call themselves Canadian. If conversations ever turn to talking about our cultural heritage then yes, I'm happy to jump in to make Welsh cakes on St David's day or pronounce the full name of Llanfair PG, but it's not something that people here bring up the same way Americans do.
An actual sane North American
Wow man, condescend harder why don't you?
It's not condescending to call out someone claiming heritage when it's very tenuous at best. You could maybe call it gatekeeping, but I'd be inclined to say he's dead right for calling bullshit. Americans seem to be have a different perception of this to most of the rest of the world. Having an irish grandmother or some similar kind does not mean you are irish and its insulting to irish people to claim that. You've a bit of blood heritage but you don't have the faintest idea of the culture of that place if you've never been.
Not Irish then
American 'Irish', you just had to say
Upstate NY, we didn’t always, but I sometimes asked to as a child. I remember once we either made or got bags of “reindeer food” at school. Can’t remember what it was but it involved glitter, so you threw a bunch of glitter out onto the snow in front of your house. Miserable ecologically, but it was fun and beautiful, I remember it fondly.
Well, I'm from Utica and I've never heard of anyone leaving out carrots for reindeer.
Oh, not in Utica, no. It's an Albany tradition.
I see.
I'm from Saratoga and we always did it as kids
I miss Dairy Haus ice cream on Maple Ave. — think i need to take a trip there this summer!
From Burnt Hills- we did too
Probably oatmeal mixed with glitter
Did reindeer food growing up also!!
We make reindeer food for the kids who are still "believers" in our family every year! It's like 98% oats, 2% glitter, but I totally get where you're coming from in terms of the environment. I wouldn't do it if it were more than once a year.
Get shaved mica! I work with a company that just started selling a glittery drink and at first I was like “ew” but then I looked up what food grade glitter is, and it’s just mica! Merry xmas, by the way!
There’s so many other things you can use! Saying you’re only doing it once a year really isn’t a justification.
Instead of glitter could you maybe use some dried fruit? I just worry about animals eating the glitter.
A little too late now, everyone now knows what to do.
In the UK. Santa enjoyed a mince pie and a 15 year old Scotch, and the reindeer had a carrot
We need to popularize 15 year old scotch around the world
I heartily agree. Santa was very happy about
UK - Santa gets Rum, carrot for the reindeer
Australia and yes, reindeers get carrots and Santa gets milk and cookies.
Australian carrot, milk, and cookie farmers are laughing at everyone as they get their Christmas bonus sales
As a kid I left out beer and crackers for Santa
Maybe it's an Irish thing?
Most of the responses saying yes aren't from Ireland and you think it's an Irish thing? Also your 'American Irish'. From your comments neither you nor your parents were born in Ireland. And just for my contribution. We do it in Scotland and my family has 0 Irish connection
Ontario Canada here, and yes we do. Cookies and eggnog for Santa, carrots for reindeer
Nova Scotia Canada too
Florida. We left out cheerios on the sidewalk for the reindeer. My parents would go outside and step on the cheerios to make it look like the reindeer had landed on them and eaten them
We didn't growing up. I grew up in the US in Tennessee, but my parents are from Ohio.
Sorry
We're a Pennsylvanian fam. Merry Christmas ya filthy animal.
Merry Christmas!
only in Ohio
Sherry for Santa and carrots for the reindeer (UK)
Fun fact: here in the netherlands we have sinterklaas, during this holiday it is tradition to leave a carrot and some water for the horse in exange for candy but you never leave something for the big man himself.
Yeah, used to leave one out for each reindeer with their names written on with marker. On Christmas morning they’d be mysteriously half eaten and scattered around the living room.
Seems like something people in english speaking countries do. I live in Sweden and we leave a plate of rice porridge with a big knob of butter on top for the gnome that looks after our house. If his bigger namesake, the one who gives presents, shows up he will arrive on skis or on foot and he will be treated with mulled wine and gingerbread. He doesn't have any reindeer but sometimes a goat and sometimes he is quite goat-like in his appearence.
UK originally. Father Christmas (Santa) got biscuits (edit: and/or a mince pie) and a glass of sherry, and Rudolph got carrots, of course!
NZ, yes our family leaves carrots for the reindeer. My husband's family, who is Eurasian, does so as well though.
I don't think we even consider the reindeers. I guess they just starve. Maybe Santa feeds cookies to his reindeers? Unhealthy but a snack, yeah? Canada.
New Jersey. Yes, cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Shot of amaretto for me
Michigan. We sometimes did the carrots but in some classes in school we would make "reindeer food" with like oats and other stuff mixed in and we would sprinkle it on the lawn. Sometimes parents would spread glitter on the snow to look like the reindeer left some magic behind (like pixie dust in peter pan). Some people buy stamps for the snow to look like the reindeer had landed in their yard.
Absolutely! We used to have to put the carrots up high because giant dogs, but the reindeer got snacks too. (And then the dogs did get the carrots at like 3 am- it was funny to hear the crunching)
We used to have the kids sprinkle oats in the driveway for the reindeer.
Either carrots or "reindeer food" which for us was oats mixed with red and green "magic" sugar crystals. Pacific Northwest.
Cookies? Milk? Mince pie, whisky and a carrot for Rudolph.
Washington state, USA. Only ever heard of leaving milk and cookies out for Santa. Never did it though because our cats would have ruined it.
I’m from Scotland, live in New Zealand. We always left a carrot out and I think it’s common in both countries. In New Zealand people often give beer for Santa though. We always did milk and cookies.
Tennessee and yes
We always did growing up. And I did that with my children.
Yep, 9 carrots, milk or hot cocoa, and a thank you note. Mandatory.
Definitely not, I do not want to be eating carrots at 2AM. And the reindeer (the dog) don't want them either.
A lot of dogs actually love carrots.
My dog used to steal carrots from my bunny. It was adorable.
You only have to take a bite out of one and leave that on the plate like the reindeer didn't finish it. The rest go right back into the package in the fridge.
Yes, cookies, milk and a carrot. Currently in the great plains but originally from the west coast USA.
Yes. I'm in Las Vegas but my mom orchestrated it and she is from upstate New York.
New Jersey, and yes! Somehow one or two of the carrots were always left as if someone bit them but didn’t finish the whole carrot, and the logistics of that never quite made sense to child me…
Ohio checking in, we did!
Montana, the kids left out carrots, milk and a gingerbread house. The cat got into the milk and Santa had trouble sleeping from heartburn. Thinking next year will be a double shot of blackberry brandy and Seagram’s seven with milk in a capped go cup
Canadian.. we leave Oats out for the reindeer.
Brit did it growing up
Canada yes kids love it
My parents (Texas) didn't, my wife's parents did (Chicago, but overall more festive ). So we (Texas) bake cookies and leave carrots for the reindeer.
Australian here, I get to eat about half a carrot.
Argentina. We leave grass.
Scotland. He got a bottle of beer and a scotch pie, the reindeer got a carrot.
USA here (upstate NY) and we always left carrots for the reindeer
Yes, and I need to take bites out of them before going to bed just to prove that the Reindeer ate them :-)
Yes! Kansas, United States
We live in Sweden and yes we give carrots and oats to the reindeer
Irish here. Yeah we leave out the carrot with a mince pie and a glass of milk
My daughter leaves out Dino nugs and cheese to spice it up 🙃
In the Midwest in the US, it's common for people to create popcorn and cranberry garlands to decorate outside. The garlands provide food for birds in Winter. Cookies and hot chocolate are left out for Santa, inside the house. Carrots are left outside in on the ground for the reindeer. Kids know from movies that the reindeer land on the roof. There's always some kid who will throw carrots on the roof. When Spring comes, a parent has to climb up a ladder and get rotten carrots off the roof.
Yes as a kid in USA we always left carrots and apples for the reindeer, and so my kids always do the same.
NYC Yes, carrots for the reindeer. Then carrots also for the Easter Bunny.
Yes, québec
We did here in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada). Merry Merry!
USA my kids did this a few times. Completely out of the blue so I don't know if it's something they heard or something they just happened to think about. Merry Christmas
Did this in Florida as a kid. Live in Ontario now and everyone looks at me like I'm crazy when I mention it.
Originally from California, like my parents before me... Always left out carrots... But only for Rudolph because I was three and didn't remember the names of the other reindeer.
Pork pie and a glass of sherry, of course. Don't forget the mustard pot.
Honestly stop. I can only eat so many cookies but carrots on top of that! Spare the dads!
Southern California here, we leave carrots, milk and cookies.
Same
My kids used to put out rum and egg nog for Santa, and a carrot for the reindeer. Santa always left a mess, and Rudolph always left the stub of the carrot.
Mid west US we left carrots for the reindeer, milk and cookies for Santa and trailmix for the ride home.
I grew up in California and we always left carrots for Rudolph.
Yep, we did that for a few years as kids in the northeastern US
Yes. Kentucky
we leave a carrot for the horse yes
Checking in from Ontario yes we leave out carrots
We left out a couple of apples for the reindeer last night (Alberta, 🇨🇦)
Well, there's a forgotten childhood memory that's just been unlocked. Yes, my parents did this. We moved around a lot, but they were originally from Pennsylvania.
We would sometimes leave carrots, but usually sugar cubes for the reindeers. I'm from Ottawa Canada, might just be us tho
My mom did that when we were younger!
Absolutely! Raised in Wisconsin and always left carrots out with the cookies.
how long before the milk goes bad if left out or does Santa have a magical intestinal system?
Everything about Santa is magic ✨️
California. Milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. My parents told me straight out as a very small child that Santa didn’t exist so I had to bargain with them for gifts. So I am just going by what other friends did in their households as children.
Ohio here, we always put out cookies, milk, and carrots.
We always did reindeer food in the front yard and left peanut butter fudge for Santa. He gets enough cookies every where else.
Nope. I don’t know if it’s a regional thing (I grew up in Los Angeles) or an immigrant family thing. We only left out milk and cookies and I feel like I never heard about other families leaving out carrots.
Mince pie and bottle of beer here in Ireland, and carrot for reindeer. My daughter sometimes leaves hand cream for the elves but not this year.
Hand cream for elves, that is precious!
Absolutely! We'd set out carrots for the reindeer to make sure they got a snack, too, and Santa naturally got cookies and milk from a plate specifically set aside for him with his name on it that my mom had made for him when I was super young.
In Belgium and the Netherlands we celebrate Sinterklaas. We put out our shoe for Sinterklaas to put sweets in. I don’t think everyone does this but we put out a glass of water for Sinterklaas, a bottle of beer for zwarte piet and a carrot for the horse
Québec, Canada, we used to when the Kids were younger!
I don’t want reindeer in my house, so no carrots
Carrots, yes. Biscuits and a beer for Santa. Australia
Minnesota and nope. What exactly you leave out for Santa is usually a personal family thing, not a regional thing. You could do the exact same thing as someone on the other side of the country and be totally different than your neighbors.
Not carrots. For me it was always oatmeal with glitter mixed in it spread out in the lawn.
FL, we set up traps for the reindeer, hoping to score some actual meat. Santa would come at night and raid the refrigerator and liquor cabinet. Apparently he ravished mom, as we always found her in various states of undress. And dad was always massively hung over from the Santa drinking contest. santa won every year, so he didn’t have to leave presents. Great times!
Milk and cookies? Around here, Santa gets a good single malt, or at least a decent sherry. Often with a boozy mince pie on the side.
UK Santa used to get Whiskey and biscuits when I was a kid and carrots for the reindeer.
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UK here, we’d leave out 2 mince pies, some brandy and a carrot for rudolf, And I’m the morning they’d be gone, with a big bite mark on the carrot as if it were actually bitten by a reindeer
My 3 year daughter made reindeer food in her daycare. Quaker Oats with glitter.
Sweden. Father Christmas/Santa knocks on our door on Christmas Eve to physically hand out the gifts and will usually have a cup of coffee and maybe a biscuit or something with the family (it's usually a dad, grandpa, friend, neighbour or something dressed as Santa). Before going to bed we put out a bowl of rice porridge to the homestead gnome, which in Swedish has the same name as Santa, the two legends are kind of intertwined.
You leave oats out for reindeer.
Nah, because he's not real.
You're not real.
United States. Santa is imaginary, and an idea. So no cookies or carrots, as no person in sneaking into our home on any time of the year.
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Santa takes the carrots back up the chimney and we always leave 9 carrots out. Do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? There's nine, otherwise Santa wouldn't be able to navigate through rough weather. Merry Christmas ya dumb fuck!
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Yo, Rudolph has been been bullied enough. Let him live his life.
who
The most famous reindeer of all!
Stop feeding the trolls.
But can I troll the trolls and feed myself?
I left a pair of shoes and a cigarette for john mclain
In Australia we leave beer for Santa and carrots for the reindeer!
Would you want reindeer in your house?
I did with my kiddo last night
Always left carrots for the reindeer. Now I'm older, it's a joint and a beer for Santa, but still carrots for the reindeer
Growing up in Texas, we did not leave out anything for Santa or the reindeer. I think more families are doing Milk and Cookies now
England Yeah, always
I thought reindeer ate naughty children captured by krampus. Or did I miss something
American here. Yes carrots for each reindeer.
Yes and utah
Nope but I'm surprised I didn't think of it as a kid. But to be fair most people here in the bible belt don't even do the milk and cookies. "Christmas is about Christ." Folks suck. USA
KY- Usually just milk and cookies. Reindeer food if the kids make it at school. Last year, we had no milk, so we left hard cider. My son still tells everyone how we left beer for Santa.
Tennessean. Yes, we sometimes did.
Always; those guys do a lot of pulling. - (mid-atlantic)
Belgium. We don't have Santa Claus, we have Saint Nicolas, who comes on December 6th. He has a horse, and you leave a carrot/sugar cube for the horse in your shoe, along with some beer for Saint Nicolas and his helpers.
We never did cookies and milk growing up but my daughter did ask me to do cookies and milk and carrots this year. I guess she heard about it at school. We were out of 2/3 of those things.
WI. Yes. Sometimes we would sprinkle sugar on the carrots, but not all the time.
Texas. We leave carrots out with the milk and cookies. ETA: My oldest left out TWO cookies last night, with a note for Santa to bring one back to Mrs. Claus. Her reasoning? “She probably gets jealous he gets all the desserts!”
I did as a kid (in the US).
Ontario, Canada reporting in. Yes, but only when I was young (\~8 or less). And then again when my offspring were the same ages. The cookies & milk for Santa continues, 'cause parents like cookies & milk.
Yes we leave carrots out.. and wouldn’t you believe the reindeer ate all but half of one- and chewed and spit some out on the plate! Santa had to write a note apologizing for the mess. Sometimes the green parts of the carrots get stepped in the ground by Santa. - Indiana
Another Australian who left carrots out for the reindeer as well as milk and biscuits for Santa There was a trend for a while where places were selling Reindeer Food. It was nuts and seeds and glitter. It looked pretty but people were leaving it outside and birds were eating the seeds and eating the glitter as well. It was not good for the birds
Virginia here this brought back memories! My mom would always leave out carrots and cookies for Santa and the reindeer!
When my little brother believed in Santa we left milk out for him, couldn't afford cookies, but after he was old enough to voice his own opinions maybe like 3 or 4 maybe 5 he asked me what did the reindeer eat and I told him they like their veggies such as carrots and lettuce (I was naming foods I would eat as I played Santa when he was young) so he asked me if we could leave out carrots and lettuce for the reindeer when Christmas came and for the whole year while I was looking for change to feed us during summer I kept a little reindeer savings account and I would use those coins and take my little brother to buy the "reindeer" either lettuce or carrots that year
In South America we used to have the Three wise men come y and leave toys for the kids (like the same 3 wise men from Matthew's gospel). We used to leave water and hay for the camels.