It’s no wonder Santa is as round as a snowball!  If you visited as many homes as he and ate as many snacks as he, you too would be just as round. With an estimated 2 billion children around the world leaving delicious treats in preparation for Santa’s arrival, have you wondered just how many calories that would be?  Well, hypothetically, using the three cookie rule, it would equal roughly 226 billion calories. And, if all 2 billion kids leave 2% milk, too? Well, good ole’ Santa is swallowing 470 billion calories. Good thing he has many elves to help roll him into bed when Christmas is over!

Seriously though! Have you ever wondered why we leave cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve? Although in the United States, cookies and milk are synonymous with bedtime, Santa isn’t sleeping. Oh no, not this rotund holiday spirit! He doesn’t sleep a wink on Christmas Eve because his list is long, long, long, and he’s got one big job to do, and that’s to leave something special for all of the good little boys and girls! 

Thankfully, he can recharge his batteries with a few sugar cookies here and some lightly iced gingerbread men there, and wash it all down with a cold glass of milk and onto the next home with stockings hung with care.

The real story is that the tradition of cookies and milk on Christmas Eve dates back to the Great Depression.  At that time, so many people had so little of everything that parents taught their children to share and thank others for their kindness towards them.  One way to foster this idea was to leave snacks out for Santa and his reindeer in a simple act of appreciation.

Today, Santa looks for those plates of crumbly goodness because, as researchers have proven at the North Pole, cookies are the fastest way to replace all of those hard-burned calories.  In fact, when he was asked about it recently in an interview on Santaupdate.com he said he loves anything that is left for him, but he always eats all of the cookies and especially loves the homemade ones!

Whew, after a whirlwind trip around the world delivering packages, we certainly hope that Santa brings along some spanks so he doesn’t burst that lovely red suit and at the very least some antacid!

If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas cookie to leave out for Santa this year check these 4 fab cookie recipes…

Rudolph Cookies

Christmas Lights Christmas Cookies

Gingerbread Wreath

Chocolaty Melting Snowmen

So, ginger snap, sugar cookies, chocolate chip or just plain old Oreo’s, don’t forget the milk for dunking this Christmas Eve.  See you in the next blog!

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Deb Fries works with the Julianna Rae team to offer the best shopping experience for quality silk and cotton sleepwear while also writing for the blog at Juliannarae.com.