Tacos for Santa

Tacos for Santa

Growing up, Christmas Eve always meant one thing for sure, cookies for Santa. Every Christmas Eve, leave out a batch of cookies for Santa. We’d always pair those cookies with a Diet Pepsi, which felt like the ideal combo. But when I started my own family, we decided to switch things up a little and traded in the Diet Pepsi for a Dr Pepper.

One Christmas Eve when Nellie was still a baby, the boys (Oscar and Colby) and I spent the day baking up Santa’s cookies. It was always something I loved doing with the kids. Mixing, rolling, decorating, and sneaking a taste here and there. We’d just finished making a perfect tray of cookies to leave for Santa, and everything seemed ready for our annual Christmas Eve festivities. We were all set to head to the big Westover family party when, out of nowhere, our dog Duke managed to jump up onto the counter and gobble down the entire plate of cookies. The boys were crushed, convinced that without those cookies, Santa might just skip our house entirely.

With Christmas Eve in full swing, almost nothing was open, and we were starting to worry about what to do. Then, on our way home from the party, we spotted a glimmer of hope: Jack in the Box was open! We pulled in, hoping they might have cookies, but sadly, they didn’t.  So, in a moment of holiday spontaneity, we got two tacos and a Dr Pepper, assuring the boys that Santa might be just as happy with something savory. To our surprise, they were thrilled, happy to have something—anything—to leave out for Santa that year.

Since that night, tacos and Dr Pepper became our new Christmas Eve tradition. Every year, the kids would tell anyone who’d listen that Santa stopped at our house first because we served him a special Christmas Eve dinner, not just the usual milk and cookies. It’s funny how an unexpected hiccup turned into a beloved family memory, something that brings us all together in laughter and warmth every year.

Now, as the kids are growing up, I can only hope they’ll pass on the tradition someday. Maybe their kids will proudly leave out tacos and Dr Pepper for Santa, sharing in the joy and laughter that our “Santa Taco Tradition” has brought to our family.