[Awesome photography by me! ha ha ha - er, that's ho ho ho!]
When we were kids, my uncles liked to play tricks on us. For example, Uncle Don convinced me to take special care of some sand burrs I found in the yard. He said I needed to take them home and put them in a bowl in some water under a light bulb, and eventually they’d hatch into baby porcupines.
Check out this image of the porcupine egg, just like the ones I took home to Mom.
My mother was not amused by my uncle’s shenanigans.
But, my Uncles taught us cool tricks, too—like how to find the Peanut Santa. Did you know you can crack open a peanut, and on most occasions you’ll see good ‘ole Saint Nick smiling back at you? Tonight I grabbed the peanut can, popped open a peanut, and shot some macros just for you.
Great beard on Santa, eh?
I hope you have lots of fun during the holidays, experience love abundantly, get to see at least a handful of really awesome Peanut Santas, and that you don’t get sand burrs in your socks for the holidays.
Did you ever have a family member or friend convince you of something, only to find out later you’d been had? Luckily, I never fell for the snipe hunt! 
Like this post at Jane Be Nimble? There’s more on the way! Get them emailed to your inbox or via RSS.
Take a minute to check out the non-profit JBN SHOP!
“eventually they’d hatch into baby porcupines”
Ok, that has to be the funniest thing I’ve read all day. HI-LARIOUS. I’m totally doing that to my kids!
Hayden Tompkins´s last blog ..Stop Apologizing and Start Rocking Your Self-Esteem!
Yeah, I actually went home and followed my instructions, put them in a bowl of water, and was rigging a lamp Mom had, when she asked, “What the heck are you doing with those???”
She made me dump them in the trash and I was crushed the whole day because I thought I had destroyed baby porcupines! Kids (& Uncles)…
Have a great day, Hayden!
Lori,
This is too fun!! And now…we need some peanuts here, so I can experience firsthand what I always just eaten and never looked at before! And the sand burrs…hahaha!!!!
Lance´s last blog ..The Upside of Life (And Holiday Celebration!)
You’ve never heard the Peanut Santa thing, Lance? I thought that was a Midwest thing??? Wow, I’m glad to have shown you something new!
Yeah, I swear every time I see a prickly burr of sorts, I think of that funny story. My Uncles are such a trip! I miss them a lot – back in the heartland.
Have a fun day, Lance – and let me know when you see the Peanut Santa!
What amazes me about the Peanut Santa is how we can take boring, ordinary, everyday objects, and just be looking at them in a slightly different way, or from a slightly different angle, we can find something magical. The magic was always there, we just never saw it before.
Jay Schryer´s last blog ..Paying It Forward
Hi Jay,
Geez, I know what you’re saying! I just love it when someone shows or points out to me some seemingly magical thing. I mean, wow, if Uncle Don wouldn’t have shown me, I’d have missed this moment of fun my whole life!
Hey Lori,
Every winter I spend time on a Scottish web site that has a Haggis Hunt this time of year. It’s great fun trying to find the little beasties! Here is the link to it:
http://haggishunt.scotsman.com/
Check it out and I’m sure you’ll agree the Haggis needs some love and attention!
George
George Angus´s last blog ..Writing Blog Owners, Do You Outsource?
Hey George,
Wow, that sounds like fun, a Haggis Hunt! Thanks for providing the link – I’ll check it out.
Oh yeah, I totally agree that Haggis needs love, too. Sometimes I actually feel bad for eating the Peanut Santa – I hope he doesn’t feel pain as I’m chewing.
I need to get out of my dreamy head – I tend to personify things too much!
Take care, George!
Hi Lori! You have the most fun here, honestly, I never know what you are blogging about next! LOVE that! I can’t honestly remember a situation of being duped – there was a definite lack of humor and trickstery in my childhood – in other words not a lot of fun!
suzen´s last blog ..Letter to Santa – or – Venting is Therapy!
Hi Suzen,
Your comment totally made my day, Suzen. Other than meeting people and helping me to heal, my goal with my blog is to 1) have fun and 2) keep people guessing about what they’ll learn at my blog next!
It’s funny, I always wanted to write for an agency like “Science for the Public Interest” or for the show “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” My blog is quite a fun outlet, so thanks for making it fun by reading my dorky posts!
And guess what, it’s people like you (and me) I write for, who did not have the most fun childhood but need more humor in their lives. Climb on board – let’s laugh!
Man, I wish I’d known a gullible kid like you… I would have had a BALL making stuff up to put you through!
The porcupine thing is brilliant! I like your uncle already.
I have to say, I’ve never noticed the Peanut Santa before, but I do love slightly squishing a pealed banana until it splits in perfect thirds, where you can see the seeds. We’ll call that the Banana Peace Sign, and throw it in for the Holidays.
Lisis´s last blog ..Why Do You Fear Being Great, You Yellow-Bellied Coward?
Ah-ha! I knew it! You’re totally the type of little kid that would’ve got me in trouble, me the perfect, suck up, teacher’s pet! I needed someone like you to push me off my throne! ha ha ha!
Yeah, you’d LOVE all my uncles. They rock!
I love the banana thing, Lisis, and I just TRIED it – yay for banana peace signs! I’ll never eat a banana the same way.
Isn’t it the best? I can’t even look at a banana without thinking… “You are such a beautiful, peaceful example of how perfect nature is… and best served with peanut butter and Hershey’s chocolate syrup.”
(But that last part doesn’t have anything to do with Nature… that’s all me.)
What’s not natural in this world without peanut butter and Hershey’s syrup? They naturally go together, anyway (Reece’s PB cups!), right?
Ha ha…that was funny! I enjoyed this. I was a gullible kid and always fell for the ol coin found behind the ear magic trick. I must admit…seeing a Santa in the peanut is like looking at those fractals(?) Huh, where is it? Thanks for sharing!
Tim´s last blog ..Picking a Word for the Year
Hi Tim,
This post was just a goofy, groove-into-the-holidays post. I’m glad you liked it! (I’ve got to start practicing for your 2010 year of laughter, right?).
Oh man, don’t tell me you fell for the coin behind the ear trick. What a GEEK!!! That’s OK, though, it takes one to know one.
Now, I’m off to go practice finding the image in the fractals…
Have a great weekend, Tim!
Oh my gosh!!! I thought we were the only kids in the world to ever learn about the magical Santa in the Peanut!! My mom showed my brother and I that when we were small. We in turn showed our kids. However, when we tell anybody outside the family about the “Peanut Santa” we typically get an odd look.. hahahaha!
As luck would have it my daughter is eating peanuts right now and she brought me a handful of “Santas”.. It prompted me to go online and see if anybody else out here remembers that.
Hi Cathy!
It’s such a treat to see your comment here. I grew up on a farm and was exposed to endless surprises found in natural things — the star inside a tree twig, the peanut santa, and I could go on and on.
I’m happy to see that other people are out there who are aware of all these little “secrets”, too!
Enjoy your “Santas” today and stop back by here if you’re ever so inclined. Nice to meet you!