Sara Busse's Santa favors Marker's Mark bourbon and her homemade pizzelles. As a child, Bill Lynch and his family left a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich and a cold bottle of Pepsi.

When we asked friends what treats they gave for Santa Claus, they frequently cited cookies and milk or cocoa as expected, but spirited beverages came in as a close second. In various households, Santa prefers bourbon, martinis, whiskey, beer or even sherry to milk

The tradition of setting food out for Santa might have originated in pagan times when people left food sacrifices for their ancestors during the winter solstice. These foods were intended to please the ancestors who would then bless their living descendents.

Later, children left food out for Saint Nicholas, a man who was remembered as being kind to children, on Dec. 6, his feast day. The children hoped Saint Nicholas and his attendants would leave gifts in exchange for the food.

Today, children often leave food for both Santa and his reindeer, probably intended both as nourishment to keep them going on the long night or possibly a bribe for better gifts. In that case, they want to be sure to give Santa what he wants. If he's a martini man, then so be it.

Some of the responses to the question "What treats do you and your family leave out for Santa" are printed below.

"Mince pies and brandy for Santa; carrots for the reindeer. Inexplicably, the reindeer seemed less interested in their carrots than Santa did in his brandy."-- Mike Smith, Huntington.

"Pickles and homemade cookies. The pickles are for the reindeer. They are always gone when we get up, so somebody likes them... the pickles that is."-- Debbie Rainey Haught, Charleston.

"We always left oatmeal cookies with raisins so Santa could feed some to the reindeer with a big glass of milk. Later in life it was a vodka martini."-- Ronald Dunlap, formerly of South Charleston.

"Even though we're Jewish, we wanted to cover all bases, so we left graham crackers."-- David Wohl formerly of Charleston now of Rock Hill, S.C.

"Mom's homemade cookies and those little bottles of Coca-Cola." -- Denise Giardina, Charleston.

"Our Santa likes bourbon balls." -- Kathryn Brown, Charleston.

"We always leave homemade gingerbread cookies that we make and decorate as a family. I have had to tell them a few times 'You are having fun, whether you like it or not,' as we made them, but now they look forward to the tradition. We also have done the reindeer food and you have to remember to get rid of a little before the next morning -- unless there's some snow to cover it."-- Teresa Warden Hallock, South Charleston.

"We leave raisins for the reindeer along with the reindeer food outside on the lawn."-- Leah Broce Forth, Huntington.

"We always leave cut out cookies and gingerbread men the kids have made along with reindeer food (oats, sprinkles and carrots)."-- Felice Bardwell Joseph, Charleston.

"Homemade eggnog with a kick is always left for our Santa!"-- Susan Chilton Shumate, Charleston.

"We always leave cookies and milk for Santa and sprinkle magic oats on the lawn for the reindeer so they can see our yard for landing and enjoy a snack while Santa fills our stockings."-- Patti Loving Alexander, Charleston.

"Remember the Kraft cheese commercial several years ago? Yep, my son believed you received more and bigger presents!"-- Sabrina Tabor Meadows, Charleston.

"We always left cookies, but for some reason, my dad always tried to convince us to leave out beer and pretzels!"-- Lynn Durstock Beck, Fort Mitchell, Ky.

"Beer bread and a Yeungling."--  Jason Harmick, Charleston.

"The reindeer always get dry oatmeal mixed with glitter at our house. The 'reindeer food' is sprinkled on the walkway." -- Brenna Imbrogno Marcum, Dayton, Ohio.

"Homemade cookies, glass of milk and a shot of Crown Royal (my dad insisted it warmed Santa's toes on his long sleigh ride). We also do the oatmeal-glitter reindeer food, but we spread it on the lawn."-- Lucy Baker,  formerly of Charleston, now of Oakwood, Ohio.

"When I was a kid back home, I always left him a glass of sherry (a large one) and a cigar (my dad's idea)."-- Jason Harmick, Charleston.

Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.