On a snowy Christmas Eve a household settles for the night with children asleep and stockings hung; a sudden clatter draws the narrator to the window, where a miniature sleigh and eight reindeer appear, driven by a lively, diminutive figure recognized as St. Nicholas. He comes down the chimney bearing a sack of toys, portrayed as plump and jolly with twinkling eyes, rosy cheeks, a white beard, and a pipe; he fills the stockings without speaking, signals his departure, climbs into his sleigh, and offers a cheerful Christmas blessing as he drives away.