In Icelandic Christmas tradition, children place their shoes by the window for gifts from the Yule Lads.
The Yule Lads are thirteen mischievous figures who visit Icelandic homes one at a time during the thirteen nights before Christmas. Children traditionally leave a shoe on a windowsill, and a well-behaved child may find a small gift in it by morning. A child who has misbehaved may instead receive a potato.
Each Yule Lad has a distinctive name and behavior, such as Door-Slammer, Spoon-Licker, or Sausage-Swiper. The figures are now generally presented as playful seasonal characters, although older folklore portrays them as more threatening.
The shoe custom resembles other European gift traditions involving footwear, but it is not the same as hanging a stocking by a fireplace. The Yule Lads are also different from Santa Claus, despite their modern role as Christmas gift-bringers.