“The favor of Heerfather seek we to find, To his followers gold he gladly gives; To Hermoth gave he helm and mail-coat, And to Sigmund he gave a sword as gift.

Triumph to some, and treasure to others,
To many wisdom and skill in words, Fair winds to the sailor, to the singer his art, And a manly heart to many a hero.”

~Hyndluljóð 2-3, Bellows
These stanzas reveal the matters in which Odin’s followers often sought His intercession.
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“Biðjum Herjaföðr í hugum sitja, hann geldr ok gefr gull verðungu; gaf hann Hermóði hjalm ok brynju, en Sigmundi sverð at þiggja.

Gefr hann sigr sumum, en sumum aura, mælsku mörgum ok mannvit firum; byri gefr hann brögnum, en brag skaldum, gefr hann mannsemi mörgum rekki.”

The most literal translation of the first line of Hyndluljóð stanza 2, Biðjum Herjaföðr í hugum sitja, would be “I bid Heerfather to sit in our minds”, making us fearless in battle, and granting us the wisdom to attain victory, fame and riches. ᚬ

In 1895, Hélène Guerber recorded an interesting belief about the Wild Hunt; if one heard the Wild Hunt and called out to it in bad faith, the Hunt would take you with it. But, if one called out to it in good faith, they’d drop a horse leg, which turned to gold when the sun rose.
In the folk tale Grimm recorded, the Wild Hunt dropped a horse leg down the carpenter’s chimney, but he must have called out to them mockingly, hence his death.
Painting by Johannes Wilhelm Cordes, 1856.
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In his 1673 book Lapponia, Johannes Scheffer recorded Yule beliefs and offerings very similar to our own in Lapland.
On Christmas Eve, they’d feast, but keep a small amount of everything they ate, and on Christmas Day, put their food offerings into a birch bark vessel shaped like a ship and hang it in a large tree as an offering to the Juhlian Company (Wild Hunt), which they too believed to be wandering in the forests, mountains and air especially around Christmas.
They believed the Juhlian Company to be a ghostly procession of the ancestors, led by Thor/Horagalles, Storjunkare, and the Sun. Storjunkare is a Norwegian term which refers to stone altars, at which reindeer were often sacrificed to the Gods at Juhli (Yule).
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The first association of Santa with elves/nissen was in various folk tales in the early 1800s. Probably not a coincidence though; elves were originally believed to be ancestral spirits, led by Odin in the Wild Hunt in the dead of winter.
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As a Heathen parent, what will I teach my kids about Santa…
I will teach them that Odin was syncretized with St. Nicholas of Myra in the Netherlands, who was known as an anonymous gift giver, which gave rise to the softened caricature we now know as Santa.
I’ll teach them that while there’s no jolly old man who will literally come down the chimney and leave presents, what lies beneath this caricature is absolutely real; Odin riding through the night sky with our ancestors in winter, the Álfar/Elves, in the Wütende Heer, and they will bestow the kinds of gifts that are blessings you may not immediately be able to see, and reason he’s able to visit all the children of our folk is because underneath this caricature is a God. 
I’ll also teach them that leaving out milk and cookies is a modern remnant of pagan Jólablót sacrifices and leaving out offerings for the Wild Hunt in winter, and we’ll leave out an offering with a proper a blót ceremony before bed.
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This skull belonged to a 7th Century Anglo Saxon man. My maternal grandfather had a nearly identical head shape, as do I. Save for the extremely robust Iron Age jaw, we shared the same facial features; prominent brow and chin, deep set eyes, short nose, etc.
We truly are our ancestors.
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“To his friend a man a friend shall prove,
To him and the friend of his friend;
But never a man shall friendship make
With one of his foeman's friends.”
~Hávamál 43, Bellows
Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov, 1900. 𐃏
“Vin sínum skal maðr vinr vera,
þeim ok þess vin;
en óvinar síns skyli engi maðr 
vinar vinr vera.”

A double-faced statue in the Historisk Museum, Oslo. Possibly Odin as Tveggi. ᚬ

Dane axes from the National Museum of Ireland. The example on the left has an intact handle, and wouldn’t have been any longer than a sword, allowing it to be used along with a shield.

“Two make a battle, the tongue slays the head; In each furry coat a fist I look for.”
~Hávamál 73, Bellows
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“Tveir ro eins herjar, tunga er höfuðs bani;
er mér í heðin hvern handar væni.”

The seax from Valsgärde grave 8, with an intact handle and scabbard.

A Viking Age carved head from the National Museum of Copenhagen, thought to depict Odin. ᚬ

The Anglo Saxon name for February is Solmōnaþ, meaning month of hearthcakes (similar to cookies), and Bede wrote that cakes were offered to the Gods. Milk was mentioned among offerings to the Gods by Ahmad ibn Fadlan, and is still frequently offered in Hinduism today.
It’s entirely possible that at some point, our ancestors literally left out milk and cookies for the Gods.
Painting by Joseph Martin Kronheim, 1868. 𐃏

I’ve noticed a few things in the coverage of this new Anglo Saxon sword from Kent.
Firstly, several mainstream media outlets brazenly used the term Anglo Saxon once more, despite it being a charged term in modern academia.
Secondly, a pendant of a kind often found in women’s burials was found in the warrior’s burial, which they’re saying was likely a gift or family heirloom, as opposed to trying to claim he was some kind of gender bender, as they often do with female burials containing weapons for example.
The radical left is backing down. We’re winning.

“Better is heart than a mighty blade
For him who shall fiercely fight;
The brave man well shall fight and win,
Though dull his blade may be.”
~Fáfnismál 28, Bellows 
Painting by Wouter Florusse.
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“Fjarri þú gekkt, meðan ek á Fáfni rauðk
minn inn hvassa hjör;
afli mínu atta ek við orms megin,
meðan þú í lyngvi látt.”