I believed in Santa until I was 12. TWELVE! And the only reason why I stopped believing was because one of my mom's friends totally screwed up and told my sister and me. I fought kids tooth and nail for years about Santa, sticking up for the big guy in red. He was REAL. I had seen him with my own eyes when was I was 3 and a half years old. I didn't care what all my friends thought; I knew the truth.
Then in one fell swoop, one sentenced uttered by an adult changed it all.
I recently read a blog post about the possibility of how "lying" to your kids about Santa will affect them. Will they be angry with you? Will they no longer believe other things you talk to them about, such as sex, drinking, and drugs? Will they no longer trust you?
If I'm any indication, the answer is no. I wasn't pissed at my mom in the least bit for keeping the magic, the spirit of Santa alive. I was pissed at her friend! How dare this woman crush my happiness, my hopes, my love of Santa and all-things-giving? Who the hell did she think she was?
For me (and for my husband as well), Santa is the embodiment of giving. He signifies generosity, caring, and compassion. Santa is magic, and we could all use a little magic in our lives.
This year, Santa was a huge hit at our house. It was the first year Ellie really got into it. Santa sent her a voice message and even a video! She went to visit him when we went to my sister's for the day at the Christmas Village in her town. We watched movies about Santa. She told us she knew Santa was watching, so she was trying to be on her best behavior. It was really sweet to see her so taken by the dude, just like I was when I was a kid.
Christmas Eve, we put out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa (because she KNOWS Santa prefers chocolate) and 9 carrots for the 9 reindeer. Ellie said she had to brush her teeth and go to bed NOW or Santa wouldn't come (and I swear we didn't tell her any of this; she got it from all the movies we watched). And the next morning, she asked if Santa had stopped by. Her face opening up each gift and exclaiming, "Just what I wanted!" even when it was a package of socks and underwear (seriously, she did), was just awesome.
It made my heart happy that she was so appreciative. She couldn't believe her luck! Santa really listened to her. She got her Singamajig, the one thing she really, really wanted. And she got a few things she didn't even ask for, like a couple of Barbies and some books. And Mom and Dad got her a bike! How cool! We didn't really go overboard (the bike was under $50!), and that worked out perfectly in the end because she wasn't overloaded and overwhelmed. We were able to open up the toys she got, and she's been playing with all of them the past few days. In fact, they've seen a lot of action because we were snowed in most of Sunday and yesterday.
And it seems her favorite part of the entire holiday weekend was being able to stay home with Mom and Dad and seeing almost the entire family over the course of a few days. She loves having so much family. She gets a kick out of going to everyone's house. It used to be a chore to go to so many places, but now, it's fun. She's no longer a fussy baby, and we don't have to watch her every move. She tends to disappear with her cousins within minutes of us arriving at whatever destination we land, and she emerges a couple of hours later, ready for the next house to hit.
She also got to play in the snow yesterday and go sledding for the first time. Dude, the sledding. She freakin' loved it. She ran in to tell me all about it and how Daddy said when she's 5, she can go on the sled all by herself. Her eyes were shining and her nose was all pink from the cold and her smile nearly ran from ear to year. I love to see that excitement.
This Christmas was the best so far.
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