You've got to see this lady's account of her childhood experiences with Santa Claus. (ADVISORY: She uses some salty language).
Some people think that the legend of Santa Claus can make some kids feel inferior. If Santa gives you toys based on how "good" you are, why do rich kids get better stuff than poor kids? Are they better children?
When I was a kid, my parents never tried to tell us that Santa was real (as far as I know, my parents have never in their lives lied to me). Fortunately, my husband had followed the same policy with my stepkids, so there was no conflict when we got married (DL and CL were 6 and 4 at the time, they're 11 and 12 now). And we''ve done the same thing with JG and BT.
All of our children enjoy Christmas immensely. I don't think they've missed out on anything by not believing in Santa. They sometimes refer to my husband as "Santa Daddy."
Anyway, we're enjoying seeing the Christmas lights that are going up around the neighborhood. We've got a heap of stuff to do in our house. My brother-in-law passed some furniture on to us: new beds for JG and BT. They're sitting in the living room waiting to be assembled. Right now we can barely walk through the front of the house. Once the beds are in, we can start decorating and get a tree.
Then I have to decide what to cook for Christmas dinner (my parents always come over). I've been thinking about trying something Mexican this year. I had some pozole at someone's house once that was incredible. I wonder if I can get her recipe.
I was never really raised to believe in Santa, either. My parents never formally sat us down and debunked the story, but they didn't play into it either. In first grade, I got in trouble for telling all of my classmates he was real, and many of them were upset. I really couldn't understand why, and I don't regret not believing in Santa. The mythology is just not important; Christmas is fun enough without it.
Posted by: Drina | Sunday, December 12, 2004 at 07:20 PM