Spoiler alert: If you believe that Santa Claus is a real person that brings you toys on Christmas, please do not read any further.
Friends, first let me extend my warmest Christmas wishes from me and my family to you and your family. I hope each and every one of your Christmas miracles come true this year, next year and every other year for as long as we all shall live. I hope with all my heart that you are able to make your children`s Christmas dreams come true as well, I hope it is a magical time and the memories created last a life time.
That being said, I do feel like the holidays can sometimes bring out the best and the worst in people and I feel it is important to maintain just a wee bit of perspective. One point that people tend to take too far is Santa. For some, children in particular, Santa is the very cornerstone of Christmas. He is after all the reason for the season…or wait…maybe it`s that other guy… never mind. Anyway, he`s a big part of it and I feel like I need to point out the very un-Christmasy point that Santa does not, in fact exist.
I realize that this is Christmas blasphemy, and believe me, no one hates a Scrooge on Christmas more than me, but it`s a fact. All the movies about Santa that end with that last wink from the big guy to the kids saying that, “Yes, I AM real, but let`s just keep it between us and leave those grown up Scrooges who don`t believe to their miserable lives.”
I know, as a parent you want to shield this harsh reality from your children for as long as possible. The same way any parent would hope to shield their child from any other of life`s cruel realities such as death, old people or Nickleback. It`s only natural but you need to be prepared to deal with this bombshell when, not if, it unavoidably drops.
It`s important to treat this like any other difficult milestone of parenting and growing up in the real world and have a proper sit-down as the parent you are with your child. Not unlike when a grandparent, pet, or if you’re American, a classmate should die suddenly. Unfortunately it`s time for one of those dreaded “parenting moments”.
Like most things in life, the important thing is to maintain your composure. You knew this day would come, or at least you should have and panicking or blaming others does little to calm the situation. I once had the misfortune of watching a man who was trying to sell furniture to a young family and when he joked to the 5 ft. tall, 150 lb ginger haired son, “It`s not like you still believe in Santa or anything…”
The mother`s face turned to stone and the Father went off to tell the manager what this “bad man” had done. As the 25-year-old manager scolded this 50-year-old man in Ebonics about how he should have been more sensitive to the “child” a little piece me, of the world died.
So parents, if you are going to tell your children that it is Santa who brings them toys on Christmas, please do it with an air of lightheartedness. No kid actually believes in Big Bird but it doesn’t take anything away from the Sesame Street experience. After all how do expect your kids to trust you when it comes to the big stuff if they find out you lied to them about Santa? Good luck getting them to buy the whole God thing once they know that all those times you told them that if they didn’t behave, Santa would bring them coal instead of toys. Is Hell any worse than getting coal on Christmas for a kid?
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Mike Black 