How to Survive Life in the Suburbs

Milking Santa For All He’s Worth

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santaclaus

*Warning.  Santa spoiler ahead. Not for little people.

Christmas is in 19 days! 

My girls are 11 and 9.

Do they still believe in the fat man who drops down the filthy chimney bringing presents to the good girls and boys while leaving lumps of coal to all the evil folks?

Hmmm At least one of them does.  The other is smart enough to keep her mouth shut, make her list and clean her room without being asked.  If you don’t believe, he can’t bring gifts, right?

These are the facts.

I’ve been lying to my kids about Jolly Ole Saint Nick for almost 12 years.  Me. The Mama who HATES liars.  Who values truth and honesty.  I’ve been not only lying, but force feeding the fairy tale of the magic man and loving every second of it.  Why do I do this?  Two reasons:

One.  Santa equals power.  The girls are “disagreeing” .  All that is needed is a gentle reminder that Santa is watching and said disagreement is over.  They don’t want to clean up their toys?  Oh well, guess Santa can’t bring any new ones.  Ta Da!  Toy room is clean!  No nagging!  Not only that these children help with laundry, offer to shovel the driveway, empty the dishwasher, carry each others book bags?  Huh?    Random acts of kindness are rampant around here.  Santa throws big bad weight in this house.

The second reason I am crushing on the big man.  Thanks to Santa I get to see my babies eyes light up when they are sure those are reindeer prints in the front yard.  Witness sheer delight when they are positive the scratch at the window was an elf running away before we saw him.  I am able to capture a beautiful moment forever on my camera as they run down the stairs on Christmas morn to see if their stockings have been stuffed with all of those junky things Mom usually says no to.

It’s true, I have struggled with lying to my kids about Santa, but what I have come to realize is when the time comes much sooner then I want it to I will simply explain to my two beautiful girls, Santa is part of the spirit of the season.  The fun, mysterious, giggling, magical part.  I am thankful for the Big Man and the special moments he has helped me create.  So for now, I’m milking him for all he is worth.

Thanks Santa.

 

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    • Comments

    1. I just credited you on my blog! Love it! You hit it on the mark! Sheer delight!! 🙂 I actually teared up reading this post because it’s so sad that many young children have lost this sheer delight based on their parents decisions!!

    7. I don’t see it as lying… so much as bending the truth for a little magic… or something! I’m glad I had that time when I believed in Santa (or Father Christmas, as we called him) as a kid, because it was a magical time. And yes, I’ve used the Santa card a few times too. Hehe.

    8. It was never even a question for me as to whether I would tell my kids there is a Santa. OF COURSE there is. I love the magic.

    11. We are still in debate on how we will approach the idea of Santa Clause…whether we want to let our son believe that there is a fat man who brings toys, are let him believe in who St. Nick really is. But I have to admit—-I love the idea of the POWER that comes with Santa.

    12. I could have written this post girl. Emily who is 10 figured out about Santa last St. Patricks Day…Brad on the other hand still believes. If he finds out, we will know how he found out…big sister. Right now she is sworn to secrecy. I have to say though, knowing one child knows the truth takes away a bit of the fun.

    14. Keep milking it 🙂 My girls (4 1/2 and 2 1/2) have been staying in bed at bedtime for the last week….I will use Santa all winter and find someone else to use for the rest of the year 🙂

    15. This is our first year that my (10 year old) son doesn’t believe. I can still threaten that he won’t get gifts if he doesn’t behave, but I’m wondering how much different Christmas Eve will be…