In our society, there's no way around the big, fat, red, hohoho dude. Even if you are a spiritual person, and want to teach your child the true reasons of Christmas, well, at some point, you're still going to be singing, "You better watch out, you better not cry..." during the Christmas holiday. I'm not opposed to Santa Claus myself. I appreciate the work he does once a year in delivering toys to children who deserve them. He's a nice thought. And he makes a good Tim Allen.
But we tell Lara that's all he is-a thought. An idea. Pretend-play. I don't want Lara to be like my friend's 10-year-old daughter who cried and cried the year they decided to tell her Santa isn't real. Or MY 10-year-old friend who asked me, "Does St. Nicholas come to your house on Christmas?" She was catholic and I seriously thought she was referring to an adult from her church, so I replied something like, "Ah, no, I don't know who that is." We continued talking about St. Nicholas for several minutes until I realized she was seriously telling me that Santa Claus was going to bring them gifts on Christmas Eve, and you don't have to be catholic! I was 9 at the time, and remember feeling a little uncomfortable around these girls who didn't have a firm grasp on reality. Now, I apologize if YOU managed to keep believing well into the years when you should have been able to figure things out for yourself and you take great offense to this post. My bad.
I just want my girls to have a firm grasp on reality, but if they still want to put out cookies and milk, I guess that's okay with me. I did, however, keep the SC decorations in their boxes this year. If he shaved, and wore brown, I might have taken them out.
But we tell Lara that's all he is-a thought. An idea. Pretend-play. I don't want Lara to be like my friend's 10-year-old daughter who cried and cried the year they decided to tell her Santa isn't real. Or MY 10-year-old friend who asked me, "Does St. Nicholas come to your house on Christmas?" She was catholic and I seriously thought she was referring to an adult from her church, so I replied something like, "Ah, no, I don't know who that is." We continued talking about St. Nicholas for several minutes until I realized she was seriously telling me that Santa Claus was going to bring them gifts on Christmas Eve, and you don't have to be catholic! I was 9 at the time, and remember feeling a little uncomfortable around these girls who didn't have a firm grasp on reality. Now, I apologize if YOU managed to keep believing well into the years when you should have been able to figure things out for yourself and you take great offense to this post. My bad.
I just want my girls to have a firm grasp on reality, but if they still want to put out cookies and milk, I guess that's okay with me. I did, however, keep the SC decorations in their boxes this year. If he shaved, and wore brown, I might have taken them out.
Here is Lara singing Jingle Bells.
Well, I have to miss my niece's Christmas concert this evening, thanks to car trouble.
Earlier this morning, I was going about my usual business when I hear Lara say, "killjoy!"
Lara told me this is what Cinderella said to the bell in the movie, and I found this exchange quite amusing. And this is why Lara cannot watch movies with any sort of inappropriate content. If she tells you you are a killjoy the next time she sees you, I'm sorry.
6 comments:
That is funny/ kinda about "killjoy".. Darcy told me she was going to pinch my tooch the other day.. I asked here where she heard that, she said "The Wonder Pets", and sure enough they say that.. WHAT? She also picked up "freaking" she says from a movie... scary!
Annabel recognizes Santas on sight (on cards, decorations, etc) and knows that he says ho-ho-ho, but that's about the extent of it. He will also be explained away at our house. I'm thinking I'll compare him to a character in a book, someone you can like to read about, but not someone real. And no trips to the mall to sit on some stranger's lap. That's just a little hard for me to rationalize.
what do you think people from other cultures think when we explain this tradition to them? "Um, we like to sit on this weird guy's lap."
Next time you have car troubles, come over and ask if you can borrow ours! Don't miss your nieces concert over it!
Can you tell I'm catching up on your blog?! I admire your idea of Santa...I've been bothered lately that in Rowen's mind (because of the age) Santa is akin to Jesus--they both can see what you're doing at all times. :(
I agree about your thoughts on Santa, and with Train Mommy.. Santa knows what the kids are doing, so you better be good so Santa will bring you lots of toys... I feel like I am being a lazy parent when I have said this to Darcy..
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