Friday, December 12, 2008

My Beef with the Big Guy

This Santa thing is getting tricky. I didn't anticipate having to be so careful and having to be prepared with explanations (for Emma) this early. Can't she just believe...without questions?

Yesterday, Spencer called me to come down to his office because Santa was going to be there for a couple hours. The kids hadn't visited Santa yet (though they did talk to him on the phone) this Christmas season. Emma took her HUGE picture list of what she wanted. There are cut-out pictures of about 25 different toys glued on this large poster. I humored her and let her drag it over to Santa. They both sat on his lap and showed them what they wanted. Santa went on to give them a speech about how they can't get everything they want but how "whatever you get is exactly what you're supposed to get..." Huh? It was quite the serious talk. They sat there just staring at him. I mean, they're 4 and 3. Doesn't Santa just oblige, tell them to be good, give his ho ho ho, and move on to the next kid? Guess not. Whatever; at least they got to see Santa.

On our drive home, Emma proceeded to say to Tyler, "That wasn't the real Santa. He was just pretending." I asked her what she meant and she reminded me that this summer, she went with Nana and Grandpa to a Christmas in July (or was it June?) party, and the Santa there was the REAL Santa. OK...at least she still believes. I just didn't quite know how to explain the plethora of Santas. I really must go to the mall but the store I need to go into has Santa (another Santa, of course) sitting right outside of it; now I'll avoid it even longer. I don't know how we'll handle the Santa visit next week at pre-school. Because he is definitely another "pretender."

Back to the drive home...Emma said she was getting every single toy that was glued onto her larger-than-life paper. I decided we needed to have a talk. I told her that Santa will bring some really cool stuff, but she wasn't going to get every single thing she wanted. She got so upset, saying that she was good and wanted EVERYTHING. I told her there are kids who get absolutely nothing for Christmas, and that we need to be grateful that we get the toys we do. She burst into tears - I didn't realize I would ruin her day - and then fell asleep for the rest of the drive. The Santa visit was part fun and part disaster (aside from Santa being too serious). Boy, I do love Christmas but it's just getting harder to deal with the details!

Some random Christmas thoughts:

*Why is "My Favorite Things" (The Sound of Music) considered a Christmas song? Seriously.

*If you've seen the ridiculous Christmas TV program "Shrek the Halls," there is a part that gets me every time (it's on our DVR) - at the end when the 3 pigs are lying down to go to sleep, under a blanket. One pig says, "We are pigs, pigs in a blanket, yeah?" The others agree, and he says, "So this is funny then, yeah?" Oh, and it is. So funny. Maybe their accents make it funnier...

*Christmas lights are great. Those blow-up Christmas figures that take up an entire yard...not so great.

*It is, once again, freezing here. If you know where we live, you'll feel bad for me when I tell you it's going to drop to 29 degrees the next few nights. Hello heating bill.

*I need good general Christmas present ideas. For friends, extended family, etc. Help!


Here is Santa having his serious talk with the kids. Tyler's thinking, "What??" Picture courtesy of my cell phone...

10 comments:

Gary and Michelle said...

Christmas is always more fun with kids! When we asked our Emma what she wanted from Santa she said, "Whatever he wants to bring me." Where does this kid come from? Of course the boys know exactly what they want. Andrew - Star Wars Legos and Nathan - Team GeoTracs Airport. Boys are always so much easier.

We got your Christmas picture. So cute, and you look awesome.

Ryan said...

I think thats why my mom always told us that if Santa is smart enough to know whether we are good or bad, then he will know what we want without us telling him. I hardly ever wrote or visited Santa, but whenever I would see him as a kid I would just wink at him as if he already knew what I wanted.

Melanie said...

I totally agree with you about the My Favorite Things song. I pointed that out to Mike just the other day. funny thing- Makenzie made a picture list too at preschool- but hers only had three cut outs on it- one was of a Barbie house and the other two didn't even have pictures of toys on them. Apparently-she didn't completely understand the instructions. Emma has got the right idea :)

Anonymous said...

We think so much alike sometimes. I was wondering the same thing about that song. And I too need some good general christmas gift ideas. A friend of mine was ordering from a wholesaler in June. I should have joined in with her. Maybe I'll do that next year.

Kyle is way too smart for santa. He realized when he was 3 that there was no way santa could be a the mall, daddy's work and the Niles train all at the same time. He tells Dylan they are only Santa's helpers. Then last week he informed me that he didn't used to believe in Santa. He's only 7. I asked him why he now believes in him. He said because he can track his sliegh on the web. I think it is NASA or some other space agency that allows you to track santa's trip across the globe. And there are photos. That boy needs evidence.

Lisa R.D. said...

I had to laugh last week when Coleman (5) was positive that the Santa at our ward Christmas party was a fake. His reasoning: He was wearing church shoes (penny loafers or something) rather than boots. We tried to explain the whole Santa's helper thing and quickly changed the subject. I agree, it is getting tricky to be truthful and still foster a culture of believing in our home.

Jana said...

Too funny - Maybe this helper of Santa just has some kind of strange Christmas present complex.

Janene said...

We have NOT seen Santa this year, (besides my Costco encounter that the kids didn't even notice) and I don't think we will. Zach seems to think that Santa knows what he wants without him telling him. Works for me! :o)

Braden said...

i agree with the "Favorite Things" song...it's not a Christmas song. and mikaela's all finicky (sp?) about the whole Santa topic, my mom thinks it's the year to tell her. at least she'll find out the humane way, not like I did (I mean really did my 9 year-old brother have to tell me...when I was 11?!?!).

Sarah said...

Cheri - I whole heartedly agree about the "My favorite things" comment. I have felt that way for years. What does it have to do with Christmas?!

The Howard Bolton Family said...

I never tell the children that there isn't a Santa Claus. I always tell them that the Spirit of Santa Claus is what we celebrate and relate it to the giving of blessings from our Heavenly Father. When the children ask about Santa Claus and if I am Santa Claus, I always tell them that the spirit of Santa Claus is alive in everyone who believes in sharing love. I don't know if you think it is a cop-out, but after reading the article, "Yes, Virginia There Is a Santa Claus," I felt inspired.