25 : Santa is Real : Something Borrowed!

The Truth About Santa Claus!

twas-the-night-before-christmas

'A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread'

Twas' the night before Christmas, Clement C. Moor

As a parent it is always hard to know how to approach the 'Santa' situation. Some parents don't bother with the myth and just go with reality, others (like myself) perpetuate the lie/myth somewhat awkwardly! I am the kind of parent that prefers the truth, in fact I'm the type of person that demands it. I don't have issues with some forms of 'white lies' to spare hurt feelings and age appropriate answers, however, I much prefer the truth from the beginning. I'm not the sort of parent that tells children that a rainbow is a 'painting from God'; I tell it as it is, that a rainbow is simply a refraction of light caused by the sun shining through the raindrops - and yes it is a beautiful phenomena but that is what it is! I have big issues with liars and have spent my life trying to live by the truth, to my own detriment I might add as it seems many 'adults' unfortunately don't like facing the truth!

So the dilemma for me, each and every Christmas, is just what to do with the myth of Santa. I am no spoil sport so I do go along with the fantastical explanations for it all. My compromise is trying to enjoy working the stories out together, rather than tell them factual myths I prefer to discuss possible explanations or solutions to Santa's dilemma. It can be a bit of fun, but I do get a bit unstuck if directly asked 'Is Santa real?' I expertly avoid the answer, as mentioned I don't like to out-rightly lie, instead I prefer to throw it back and ask 'What do you think?' With my younger two sons aged 8 and 5 years, I know we don't have too many magical Santa Christmas' left, so while they still believe in magic and make believe I'll go right along with the fantasy. It is a fantasy reality I do secretly love, as I'm sure many adults do, as it reminds me of the innocence I once had as a child. 

I have always loved the 'idea' of Santa and especially of the North Pole and the wonderful toy making factory run by elves. I mean what a child's dream, to think that there is someone special out there that loves ALL children enough to hand make their gifts and personally deliver them to each and every child around the world. What a wonderful concept. All children, and adults of course, most of all just want to be loved and to feel like they matter. If making a child's imagination come true means I have to wrap presents from Santa in different wrapping paper and different tags then that's what I will do. After all I love the mince pies, cookies, milk and carrots for the reindeer being left out especially for me, I take on my Santa role seriously and carry it out to perfection. The one thing I have to shirk around is not being the obvious person to thank for them receiving the exact gifts they asked for, that I searched high and low for and spent a small fortune on. I have to deal with the fact that Santa gets all the praise and I don't, that's a small price for a parent to pay when watching the joy on a child's face as they frantically unwrap their gifts and let out a scream of happiness.

For that small sacrifice it is worth it. To keep the magic and Christmas spirit alive it is all worth it. For as we all know, only too well, when that magic fades so does hope and those magical feelings of belonging and happiness. If we can all keep those feelings alive then Santa is real, he lives in each of us that enjoy Christmas and carry out his wishes to bring a special kind of magic to all who believe - this is the truth about Santa Claus...