Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I Saw Santa

Posted by Diva's Thoughts at 12:12 PM

Growing up as a child my siblings and I always believed in Santa Claus. It was a wondrous, joyous time. It was fun looking for signs of Santa everywhere I looked. It was fun trying to rush to sleep even though I wasn’t even close to sleepy just so that I can wake up and have my gifts under the tree because Santa does not visit little girls that are awake.

Obviously there came a time when we realized there was no Santa. Guess what? We survived.

With all this said, I realized that there are many parents that don’t want to thrust that false image onto their child.

My answer to that….You are doing your child a serious disservice. You are taking away the wonderment of the season. We are only children for such a short period of time. We have our whole entire life to understand the cruel, harshness that is the world but why introduce that to children so early.

What is the harm in letting them have that excitement of Santa bringing them toys.

I had a conversation with one “friend” and she said that she didn’t want her children to think some strange man is just going to come in to their house and leave gifts. She wanted them to know that mommy and daddy worked hard for those toys. My thing is, kids will learn soon enough that parents are the ones really purchasing those things. Why take away the magic of the season. I think that is actually a very selfish way to think.

My fondest memories growing up were of wondering what Santa was going to bring me and leaving him Cookies and milk and rushing to sleep just so I could hurry and wake up to find my toys.

And people wonder what is wrong with our kids today. We are not letting them be kids.

There is nothing you could ever say to convince me that taking the belief of Santa away from a child is not a selfish thing to do.

I’m not trying to step on anyone’s toes here but I just feel kids should enjoy everything there is to being a kid while they are kids for the short period of time they are.

If you don't believe how magical this is for a child, my blog buddy Persona Of A Princess writes about the exact same thing!

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14 People saying stuff:

CapCity said...

Well, I grew up in the 'hood & never really believed that any fat, caucasian would be sneaking into our house. It didn't take the wonder away as I would rush to sleep so that MY PARENTS (my real hero & shero anyway) could put out surprises for my sisters & I: Xmas morning was FILLED with wondrous joy cuz we never knew what the day would bring! I do remember telling my mother I believed in santa cuz she seemed to want me to;-).

Didn't mean to go into all that - just came by to say HEY!

Enjoy your season - how EVER u & your loved ones choose;-).

December 12, 2007 at 1:46 PM
Ann said...

I agree. Believing in Santa is one of the wonders of childhood. Why not let them believe in goodness and giving with a loving heart? I don't need to take the credit for their gifts on Christmas morning, they'll figure it out soon enough anyway.
We emphasize the "reason for the season" because that's what we believe in so we go to church on Christmas eve and then come home and put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. I love the old movie "Santa Claus is coming to town" because it tells the story of Santa way better than I could and then explains that he comes on Christmas Eve because it is the holiest night of the year. Ties it together perfectly for me. I'll be sad when my youngest stops believing in Santa. It'll be like losing a tiny bit of the magic of Christmas.

December 12, 2007 at 1:56 PM
Anonymous said...

I find it pretty selfish when the reason a parent doesn't want to "lie" to their child about Santa is b/c they don't want "him" taking credit for the presents.

Kids are only kids for so long. Let them enjoy the little things that bring joy! I agree, sooner or later the kid is going to know mom and dad bought the presents. Why rush it?

December 12, 2007 at 2:23 PM
Karen said...

I guess I can respect parents who don't want their children to get sucked into the whole commercial aspect of Christmas. But there has to be a balance. Maybe let the kids believe in Santa and encourage them to pick a toy to donate to less fortunate families. Bring charity in to balance with the commercial aspects.

It is selfish for the parents to not allow Santa to be part of the holiday because they want the credit for the gifts.

December 12, 2007 at 4:20 PM
Anonymous said...

as soon as one of my kids asked if santa was real, I said "Nope, But it's a nice thing to have fun with it at Christmas time isn't it?"

Same with Easter. They asked about the easter bunny before they were in Kinder and I said "Well, there isn't a REAL bunny hopping around leaving eggs. It's more like the Easter MOMMY" and that got them laughing.

We are not a religious family, but we are aware that there are religious reasons for these holidays. And I may not be in the know regarding all that, but we are all for FUN and making them happy.

December 12, 2007 at 4:43 PM
Melissa said...

I agree with you about the belief of Santa Claus. I was around 8 when I realized there was no Santa, but I wanted my daughter to believe in Santa, and she still does at the age of 7.

She has stopped believing in the Easter Bunny a couple of years ago, she said she didn't think there was really a bunny who hopped into the house to drop off baskets.

I do know of parents who tell their kids from the start that there is no Santa. I agree with you, I think that takes any a lot of the wonder of Christmas.

I still try to think of 'Santa' as the feeling you get when you donate your time or gifts at the holidays for charities or if you adopt a child or adopt a family.

December 12, 2007 at 8:09 PM
Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you and thanks for the shout out, Diva!

December 12, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Jeni said...

I grew up believing in Santa Claus and so did my kids. To try to keep them from asking for the sun, moon and all the planets from Santa, I told them that he doesn't do all this good toy work exactly for free though -that I had to figure out how much money I could send him and then, he'd have to decide what items on their lists he could get for them. They went along with that idea.

December 13, 2007 at 12:23 AM
lisa q. said...

i completely agree diva...i was just having the same conversation with the students in my advanced class the other day...one girl, who sadly already has a 2 year old, said, "But Miss Q. Santa is your parents!" I told her that i always told my girls if they didn't believe, santa wouldn't come...they're 19 & 23 and i'm pretty sure they still believe in santa! :D

December 13, 2007 at 8:19 AM
Mizrepresent said...

I think i believed for awhile, but reality surely stepped in when i caught my dad fixing my bike in the livingroom...and allowed my children to believe...oh, those were wonderful memories. Santa Claus, go straight to the ghetto...my mom always played this song.

December 13, 2007 at 7:13 PM
CarmenSinCity said...

I agree with u - I loved the idea of santa claus and if I ever have kids, I will make sure to let them believe in Santa like I did - it's fun!!!!!

December 13, 2007 at 8:42 PM
Chari said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
December 14, 2007 at 3:19 PM
Chari said...

I have been thinking whether I would tell my children there is a santa claus. I did enjoy the experience. But I just don't know. My boyfriend said the same thing.

When I did find out there was no santa, I would be eager to see what my mom bought me. So, I think I would have enjoyed it anyway.

Still not sure what I am going to do concerning that. However if I do choose to tell them the truth, it will not be for selfish reasons.


Good post!

December 14, 2007 at 3:28 PM
TC said...

And people wonder what is wrong with our kids today. We are not letting them be kids.

Well said!!!

December 14, 2007 at 3:57 PM

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