Will the Real Santa Please Stand Up?
Dealing with the Excitement of the Holidays
It started with October 1, — ALWAYS.
“Mom, I want to be a Teenage Ninja Turtle for Halloween — Superman, Batman, a ninja, Robin Hood.”
The list went on, and because I sewed, I created the costumes — AND worked full time as a teacher and theater director.
The excitement of the holiday season double-whammied me from the beginning of October when the excitement of the beginning of school stepped aside for the excitement of the holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Student excitement grew over celebrations, presents, and time off school; my children’s excitement grew over family gatherings, presents, and time off school.
Right now we are smack dab in the middle of holiday season which lasts from at least October 31 with Trick-or-treating to December 31 when we celebrate the passing of one year into another.
But during these three months, how does one get the children to mind their manners, do their chores, and keep on top of their schoolwork?
Singing the song “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” with my young children helped instill the idea that Santa is watching, and you will only get gifts if you are good. You know the line, don’t you?
“He sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.”
But it only worked for so long. The excitement built and schedules became packed. It was a recipe for a child melt down or a sibling fight of something silly.
THE PARENTING OF ‘THE NOW’
Parents now have a little posable “doll” called Elf on the Shelf who can get into a lot of mischief depending on the creativity and imagination of the parent. (The Elf on the Shelf website gives some positive activities, but you can also check out some of his twisted mischief using the links at the bottom of this article.)
Unfortunately, Elf didn’t appear until after my two sons had graduated high school.
In addition to Elf on the Shelf, one set of parents had a brilliant idea that made me wonder why I didn’t think of it when my kids were young. Oh, yeah, I know, technology wasn’t where it is today. (My kids were born in the mid 1980s.)
Reading posts on social media the other day, I read one about a parent who had gone to a local discount store and purchased a couple of security cameras (fake ones) and positioned them where her kids spent the most time. Then, she told the kids that while they were at school, Santa had installed the cameras.
Fake security cameras? Brilliant! Those would have possibly helped my children’s behavior, but security systems were only available through expensive security system and maintenance companies when my kids were small.
WHAT WAS THIS PARENT TO DO IN THE LATE 1980s?
I grew up with the tradition that Christmas decorating took place the Friday after Thanksgiving. After I got married, I continued the tradition. Breakfast consisted of French toast made with eggnog and sweet eggs. While decorating the tree, we drank eggnog, and when the job was done, we ordered pizza and watched Prancer. My kids were 3 and 5 when the movie came out.
Thanksgiving break when my kids were 4 and 6 was difficult. My oldest had declared that Santa didn’t exist. When asked why he thought that, he declared that he knew that Mom and Dad filled the stockings for Santa.
He fought with his brother, he argued with me, and he only grudgingly helped decorate the house for Christmas.
They went back to school on Monday, and I went back to work — exhausted. In the faculty lounge at my lunch break, my theater lights and sound director joined me.
When he sat down, I started laughing. “What happened to you?” He had left his curly hair longer and bleached it and his mustache and beard snow white. In fact, he looked like he had aged more than twenty years over the weekend.
“Funny story. I took a weekend job at the mall as Santa Clause.”
I sipped my cola. “That will be interesting.”
“You look exhausted. Everything ok?”
“Yeah. The boys were just fighting every day. It’s going to be a long Christmas season. Dave declared that Santa didn’t exist. I’ve lost my edge.”
“Maybe not.” He paused to enjoy a fry. “I have an idea. What are you doing this coming Saturday?”
“Getting Christmas shopping done, and of course, grading.”
“Bring the boys to see Santa at the mall.”
“Didn’t you hear me. Dave doesn’t believe anymore.”
“Bring him to see Santa, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
Saturday came. My ex-husband (husband at the time) left for work at 7:00 a.m, and we left for shopping around noon.
“I don’t want to talk to Santa,” Dave declared.
I caught him before he said any more. “Pretend! For your brother’s sake.”
We got in line behind another little boy about the same age as my youngest. His mother walked up to Santa with him and set him on the jolly man’s lap.
“And what do you want for Christmas?”
When the little boy was finished, Santa lifted the child off his lap, and the elf gave him a color book.
Santa turned his attention back to the front of the line. Dave wasn’t facing Santa until he heard Santa say, “David, why don’t you come up and talk to Santa? I hear you haven’t been quite as good as you should be. I think we should talk about it.”
Dave’s jaw dropped. He looked from me to Santa. Then, he slowly walked up to Santa. When he was finished, Santa called my youngest by name as well.
As we finished shopping, neither child said much. As we moved through the weekend, Dave was kinder to his brother and was more amenable to helping out around the house.
Santa had worked his magic.
My children believed in the magic of Santa for years after their friends had stopped.
My oldest was crushed the year after he had graduated from high school when I wasn’t going to hang up his stocking. It wasn’t that he wanted more presents, but that Santa worked to find unique-to-him gifts. The stocking was never stuffed to the brim with an excess of gifts; in fact, some of the things that were placed in the stockings had been found at garage sales.
Over the years, I’ve worked hard to maintain the magic of Santa because I truly believe in Santa Clause. Not that there is a single, magical being that speeds through the skies bringing presents to everyone, but the spirit of giving embodied by Santa.
I think Francis Pharcellus Church’s said it best in 1897 when he responded to Virginia O’Hanlon’s letter. She asked him to tell her the truth about Santa. He told her that “Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Clause. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist.” (You can read the full response by clicking on the link at the bottom of the article.)
To me, Santa Clause, no matter what your culture or background call him, espouses love, generosity, and devotion. If we were all a little more loving of others, a little more generous of our time and our possessions, and a little more devoted to our families and the causes we believe in, we could help to improve the lives in others.
Thanks for reading.
Rebecca (Becky) spent 34 years in a teaching career, but when she retired in 2014, she picked up her pen and pursued her passion to write. As a high school English teacher, Becky held the philosophy that she wouldn’t give any writing assignment that she personally wouldn’t or couldn’t do. That philosophy strengthened and broadened her own writing.
In addition to publishing her writing on various platforms, Becky also blogs at Life is for Living, a blog to encourage, motivate, and help others live the best life possible. As an extension of Life is for Living, she also publishes a weekly newsletter, Let’s Chat. (Check it out HERE.) Life is for Living also has a social media presence with the group Coffee on my Porch. (Check it out HERE.)
After teaching writing for 34 years, Becky began Ink & Keyboard, a blog for writers at all levels. She supplements what she writes on the blog with a subscription newsletter, The Writer’s Notebook (Check it out HERE.) and the social media group Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.)
If you enjoyed what you just read, feel free to share.
Here are some other pieces you might enjoy: