Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Santa Claus at our House?


As a child I wasn't taught to believe in Santa Claus -- to me he was just an overweight guy dressed up in a red suit that came to Grandmas' house on Christmas Eve to hand out a bag of candy. There was no stockings or letters addressed to the North Pole. I'm pretty sure it was a deliberate decision on my parents' part to make sure Santa wasn't really a part of our Christmas celebration.
However, now that I have kids of my own we need to decide how to approach Santa Claus -- will he be coming down our chimney? Should we hang stockings in hopes that they will be filled to the brim on Christmas morning? And should I be baking cookies and putting them out on a plate on the coffee table with some milk? And what about the lies we tell to the kids, just to keep the fantasy alive and the Christmas 'spirit' exciting -- will they forgive me when they grown older and realize that Santa is not really real?
I recently read this article by suggestion from my friend Steve, and it really helped me decide what I will be telling my kids about Santa Claus this year...and I think I'll keep the cookies & milk off the coffee table so the cats don't eat them!
I hope you and your family are having a wonderful Christmas, with or without Santa Claus.