Last night we had our ward party, and of course Santa Claus was there. Kayda did not want anything to do with him, and was totally terrified just by looking at him. (I don't really blame her!) Kamille was ok, but a bit nervous. She did not want to sit on his lap, but she did want the candy he gave out, so she went over to him and got the candy. We don't believe in teaching our children that Santa Claus is a person who flies around the world in one night and drops down your chimney and gives you lots pf presents. Kamille knows the name Santa Claus, but she does not know the connection between him and Christmas. I saw lot of kids (and parents who were encouraging) telling Santa what they wanted for Christmas. One little girl said she wanted a pony. A father told his son that he had to say what he wanted to Santa really loud or else Santa was not going to get it for him. Why do people put on this charade for their kids that Santa is real? I remember when I found out Santa was not real, I was devastated. And it puts a lot of pressure on the parents. Because, of course, parents want to give their children everything they can, and everything the child wants, but that's not possible all of the time, or even some of the time.
Sorry mom and dad that I was so greedy and acted as if I couldn't live without whatever it was I wanted.
I totally believe in giving service, support, and gifts out of love, from loved one to loved one, but not from Santa.
Sorry to ramble, just a thought I (we) had.
At the ward party some of the children from Senior Primary (ages 9-11) sang "Christmas Bells." They did a great job and Kody was able to get in on camera. Since I am the music director in Primary, I got to practice with them and lead them. This was my first time being in charge of a performance, and the kids did great. They sound like like 9, 10, and 11 year olds! It was fun!
6 comments:
I have had many of the same thoughts about Santa Claus. In fact, this is the first year that Addison even knows the name Santa Claus. I haven't put any emphasis on who Santa Claus "is" or what he "does." But she has learned through friends and others asking her "what is Santa Claus going to bring you?" that he is supposed to bring you presents. I still haven't decided exactly how to explain the whole Santa thing. I want her to be a child and believe in something but I also don't want to use Santa as an excuse to be good or to think that you are going to get whatever you ask for. It's funny how something as simple as Santa Claus can become so complicated once you're a parent =) I guess every parent just has to decide what they are comfortable with.
Well, my children won't be reading your blog anytime soon...you big party poopers!
Go ta hell.
Oh, my goodness, mrs Claus....be nice.....is that any way to act?
If you do research on the history of Santa Clause, you will find that he is based on a real person, Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna. He lived in the 4th century A.D. in what is now Turkey. He was a wealthy man who generously gave to poor children, by throwing gifts in their windows, or even down the chimney. And he was also a Christian. He believed Christ was fully God and fully Man. This is what I am going to teach my children about Santa Clause. Learn more about Saint Nick at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
I think Santa is for each parent(s) to decide for their family. But kids talk and it's not fair to ruin the magic for other kids. My niece was in tears when an older neighborhood kid told her he wasn't real. We are more like Julie and Kody in our attitude, but Santa is too real to too many people for us not to acknowledge him. In fact, Timmy has nearly memorized the poem, The Night Before Christmas. Timmy, also screamed when we tried to get our picture taken with Santa, maybe its the beard...
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