Thank Goodness For Santa Claus

As a kid, Christmas is the best.  You get a week off of school.  You get to eat lots of cookies and candy canes.  And you get presents.  There’s nothing at all to worry about.  As a parent, Christmas is still the best, but it’s different.  There are worries for the parents.  When are we going to find time to decorate?  What if the holiday isn’t as magical for my kid as it was for me?  Where’s the money going to come from?  Trees and turkeys are expensive.  All I know is that I could never pull it off without Santa Claus.

Of course, there is the obvious.  I’m not made of money.  If Santa didn’t make and bring presents to the kids, I don’t know what would happen.  It wouldn’t be good, though.  And I’ll bet a lot of other parents are in the same boat.  Without Santa, there would be a lot of very disappointed kids every Christmas morning.

Then there are the less obvious ways that Santa helps us.  The Christmas season lasts for a little more than a month most years.  For kids, it’s great to have that excitement and anticipation.  A month isn’t even long enough.  Most kids start looking forward to Christmas the second their birthday has passed.  They should do this, it’s one of the best parts of being a kid.  But it can be a little hard on the parents.  We’re busy.  Most of us work full time or more.  We have all the housework to do.  And we have to take care of our kids.  As much as we’d love to take a month off every December to help our kids get ready for Christmas, we just can’t do it.  Luckily for us, Santa can and does help.  He’s always around to make sure the kids get everything out of the season.  He listens to their wishes.  He keeps tabs on their behavior.  He’s like a babysitter and a playmate rolled into one.  It’s so much help.

Another way Santa helps is with the spirit of the holidays.  It would be easy, and understandable, for kids to get all the wrong messages from Christmas.  If they just paid attention to their parents, kids would wind up awfully materialistic seeing us spend our time working, shopping and consuming.  I don’t blame the parents, it’s just the way the world is.  Most of us don’t have the luxury to be philanthropists.  But Santa gives the kids another role model, one of pure generosity.  He makes sure that the kids know that the season is about giving, not receiving.

Probably the most important way Santa helps with the holidays is with his magic.  We all need more magic in our lives, but that’s doubly true for kids.  Outside of love, Santa is the most magical thing going.  The fact that he shares that magic with us every year is incredibly valuable.

As a parent, it is important that I make sure Christmas is the best for my kid.  I couldn’t do that without Santa.  Thank goodness for Santa Claus.

 

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