I've Figured Out the Santa Thing... - Writers Forum

Smurf Mamita · 01-02-2005, 04:22 PM

How can I fix this???

I remember every Christmas Eve, I would try so hard to fall asleep, but the fact that Santa was coming would always keep me up. Who was Santa anyway? Some old man who I didn't even know and brought me presents. That's who! When I found out that Santa wasn't a real person, of course I was upset. I saw my mom bringing presents down from the attic one Christmas. Yep, that hurt quite a bit. All I could think of was the fact that my parents lied to me. How dare they! This past Christmas, however, I learned why the Santa myth is told to children.

My sister is only seven years old. She counted the days until Santa came and would get this big smile whenever Santa was mentioned. On Christmas Eve, she wanted to go to sleep early so Santa would come. I told her that I would sleep with her that night so we could wake up in the morning together. We climbed into bed around 9:30, but didn't fall asleep until 11:30. This brought back all the anticipation I felt when I was younger. "Do you think that we'll wake up when the reindeer land on the roof?" and "Does Santa always eat all his cookies?" were some of the questions I had to answer during those wakeful hours.

I woke up around three in morning because I was cold. I tugged on the blanket that my sister was hogging. She gave me some blanket and groggily asked, "Do you think Santa came yet?" I replied with an "I don't know, go check." She got up and went to the family room lazily. Not two seconds go by and she's back in her room. "Come look!" she exclaimed. With much forced effort, I got up and walked to the living room. Sure enough, Santa had come and he left so many gifts for my sister and me. Of course, being that it was only three o'clock, we had to go back to sleep. I took one last look at Santa's delivery and smiled to myself. I thought about all the times I had been as excited as my sister. I grabbed my sister's hand and led her back to her room.

She woke up around seven. We were poked awake as well. All of us climbed out of bed while she told us how many presents Santa left for us by the tree.

I had to play present police while my parents set up the camcorder. She tried to open up her stocking! When everybody was finally ready, my sister dove into her presents. After opening with each present, she would squeal with delight. "You know, the best thing about Santa is that he gives you this stuff for free. You don't have to buy anything," my sister informed us. I smiled and nodded while my dad said, "Yep. No money. All free."

The rest of the day my sister enjoyed her "free" gifts and decided that Santa was going to bring her batteries next year too. I decided that the Santa myth was worth telling my future kids. I had seen my sister open Santa's presents before knowing the truth, but this year was different. Watching her brought back all the childhood memories that I had stored away in the back of my mind. I remembered the anxiety that I felt right before I went to sleep on Christmas Eve. I could never forget the joy that I felt when Santa brought me exactly what I wanted.

So what if my kids will hate me for a few days after they find out that Santa isn't real? They are going to hate me during their teenage years anyway. I might as well get used to it. I just want them to enjoy the excitement and spirit of Christmas during their childhood the way I did.

Yeah...I know...Christmas isn't about Santa, but hey, I had an idea. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus...