Christmas is fast approaching. Every year parents across the world burn themselves to the ground buying presents so their children don’t wake up to nothing and disappointment . We spend hundreds every year for this one day a year, where will fill our living rooms with gifts beautifully painstakingly wrapped in crisp paper and bows. We worrying leading up to the day. Have we brought enough? Will they like the gifts? I have this to buy that to buy! We budget our money to afford it and some may even skip bills and meals to make sure their children’s hearts aren’t broken on Christmas morning. We as parents want to see the joy spread across their faces and the excitement burst out, the cheers and screams that Santa has been! And that there is my point…
Santa. Santa, Father Christmas or St Nick. Whatever you call him depending on your location or up bringing. For me he is Santa. And after spending all year building up the presents and wrapping each one, it is Santa whom receives the Thank You’s!
Me and mark last night sat talking about Christmas and as our children are only 4 & 2 years Santa is only really starting to be talked about, well more understood. The kids now know that Santa bring presents for Christmas. But as we spoke last night we both thought how is that fair? haha! It’s not that we want the kids to thank us well actually it is. We work hard all year to give them all these gifts and I want my children to grow up with gratitude and appreciate for what they have. We then got to thinking about the children who aren’t so fortunate and may only get for example a football for Christmas which is perfectly fine but then Corey goes into school talking about all his gifts and the thought of that child then saying “well why did Santa buy you all that but just a football for me”. That broke my heart the thought of a child thinking they were less worthy to Santa and the same for Corey or Derry maybe one year they wanted a bike but didn’t get it and another child did, I didn’t want them thinking they had been naughty so Santa didn’t give them the bike. That just sounds all kinds of damaging to self esteem doesn’t it.
In no way would I ever want the magic of Santa being taken away from them not at all.
Christmas is by far my favourite time of year not just the day but the build up, the excitement of knowing Santa is coming, the decorating and preparing. I just love the whole month and months before. I would never take away that joy from them or myself hah! But we do work hard and Corey has now starting asking for certain presents and I want him to know the value of money. Of course he’s 4 a penny to him is a bag of gold so obviously not right now but if we start now it will always be installed in them both growin up.
Growing up I believed in Santa till around 10 years old which I think is quite an older age to still believe. Children of today seem to stop believing a lot sooner which is so sad and I hope my children believe for as long as possible. I only found out he wasn’t real because my mum brought me a race track and on the box it said kwik save haha! ( an original British shop). However I do remember for years before this I knew the present’s came from my parents well I knew they some how told Santa what to buy and pay for them. There would also be 1 present from Santa himself. We might do that in years to come as they get abit older.
Ive talked previously how will start building presents up months before if you want to read my tips here. But we do build up all year but this year is abit different as Corey has for the first time asked for certain things. He’s at the age where he has his own mind where as Derry would happily have any new toys he wants certain characters like super heroes which are expensive for example batman lego some are over £150!! Silly prices.
With all that said we talked last night and came to the decision that we would make our Santa rule from this year. We decided that we would always tell the kids that we go to work etc to save money for Christmas and that we with their Christmas lists, send the money to Santa to build the toys. We pay for the toys and Santa delivers them on Christmas. That way it doesn’t take away any excitement away from the Christmas atmosphere but we as parent get a little bit of credit and our kids can begin to understand the value of money and that you have to work hard for the things you want. I think this must have been something my parents felt aswell and im sure parents across the world do. But a big reason for me was that my children are very blessed with a good life and material things like toys but a lot of children don’t have what they do and I want them to understand that. No child should ever feel that Santa didn’t care about them isn’t that an awful thought?
Another thing we talked about was Santas list. We do lists where the kids cut out from a catalogue and stick it to paper then we go the post box and post it to Santa. Sit with your children while making the list. Me and Corey have sat looking online at things in toy stores its actually his favourite thing to do before bed to calm down. He will point something out he would like and I will say something like “Oh that one is to many pennies” etc and he will say ok mummy. Don’t let your children pick out unreachable goals on there lists it isn’t fair on them or yourself. Talk about it. Corey pointed out a big batman car which was £200+ I explained well if we Brought that you wouldn’t have any other presents because that’s lots of money and it became his choice to not get the batman car as he understood it was a lot of pennies.
This year try the Santa rule in your own home – Parents/carers & guardians send the money they are able to afford to Santa with the Childs list with reachable goals on. Santa and his elves build it and bring them all on Christmas.
No child deserves to believe that they were not good enough so Santa didn’t bring them the same as their friends. Santa is an exciting magical person but don’t make him god hah!
x
