The big guy

So, I am a member of a Mom's group. I tend to lurk with this group, I don't tend to go to playgroups, moms night out and all of that stuff. The group has an online forum, and I spend some times reading the posts, responding, etc. Anywho....someone posted something about the big guy, you know the dude in the red suit. The question this person posted was if people teach their children that Santa is real. I was taken aback not only by the post but by the responses! There are many people out there who do not want to teach their children some falsehood about something blah blah blah. Others only wanted to celebrate the birth of Jesus and not get the big guy involved.

Guess what, I love Christmas! Yes, I get stressed. Yes, I spend money. Yes, some days I feel pulled in different directions. But, when it comes down to it, I love to bake cookies, decorate gingerbread houses, and watch as my kids talk about Santa. Granted, I have acted like I called Santa so that my sweet children might behave better, but in general I don't use Santa in that way!

I love to see it all through my children's eyes. I love that they light up when they hear about Santa. I love that they are trying to figure out how it gets to all of those houses in ONE night. And, how they are concerned that he might not make it down our "fake propane gas chimney".

After reading the posts from these ladies in my mom's group, I realized, for me, Santa embodies the spirit that is so important for us to maintain. The idea that everyone needs a helping hand sometimes, that everyone deserves to feel special, the fact that magic does exists in the world. The spirit of giving. I know that if I were really wealthy, where I knew my family was taken care of, I would spend much of my money on others. Santa is that little part of all of us who loves surprises, who loves seeing the joy on the faces of the people we love.........and who LOVES sugar cookies with sprinkles!

By the way, we have taught our children something a little strange about Santa. They leave him cookies and beer, because Santa cannot drink all of that milk in one night!