But as parents, we struggle with the idea of Santa. Do we tell them this ancient tale? Do we tell them about St. Nicholas and how he was a giving man? Or do we say that all things come from mommy and daddy and nothing about anything else. In our home, we have decided to have some fun with Santa. Both my hubby and I have fun memories from our childhood of believing this ancient myth, so why not? As long as they know the true meaning of Christmas and that gifts should be more fun to give than receive. (We're still working on the later of the two.)
So as the story goes...We have a great neighborhood close by that goes all out with lights galore. (Kind of like the Griswold's.) They even have a man that converts his garage into Santa's house and dresses up for free pictures with Santa. Not being able to pass up the opportunity to take a free (**Did you know that most Santa pic places demand at least $20 for a single 5x7! Not happening from the Smith family!) pic with Santa, we headed out last week to brave the cold and meet the man in red face to face.
Both kids hopped right up on his lap and smiled for the camera. I was pleased. I snapped a few pics and then he asked the question that even I wondered the answer.
Santa: So Lauren, what do you want for Christmas?
Lauren: Ummmmm, (Like she hadn't given it any thought yet. Yes!)
Lauren: A rocket ship!
Mama: (WHAT?)
Santa: A rocket ship?
Lauren: Uh Huh, a rocket ship.
And that was about how it ended. Our sweet girlie 3 year old daughter wants a rocket ship!? Where did she ever come up with that? What about a doll? A princess costume? A princess movie? Something girlie? I had no idea.
A few days later Lauren and I were having a conversation about this said rocket ship.
Mama: A rocket ship, huh?
Lauren: Yeah, a rocket ship.
Mama: I don't even know where to find a rocket ship.
Lauren: No, Mama. Santa does.
Mama: Ok, but I don't even know where to start. (I'm a bit girlie too if you haven't noticed yet.)
Lauren: No, Mama....Santa does!
Mama: (Oops. I clearly am a rookie parent. I have no idea about Santa and his connections and I can't even lie well enough to fool our 3 year old daughter. ) Oh, ok, Lauren. Santa does.
That was close. The whole facade almost ended just as it was beginning. So were does one find a rocket ship? Aren't they expensive and not safe for a 3 year old? Who is this child?
We'll see what Santa comes up with and post some pics after tomorrow am. Until then, my hubby and I are going to cherish the fact that our children are too young to know they should beat the sun up tomorrow to open gifts. May they never know...
Merry CHRISTmas to you all ... and to all a good night!!
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3 comments:
ugh--i feel your pain in the Santa dept. no matter how much i avoided the subject and focused on Christ for the past few weeks, Gideon started to ask a lot of questions about Santa today. he asked how Santa knows so much (i.e. when you're sleeping or awake), so i said that God knows everything about all of us, so Santa has to ask Him--just to help Gideon understand the hierarchy. sadly, i had to use Santa to get him to fall asleep ("you get no gifts if you stay awake")..
We have been trying to explain this to Sam as well. I am bummed that I am sick and did not have the energy to bake a cake. All of us our sick, except Allie, but for sure we will be doing the cake next year! Have a Merry Christmas!
Oh ya, Sam asked Santa for a garbage can...ha!
A rocket ship? That is too cute!
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