We aren't huge Santa people over here. We like him, don't get me wrong. But we don't push it too hard. There's no threatening that he's watching, forced photos on his lap, or deep discussions about how he gets down the chimney. Andrew has never gotten much into it, and the others have kind of followed suit.
We do write him a letter each year and put it in the mailbox at Santa's place in the mall. That's usually as close as we get to the old man. This year Michael and I were at the empty mall on a Wednesday morning and Michael was spying on Santa from upstairs. Santa was deep in a conversation with one of his elves when he looked up, waved at Michael, and winked. Best. Santa. Ever.
Anyway, Jeff was taking the older two Christmas shopping with him last weekend, and we decided we'd better get that letter written and delivered. I wrote it, to save time.
Michael has been very consistent with what he wants Santa to bring him. Every time you ask him he says, "I want a big fat train with no face." Alrighty then.
Lily is also very consistent. She has wanted some LEGO princess castle that she saw in a catalog last fall. Except that Mommy couldn't find it anywhere and was worried that Santa might not bring it if it was not age appropriate. A bit of internet searching later, we discovered she meant Playmobile instead...and so we had the correct name to write on the letter.
Andrew went blank. It is hardest for him, since he just had a birthday 2 weeks ago. I kept reminding him that he had a pretty nice life if he couldn't think of a single thing to ask Santa for. He finally came up with the Wild Cats movie by Disney Nature.
The letter was mailed off and all is well with the world.
Until Andrew thought of something better he wanted Santa to bring him. He shyly asked me last night if he could send another letter to Santa because he changed his mind about what he wanted. Which led to another installment of our conversation series, "Why do other people have better things than us." Sorry, Andrew, but Santa is NOT bringing you an iPod or an iPad for Christmas. And Aunt Kate has all the cool things because she has an only child and works full time. Would you like to trade Lily and Michael in and go to before and after care at school and daycare on holidays just to have an electronic gadget?
Thankfully he said no. I could have really backed myself into a corner on that hypothetical ;)
3 comments:
I try not to get too in depth with the Santa stuff as well...but sometimes it's just really hard. I hate to feel like I'm continuing an entire string of lies.
I'm kind of anti-electronics for young kids- I just feel like there are better ways for them to learn & they have the rest of their lives to become screen-addicted (ahem, like me?). No offense to anyone who DOES give their kids gadgets. Heaven knows mine see enough TV & they get to play computer games. It's not even about the cost- I'd just rather get something that is not based on a screen. We're hoping to do bikes as a "big" gift this year if we can swing it.
My sister just got a new car with a tv in it. When my kids asked why we don't have a tv in our car I told them it was because I stayed home with them instead of working. I said that if they wanted a tv in their car then I would have to go back to work. Alec and Aaron quickly said that they would rather have me. Ashley, on the other hand, told me (and has told me many times since) that she wants me to go to work so she can have a tv in her car. Lovely.
Aunt Kate has an iPad because she got a grant from work and they are letting her bring it home.
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