Friday, December 10, 2010

Christmas Blog Post #10: Santa!

Santa Claus!

The Big Guy!

Good ol' St. Nick!

I like Santa!

I like the idea of Santa. I like the look of Santa. I like that Santa wants kids to be nice instead of naughty. I really like that Santa lives at the North Pole and drives a sleigh!

Growing up, I don't recall a lot of talk about Santa. My parents never set out cookies and milk or went up on the roof to make noise like I've heard some parents do. I remember reading a few years ago about a mom who left ashy footprints on the floor leading from the fireplace to the Christmas tree. A bit much, IMO, but I give her credit for wanting to make the whole thing real for her kiddos.

My siblings and I did receive goodies in our stockings and there was also a gift or two that said "From Santa." One year my sister, who is a two and half years older than me, determined that we needed to stay awake and catch our parents in the act of being Santa. In those days we spent Christmas at my grandparents' house and slept in sleeping bags on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. Talk about making it hard on the folks! I'm sure they wanted to crawl into bed but instead had to stay up until all of us kids were asleep...or so they thought. My sister was successful in her quest to stay awake. Me--not so much. Our secret sign we were to display if we were indeed awake when Mr. & Mrs. Claus appeared was a raised thumb. Kim says I put my thumb up, but I never saw my mom & dad sneak around us to put out the fat stockings and presents.

As a mom, I've done quite a bit of sneaking myself. I remember one year our boys stayed up to catch us in the act of Santa's business. They were getting bicycles that year. After my husband and I set everything out and climbed into bed, it wasn't long before I caught a glimpse of two pajama clad bodies dash past our door, armed with flashlights. We chuckled quietly and let them giggle and snoop before they hurried back to bed, thinking they'd outsmarted us.

As long as Santa doesn't overshadow Jesus as the "reason for the season" I really think it's a fun tradition for families to enjoy.

Ho! Ho! Ho, y'all!

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