Lessons from Santa

December 26, 2008

Lesson learned...never take your children into a store the day before Christmas. That's when Noah saw the International Spy Kit that would taint his Christmas. He pointed out the junky $10 plastic spy kit while we were madly rushing through our last minute shopping list. He'd never yearned for one before. It had never been on any of his lists and yet suddenly it was at the top of his list. He kept talking about it for the rest of the afternoon and fell asleep on Christmas Eve whispering about it to my mom. Why,oh why didn't I just hide it in the bottom of the cart? I honestly thought he would forget about it especially once he saw all of the other tantalizing things under the tree.

Christmas morning he woke us up by announcing his excitement about finally getting the spy kit. He kept searching under the tree. He was absolutely certain it was there. But it wasn't. He was excited about the garbage truck and the legos, but later in the day I found him sitting in the bathroom. Tearfully he said: "Don't believe what they tell you. Santa won't make all of your wishes come true". This Santa business is complicated and at times heartbreaking. I remember how sad I was when I discovered the truth about Santa. And now as a parent I feel a little heartbroken about Noah's disappointment. He still believes in Santa but not in the same wholehearted way.

So I am grappling here. Do I just chalk this up as a life lesson..."you don't always get what you want" and "sometimes people let us down" ? Or do I play the forgetful Santa card and discover the spy kit under the tree at tomorrow's big family gathering?
Jessica said...

After that heartbreaking tale I would vote for mysteriously finding it under the tree. Poor little man!

And thanks for the tip about never taking my kids shopping the day before Christmas. I wouldn't want to learn that one the hard way. ;)

Melissa said...

That's a hard one, but I agree with Jessica. I don't think I could resist especially since he's dealing with dad being gone.

park it said...

I think I would do the - Santa left a note and $10 saying - he heard about it to late - but told mom to give you $10 so you could get it - that way he gets to go pick it up too!
Good Luck!

Dana said...

I vote for getting the toy; it's not now time to learn life's lessons. Also -- time for believing in Santa is precious. . .
Umm. . .maybe Santa sent the package in the mail and it got tied up, so it's a little late?

Karen said...

I cast my vote with the others!!

Laurie said...

I vote for forgetful Santa - maybe like out of the polar express - 'found this under the seat of my sleigh'? :-)

My parents still talk about the year I did the 'day before' thing to them...it was LATE on Christmas Eve, dinner time, and they stopped at the mall to eat on the way home to Georgia from Texas. I was three. I begged to sit with Santa again, and told him that ALL I wanted was 'just a pair of red shoes.' Shoes never mentioned before...they apparently talked about how I would probably forget before morning, but decided to see what they could do...my dad did a mad dash through the mall to find a pair of red shoes as thing were closing while mom occupied me. Never again did I see the inside of a mall within a day or two of Christmas! (Funny thing though is that I do actually REMEMBER those red shoes!) :-)

Good luck with whatever you decide...hugs to all of you. Can't wait to see you soon!

Corinne said...

Before I even read anyone else's comments, I was going to say that you should get it too. It's so hard to see your kids unhappy and even though we KNOW it's just "stuff," I still remember being a kid and that stuff really did matter. A lot. Let us know what you decide :)

Cami said...

Yeah, my kids decided that they wanted Magnetix the day before Christmas. I told them that Santa may have already loaded his sleigh, and that maybe he knew that the little balls were choking hazards for the baby. Jeffy didn't like that idea, but he did ok with the idea that Santa sometimes knows what would be fun for you without getting exactly what you wanted. He also wrote his list pretty late, so he knew he was taking his chances.

Also, sometimes I tell my kids that when they ask for things they're not allowed to have (a Nintnedo DS for example) that I email Santa and tell him not to get it. We're all working together, Santa, my husband, and I. Maybe Santa knows that they are getting Magnetix for their birthdays, and they can play with other toys in the meantime.

holly b said...

I picked up a few books this past week at Barnes and Nobles 50% off seasonal items. One of them was Mrs. Claus tells all or something like that where she fields kids questions about how things at the North Pole work. I think this question is addressed on the last page. just an idea...

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