For the first time in years I could not sleep on Christmas Eve. Maybe it was the red wine or maybe it was the fact that we finally had a child in the house who understood Christmas. We were lucky this year to spend a lot of time with family and friends creating the magic of Christmas for our children. So on Christmas morning when my two-year-old came downstairs and saw the new kitchen “Santa” (aka: my husband and brother-in-law) had built, the giant stuffed dog my mom bought him, a couch full of presents and, most importantly, a stocking full of chocolate bars, his eyes lit up. He was excited to see that Santa ate the ugly sweater cookies he had made. And he was jumping up and down as each family member woke up to join us in the gift giving. It was truly a magical morning.
We started our Christmas prep this year with an early visit to Santa. It was really a selfish move on my part. I wanted a photo for our Christmas card. So, I dressed the kids up and headed to the mall. When my two-year-old walked up to Santa he started screaming. We could not even get him to sit for one of those classic screaming on Santa’s lap photos.
A week later we decided to take the kids on horse and carriage rides at another mall with their grandparents. We had a similar experience. When it was our turn to hop on the carriage a screaming fit ensued. But Santa was visiting with children inside so we decided to try again on that front. My husband sat next to Santa and was able to get Callum to sit with him. He warily told Santa from the safety of his Daddy’s lap that he wanted chocolate bars for Christmas. (Of course we didn’t think we would get him to sit with Santa at all so nobody was dressed for a photo.)
On our third and fourth Santa visits we really thought we were being tricky. We would have him sit with his cousins. After all, he adores them and loves anything they like. First we took the kids to the North Pole, a tradition in my family when I was little. They had tons of fun on the rides. They even talked to Santa when they first arrived. But when it came time to go visit Santa in his house my son panicked. His cousins sat on Santa’s lap while he hid in the corner. Santa asked him what he wanted from across the room and he quickly mumbled, “chocolate bars and toys and chocolate bars.”
We then headed up to the mountains for our early family Christmas. We took the kids skiing and then Santa (aka: my Dad’s friend in a red suit) surprised the kids with presents. This time it was my two-month-old who was scared of Santa. She was in a bad mood and wouldn’t stop crying. It took a lot of coaxing but my two-year-old finally followed his cousins’ lead and sat on Santa’s lap. The jolly old elf had walked in handing out chocolate bars so my son knew he could not be such a bad guy. But I once again failed to get a good photo of the two kids together.
My mother decided we should take my son to see his first movie this holiday season – ‘Frozen.’ Other than the few times he started talking to the characters on screen and the fact that he didn’t weigh enough to hold the seat down, it went pretty well. On our way to the car we passed Santa and he decided we could not leave without a visit. After a long wait my son finally sat by himself on Santa’s lap and told him, “I’m not scared of you. ” It was priceless.
Our final and most magical Santa visit came at the Zoo lights. We did not realize we were in line until it was too late. The wait was long and cold but this Santa was special. He had a real beard and rosy cheeks and he made my son feel so comfortable that they exchanged a big hug. (Sadly his sister slept through the whole experience) The smile on his face brought joy to my heart.
It is so easy to get caught up in the presents, the ribbons and bows, the lights and trees. Christmas can often be a time of stress, especially when it comes to family. But the true spirit of Christmas is really about taking the time out to make memories. It’s about finding magical moments with the ones you love- whether that means seeing the look on a child’s face when he finally understands the magic of Santa Claus or seeing his eyes light up when he sees the presents Christmas morning. There is nothing better than the magic of Christmas through a child’s eyes. I hope everyone was able to make some new memories this holiday season.