And by Goose I mean me. Boy do I hate the weeks between Halloween and Christmas. I’ve read all the advice, how not to gain that average 5 pounds or so, but you’re reading the writing of a woman who gained the Freshman 15 back in college and kept it ON so really, advising me to be mindful of my holiday eating or to eat BEFORE I go to a holiday party… well, that only ends up with me eating two meals. The one before the party and the one AT the party. So that isn’t going to work at all. Last year’s 5 pounds on my left hip are proof of that.
But Christmas is coming and Snags is EXCITED! EXCITED! EXCITED! More so this year than any year past.
He’s already made his Christmas list for Santa and revised it twice.
It started off as a simple one page letter asking for three things. It has since morphed into a small catalog of photos cut from toy magazines and glued onto a stack of paper from the printer in the basement, stapled together, then attached to a cover sheet, lest Santa get confused as to whom the list came from.
Recently he decided to prioritize the list. Only he wrote “Top Choice” by each and every item on his list.
I finally had to sit down with him and explain that EVERYTHING can’t be his “Top Choice.” And as we flipped through the pages of his ever expanding list, I had to point out that Santa was not likely to bring him a rock tumbler because it was for children ages 10 and up. Ditto the chemistry set. “Darn it!” Snags yelled. And then he drew a big X over the items.
“Also,” I said, trying not to dampen his Christmas spirit but also wanting to keep my house fee of bugs, “No ant farm. Even when you turn eight and are old enough for an ant farm, see here where it says 8 and older? Even then, I am not having ants in my house. Not even if they live on a farm.”
“Why not?” Snags demanded to know.
“Because,” I said, “that’s why I pay the exterminator in the first place. Too keep ants out of here. Sorry kiddo.”
“Darn it!” He yelled again as he crossed the ant farm off his list.
My husband and I have been having a bit of a discussion lately too. He wants to limit what Snags gets for Christmas, set a budget. And I do too. We just can’t agree on what that budget should be. Because when your kid is six and wants a couple of $90 LEGO sets, well, there won’t be much under the tree if you say $200 is the limit, you know? And then also, my husband is of the opinion that the best presents should come from mom and dad and Santa should only bring maybe one or two gifts. I’m all against that. Because when I was a kid, SANTA BROUGHT EVERYTHING. Or nearly everything. My husband grew up differently than I and seems to think this puts the appreciation of Christmas on Santa, and not mom and dad. Jesus, some of you may notice, is left out of this part of the discussion. Yes, the holiday is about him, and he is lying in the manger we set up, but then, as Snags notes, Jesus was a baby at Christmas, and babies don’t bring you presents. But Santa, he does!
“Look at it this way,” I tried to explain to my husband. “We’ve probably only got another year or two of Santa left around here. Some older kid at school will spill the beans soon enough. I’d rather Snags be all excited about Santa while he can. He has the rest of his life to appreciate the fact that Santa was US. He can appreciate you and me and what we gave him from Santa when he’s grown. Right now, let’s let the mystery and excitement go on as long as possible. That’s what being a kid is all about, isn’t it?”
Well, that and being able to eat all the holiday junk you want without gaining an ounce.
Running With Books 
When K writes her letter to Santa I remind her how very many children in the world Santa has to bring stuff to and how many of those kids don’t have mommy and daddy and grandparents and aunties and uncles and great aunties and uncles and lovely family friends who like to buy them presents and I ask her to think of one thing she really wants, and then she asks Santa for that. Then we have her pick a couple of toys to give to kids less fortunate than herself.
I don’t like to make Christmas all about Santa partly because I feel that if gifts are handed down like little packages from heaven there is no value placed upon them, partly because I want her to appreciate her family and partly because when the time comes that the santa myth is dispelled I want her to know that Christmas is still a special time with your family. I want her to know that family is what the Holidays are about. Not the dude in the red suit.
Though that means that WE tend to go overboard sometimes and this year we are trying to set a strict limit on ourselves as well… we too are searching for that magic $ amount… but when your kid wants a couple of lego sets, princesses and Wii games… Like you said $200 won’t go too far.
great post…..it can be so very hard. I tend to do one thing from santa, and the stocking…then the rest is from family.
as for the money limit. it can be hard to set a price. I try to set a limit for number of new toys. who has room for all this stuff. eeekkkk.
I hate that my girls birthday is in early January. this time of year we get ALL the new stuff. It can be overwhelming.
Christmas with little ones is so lovely. They’re always so excited, their eyes so big. We’re enjoying this coming one as much as possible, since we’ve got another one on the way, and TFYO may find her gift list slightly shrunken next year. Of course, her birthday is mid-January, so it’s not like she’ll be missing too much.
I love this post Belle. We have the same problem as in how much to spend. I try to spend the same on both and it’s working ok so far. My girls know that we buy most things, then send them to Santa and he decides what stuff they’ll like best. Then they get one prezzie just from Santa. Miss M gets Christmas more this year so I can’t wait. This could be our last year with E believing though. She’s 7 and was told at 5 by a friend at school that there was no Santa, but we got passed that. I’d love her to believe for a little bit longer.
Miss M is 3 at the en of January so we have the whole ‘can we fit any more toys in’ bit as well.