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What is it about the holidays that make children
behave so badly? Every year right before Christmas,
my kids go into hyper mode and bounce off the walls
like rubber balls! And all in the name of Santa Claus
and the gifts he brings. Call it anxiety, call it
excitability, call it what you will. I call it "Mom's
going to go insane any minute!".
I guess when I look back, I acted the same way when
I was a kid. I would ask my Mother over and over,
"How many more days until Christmas, Mom?".
She'd tell me, but after I asked for the fiftieth
time in one day, she'd just shake her head at me and
tell me yet one more time. The whole anticipation
of Christmas was wondrous to me, I would get presents
to open! Would it be that special doll I asked for,
or maybe the pretty red sweater that I saw 'so and
so' wearing at school? What would Santa put in my
stocking? Chocolate! Mmmm......I couldn't wait to
eat all the yummy chocolate in my stocking! Just thinking
about it all made me go crazy for some reason, probably
because I knew I had to wait. Whether it's thirty
days or three days until Christmas, it seems like
forever when you're a kid.
So now I am experiencing the same thing all over again,
this time with my own children. You'd think I'd be
understanding since I've been there myself, easier
said then done! It's a whole different ball game now
that I am the Mom, and I'm running out of patience!
I find myself telling my five-year-old at least ten
times a day, "Santa Claus is watching, you'd
better be on your best behavior!". Then I end
up singing the entire song of "Santa Claus is
coming to town" to her, emphasizing on the part
that goes, "He sees you when you're sleeping,
he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been
bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!".
After that is said and done, she looks at me with
an unconcerned look on her face, knowing good and
well she'll still get a load of presents like she
does every year, despite her behavior.
My oldest, well she's a different story. This will
be her first Christmas that she doesn't believe in
Santa Claus. Just this past year, she suddenly started
to believe her friends when they told her, "There
isn't any Santa Claus, your parents just sign his
name on the tag!". She questioned this, and came
to us one day, late last spring. My husband and I
just looked at each other, not really knowing what
to say to her. How do you tell your kid there isn't
a Santa, never has been one, and never will be one?
She took it better then I thought she would, and admitted
that she had a 'feeling' there wasn't a Santa for
quite some time. She promised not to tell her younger
sister, and so far she hasn't. I'll still sign "Santa"
on the gift tags to my oldest child, it's too hard
to stop now. The magic of Santa Claus is just part
of Christmas, even if he doesn't really exist. When
you stop believing in Santa, it takes so much of the
wonder out of Christmas. So now when my oldest is
pushing my buttons at Christmas time, I continue to
tell her that Santa won't give her anything if she's
bad, she knows I am right, because "I" am
Santa. Ho ho ho!
Maybe I'm just low on patience at the holidays. Trying
to get all the shopping done, making out the cards
and sending them, putting up the tree and decorations,
baking the goodies, getting the gifts wrapped AND
dealing with two anxious kids. Calgon, take me away!
No wonder I am dead tired by the time Christmas Day
finally arrives. Then I get to look forward to all
the fun and excitement afterwards! Making room for
all the new gifts, overflowing the garbage cans with
endless piles of wrapping paper, boxes, ribbons and
bows, vacuuming up dead tree needles all over the
house (well into April), taking off the hundreds of
ornaments on the tree, and then trying to make them
fit in the box they came in, and of course, the fun
of exchanging the gifts that don't work, don't fit,
or just plain 'ol weren't liked. There's nothing more
thrilling then standing in horrible long lines the
day after Christmas, just to do an exchange. And for
some strange reason, my husband insists on catching
the "after Christmas" sales. Why? Didn't
we spend enough BEFORE Christmas? We're dead broke
by the time Christmas arrives, just what does he think
we're going to buy those cheap markdowns with, monopoly
money?
Yet, even though it's crazy and hectic in my house
for the entire month of December, I wouldn't have
it any other way. Somehow, through all the hustle
and bustle of the season, I still manage to smile
and thank God that I have my kids to celebrate the
holidays with. Children make Christmas so much more
special! To see Christmas through a child's eye is
absolutely wonderful, and it's also priceless.
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