Starting our Christmas season

This year, we have just started our Christmas season, but already done so much in the way of changing things a little bit here or there.  First off, on Black Friday we happened to go and see Wreck it Ralph at a nearby mall, and when we came out, we noticed Santa's line was really short, so rather than find another day to come out and visit, we went and saw him.  I put the photograph in the frame this weekend and noticed that we only missed one year, the year Trevor was 2.  But we've seen the same Santa for all but one year.  Usually it is some time in December but I'm happy not to have to make another trip out there.

Speaking of Santa, I finally gave in to Trevor's asking about Santa.  I have read about parents writing a letter to their kids about Santa and have a blogging friend that used one last year for her daughter that seemed to fit well with us (Thanks Erika!).  Here's what it said:

Dear Trevor, 

You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?” 

I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say. 

The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa. 

I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Dad helps, too.) I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights. 

This won’t make you Santa, though. Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch. 

It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments. 

Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy. 

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible. 

Before you go around telling your sister, or friends that there is no Santa, be careful because believing in Santa is all about believing in a Christmas miracle, and destroying someone else’s belief is a very sad thing to do.  If someone asks me if I believe in Santa, I honestly say “YES” because I do believe in all the Christmas miracles that the idea of Santa brings.  I don’t know if this helps you understand why there is a belief in Santa until you are a parent, but hopefully it is a start.

So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too. I love you and I always will. 

Love, Mom

He didn't get the letter before we visited him, but he also didn't say anything that I'm aware of.  I also didn't give him the letter before his sleepover party on Thursday night, but I did hear the boys talking about it that night.  I hope Trevor didn't ruin anyone's Christmas spirit!  So when he read the letter, he seemed very happy and told me that he wouldn't go spilling the beans to anyone else.  He thinks that when Gwen knows, we'll stop doing a lot of the traditions that make Christmas fun.  

What is interesting about this whole thing to me though, is that we still have our Elf on the Shelf (Frankincense) that comes around and I think...like his toys, he still has a hard time fully believing that they don't come to life when we aren't watching.  A few months ago he told me that he can't throw away his character toothbrushes because of what happened in Toy Story 3.  He has such an imagination that while he has loved to create his own stories with his toys, its hard to switch off that imagination switch when it comes to seeing the toys portrayed as real things when no one is watching.

Gwen has been loving the Christmas changes in our house and taking full advantage of the new music selections on both the radio and the CDs that we have.  Her favorite is a Kids Bop Christmas CD that we have already listened to 5 times and it has only been out for 3 days.  Her dance class is starting to prepare for their Winter Show in January, and they are performing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" but if she hears the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, she actually still remembers most of the moves from that recital as well.  

We have only seen 2 movies of our Christmas collection - both Grinch movies.  She has been playing with the Christmas ornaments and as a side note, we were putting the ornaments up and Trevor opened his Lightning McQueen and Toy Story ones, and saying that they didn't have hooks on them.  I explained that he never let us put hooks on them because he always played with them instead, so he took them out of the box and put them by the doll house to be used as a toy.  Gwen, of course, picked up right where he left off.  She undecorates and redecorates the tree.  She has a lot of princess ornaments and so with the lights, they put on a show...usually some kind of dance number.  Now that Frankincense is here, she also wants to give him part of her Advent Calendar chocolate the way Trevor has the past few years.  At least, that is what she said this morning...and then she ate both pieces.  

She also is enjoying the books that come out too.  I somewhat forgot about those and got more library books so I've read her favorite books, but she has some other new books (American Girl Doll books) that we have been reading as well.  

So with all that, I believe we are in the Christmas spirit.  The kids are again slotted for bringing up Mary and Joseph for the manger scene at church on Christmas Eve.  This will be Trevor's last year bringing a character.  He can bring other things, but they listed pre-k to 3rd grade.  His comment is, why does church have to be so long that day?  He's used to Children's Liturgy where the kids get to go out of the service to have their own discussion about the readings.  It's a nice break for them so that they don't have to be still for the entire hour.  But that doesn't happen on Christmas Eve.  Hard to believe it's only 3 weeks away.  I gotta get on the shopping bandwagon!  I'm probably very behind!