Sipping my hot spicy ginger tea while staring at my computer screen I nonchalantly said to J,
‘I am going to be honest this Christmas by saying that there is no such thing as Santa when any children around me excitedly say that Santa left them presents under the tree’.
J jolted up, immediately stopped whatever he was doing and said,
‘What?! Why?! Don’t do that! That will screw them up’.
Looking lazily up from the screen with the hot cup warming my hands I replied,
‘Why not? It is the truth. Kids should know the truth. Why would you lie to a child? Santa is not real but the spirit of Christmas is. Besides, look at me. I am well adjusted and I never believed that Santa was real. Also, Santa did not surprise me with presents. Real people did. By the way, I want a humongous and red plushy bull toy...the kind you see in amusement parks’.
‘Don’t tell the kids that Santa is NOT real. You are crazy! Why would you want a plushy toy anyway?’. That was J’s reply.
‘So that I can sit on it when I am watching my TV shows or playing RPG games on my PS3’.
Perhaps I do not know how sensitive the subject of Santa is for kids since I do not have any of my own. Even so, when I was young and especially growing up in Asia, Santa Claus is nothing but a myth. Yet, I was still happy because there were parties to attend, carols to be sung and I have always received presents from parents, relatives and friends. Most if not all Christmases, we would always have at least one person pretending to be Santa when we attended Christmas parties. One of the most enjoyable activities was guessing who the person was behind the disguise. Also, I do not really remember having conversations with friends at school wondering if Santa was real or otherwise. I did however had a conversation with my parents about how Santa was actually St. Nicholas and his generosity giving out presents to the poor. Spurred by curiousity, I decided to read up and reacquaint myself with facts.
Nonetheless, as I was reading and browsing I came across an episode from Family Guy that was tremendously hilarious. Although aired last year, I still find the show refreshing and funny. My stomach was in knots after laughing so hard watching the show. It has a twisted take on Christmas and Santa but a positive spin on gift giving. The stars of the show were of course Stewie and Brian (they are my favourite characters on Fam Guy). For you adults out there who have not seen this episode, I highly recommend it.
Now, now, although armed with facts about Santa, what should I tell the kids when they start mumbling about Elmo, Big Bird, Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer or Barney? Suppose I say that they are mere products of network television to keep children learning while keeping them entertained, what will happen? There will be pandemonium for sure. Such agony and torture to have to keep mum while everyone is excited about entities that are non-existent. From the bottom of my heart, I wished they do exist. That simplifies everything.
A few days later while I was watching an anime, J asked,
‘Are you really going to say that Santa’s not real?’.
Taking a deep breath and without peeling my eyes from the TV, I said,
‘Are you going to get me my plushy toy?’.
‘I will get you the toy, okkaayyy. So???’.
I turned, looked, slyly smiled and said,
‘My Christmas gift to everyone is to feign ignorance when it comes to Santa, Elmo, Big Bird, Dora or whatever. Happy?’.
Have A Very Blessed and Merry Christmas Everyone :)
‘I am going to be honest this Christmas by saying that there is no such thing as Santa when any children around me excitedly say that Santa left them presents under the tree’.
J jolted up, immediately stopped whatever he was doing and said,
‘What?! Why?! Don’t do that! That will screw them up’.
Looking lazily up from the screen with the hot cup warming my hands I replied,
‘Why not? It is the truth. Kids should know the truth. Why would you lie to a child? Santa is not real but the spirit of Christmas is. Besides, look at me. I am well adjusted and I never believed that Santa was real. Also, Santa did not surprise me with presents. Real people did. By the way, I want a humongous and red plushy bull toy...the kind you see in amusement parks’.
‘Don’t tell the kids that Santa is NOT real. You are crazy! Why would you want a plushy toy anyway?’. That was J’s reply.
‘So that I can sit on it when I am watching my TV shows or playing RPG games on my PS3’.
Perhaps I do not know how sensitive the subject of Santa is for kids since I do not have any of my own. Even so, when I was young and especially growing up in Asia, Santa Claus is nothing but a myth. Yet, I was still happy because there were parties to attend, carols to be sung and I have always received presents from parents, relatives and friends. Most if not all Christmases, we would always have at least one person pretending to be Santa when we attended Christmas parties. One of the most enjoyable activities was guessing who the person was behind the disguise. Also, I do not really remember having conversations with friends at school wondering if Santa was real or otherwise. I did however had a conversation with my parents about how Santa was actually St. Nicholas and his generosity giving out presents to the poor. Spurred by curiousity, I decided to read up and reacquaint myself with facts.
Nonetheless, as I was reading and browsing I came across an episode from Family Guy that was tremendously hilarious. Although aired last year, I still find the show refreshing and funny. My stomach was in knots after laughing so hard watching the show. It has a twisted take on Christmas and Santa but a positive spin on gift giving. The stars of the show were of course Stewie and Brian (they are my favourite characters on Fam Guy). For you adults out there who have not seen this episode, I highly recommend it.
Preview #1
Preview #2
Sneak Peek
Now, now, although armed with facts about Santa, what should I tell the kids when they start mumbling about Elmo, Big Bird, Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer or Barney? Suppose I say that they are mere products of network television to keep children learning while keeping them entertained, what will happen? There will be pandemonium for sure. Such agony and torture to have to keep mum while everyone is excited about entities that are non-existent. From the bottom of my heart, I wished they do exist. That simplifies everything.
A few days later while I was watching an anime, J asked,
‘Are you really going to say that Santa’s not real?’.
Taking a deep breath and without peeling my eyes from the TV, I said,
‘Are you going to get me my plushy toy?’.
‘I will get you the toy, okkaayyy. So???’.
I turned, looked, slyly smiled and said,
‘My Christmas gift to everyone is to feign ignorance when it comes to Santa, Elmo, Big Bird, Dora or whatever. Happy?’.
Have A Very Blessed and Merry Christmas Everyone :)
