Emily Krajci: Fond memories of fun Santa traditions

14 days until Christmas break now.

Needless to say, I'm very excited, as is everyone else on campus. Talk of Christmas dances on the tip of everyone's tongues. So naturally I tossed out my blog topic of this week, and in the process "caught" Emily Krajci, another fellow journalism major who is also in my class. (If you're interested in the media's influence today, check out her blog, The Price of Entertainment.)

When I asked Emily if she grew up believing in Santa, she said, "I suppose I did." (those early memories can be pretty foggy.) She thinks she probably knew it was her parents, but her mom would write "from Santa" or "Mrs. Claus" on the gift tags.

Emily said although she and her siblings would give Santa treats on Christmas Eve and receive gifts "from Santa" on Christmas Day, her parents were never pushy about Santa, insisting that Old St. Nick must be real. Her family just had fun with the whole Santa tradition. She also has 3 or 4 siblings who are still of the age to believe in Santa, so the older siblings join in being "Santa's helpers" to make the day fun and magical for the younger ones. 

"We've always put out carrots (for the reindeer) and cookies (for Santa) on a plate," Emily said. They've had a porcelain cup for years that has Santa designs all around it, and they fill it with milk for Santa as well.

Over the years Emily's family has sometimes diverted slightly from their tradition and done something creative, though equally fun.

Spreading that Santa Clause Cheer

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

Though this passage I pulled from Clement Clarke Moore's famous poem, "T'was the Night Before Christmas," doesn't mention the name of person it describes, I'm sure you've already guessed who it is--Santa Claus, of course!

Moore's poem pictures Old St. Nick as we know him today and gave us the idea of his appearance and personality (plump and jolly) and his activity on the night of Christmas Eve (coming down the chimney to deliver gifts and his eight reindeer.)

Originally, Santa (St. Nicholas) was just an ordinary man.

Week 10: Telling your kids there is a Santa Claus vs. Telling them he doesn't exist

In case you didn't notice from my last post's title, I'm in the Christmas mood. In fact, we were actually decorating the house for Christmas when I typed out the post that I titled with a line from the Grinch song.

So since it's all I can think about right now, I'm finishing off my blog posting with a Christmas topic.

But first let's clear up something----------------SPOILER ALERT FOR CHILDREN!-----------------