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.
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.
For instance, Emily remembers once when she was in Kindergarten or 1st grade, she and her family gathered a packet of nuts and seeds, and threw glitter in for "reindeer food."
For instance, Emily remembers once when she was in Kindergarten or 1st grade, she and her family gathered a packet of nuts and seeds, and threw glitter in for "reindeer food."
Another time, when a commercial about giving Santa cheese, instead of cookies, was popular on TV, Emily said her family decided to "give Santa" cheese, sort of as an inside family joke.
Emily said that she'll probably continue the Santa tradition with her children, like her parents did for her, simply because it's such a fun tradition to have.
Also, like her parents, Emily doesn't want to push Santa on her kids. She said that she will probably joke and tell her kids on Christmas Eve that it's time to go to bed because Santa's coming!
"But I wouldn't push Santa Claus in a way that my kids would feel cheated when they found out that he wasn't real," Emily said.
So that's Emily's experience with Santa. What's yours?
Hahaaa thanks for posting that commercial; I'm remembering the laughter spent with my mom at the end. "Ahhh the power of cheese." True story! ;)
ReplyDeleteAfter I saw that commercial, I vaguely remembered it from my childhood. So funny! =)
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