With Rachel being 2 1/2 now, she's old enough to start to understand the idea of Santa Clause. I point out Santa on commercials and decorations, but she's not super interested in him. I plan to bring her to the mall or somewhere to get the obligatory Santa's lap picture, and maybe then she'll start to like him. And all that is well and good in my opinion. I think the idea of Santa is cute and fun. I'm all for Santa existing in my childrens' minds.
But here's the kicker. How do we label Christmas presents? Do all of our gifts come from Santa? Mike and I were talking about this the other day, and we don't like the idea. Not because we don't want Santa stealing our thunder (Okay, not entirely because of that), but because I think it's good for children to thank people. Real people. Sure, she could send Santa a thank you note, I guess, but I'd rather have her understand that her parents worked hard and kindly got her some gifts for which she should be grateful to them. I think Christmas morning would be weird if it was a chorus of, "This one's from Meme. This one's from Santa. This one's from Mommy Mindy. This one's from Santa," etc. Wouldn't she eventually (probably not this year) start to wonder, "Hey, why don't Mom and Dad ever get me anything?"
I am a firm believer in good old-fashioned manners in children, including thanking anyone and everyone who gives you a gift. The thank you from Rachel wouldn't be to satisfy me, but to help her learn to give heartfelt appreciation for the things she receives.
So I'm thinking, maybe one gift can come from Santa, and the rest bear the name of the real giver. In coming years, she can ask for one thing from Santa when she sits on his lap, and that is what he gives her (pending Mom and Dad approval). I'm still pondering this, and wondering what the norm is. So what do you do? Do you give gifts to your children, or does Santa?
12 comments:
at our house Santa brings stockings. Sometimes there is something 'biggish' like a board game or something that they wanted he brings too, but there aren't any wrapped presents from Santa. That's how my parents did it...I think it also make Santa not being real less of a downer when the time comes. Good luck.
This is funny that you had this post. Dave and I have decided this year, we're getting the glory, NOT santa. :) and yes, it IS because we don't want Santa stealing our thunder! :) I really like the idea of Santa bringing stockings though! Maybe next year.
We are doing what we grew up with. One larger unwrapped gift comes from Santa (typically what they would ask from him). Then everything else is from us, family member, etc.
I think at this age, it doesn't really matter how you label them. Rachel will be too caught up in the gifts to really think about who they came from. Wayne and I (more me)are still on the fence about the whole Santa thing and we just have never labeled our gifts. We tell Devin when the gifts are from you, Meme, etc. but we just leave the gifts we bought without labels. And he has never said "Which ones are from you and which ones are from Santa?"
growing up, my sister and I always got one gift from "Santa" and the rest were from whoever they actually came from. The one santa gift was usually the biggest/coolest/most desired/most expensive of the lot. For example, the brand new nintendo 64 was from santa, while the barbie dolls and movies were from mom and dad.
it seemed that most other people did it that way too. i remember one friend telling me that all her gifts came from santa and i was very confused! i think the one gift from santa is the norm. and that way when your child tells santa what they want for christmas, you know it's something important to them since it's the one thing they can ask from him all year.
At our house, Santa brings the stockings (obviously) a couple of age appropriate books and then usually one or two of their larger gifts, (most likely it will be what they asked Santa for to keep the magic alive) sometimes wrapped sometimes not, it depends on the size of the package and how far behind Santa has gotten in the wrapping department. :)
I apologize for my run on sentence, I'm not going to fix it, though. :)
Growing up, my stocking and my one big gift (like, if I'd gotten a doll or a bike or whatever) came from Santa; the rest came from the giver. I really liked it and plan on doing that with my kids, too. :) Also, the Santa gift was always wrapped in special paper--usually something really glittery or metallic or shiny or whatever, and had a special, really fancy bow, so it was obviously from Santa. I loved that.
We do the same. Most of the time, they get a bigger gift from Santa, unwrapped and the one (usually a small thing-at this age anyway) thing they asked Santa for. And their stocking stuff. Everything else is from us and wrapped.
Ryan and I have for the last few years done exactly like you said, given one gift from Santa and the rest from mom and dad. I guess it's sort of implied that the stocking stuff is from Santa too. Usually it's the biggest and most exciting gift that comes from Santa, but just the one. I agree with you that it's important for kids to learn to say Thank You and also to understand that gifts come from parents too so that they understand there is a limit! (ie.. there would probably be a lot more and much nicer gifts if they ALL came from Santa! He is magical afterall.)
Hi Mary, you don't know me, but I found your blog from the adoption button on the Schachterle's blog. :)
We do the same-- one large unwrapped present from Santa. Then Santa fills and hides our stockings! So the first thing Christmas morning brings is a Santa present and a stocking hunt. It's really fun, even though Santa always hides Daddy's stocking really easy so he doesn't get too frustrated trying to find it. :)
My parents, in conjunction with Santa of course, were pretty similar to what others have written. The presents from my parents and my siblings went under the tree, and then on our specific spots on the couch, Santa would place our filled-up stocking (oranges and chocolate) and one larger unwrapped gift. So fun that Rachel's at this age!
Wow! Lots of similar comments! Santa fills our stockings and gives one gift unwrapped to each of us. He also gives a gift for Rachel and Daniel to "share", like a game or something that they have to do together. Then he usually brings a family game. He leaves his presents on the couch, and everything else is under the tree wrapped with names on them. I agree that SAnta should not get credit for everything! Then as they get older, they expect more and more, and their wish list grows. This teaches the wrong thing. Good luck, and have fun! You are entering the magical years of Christmas! Love you all!
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