Santa is Real in Our House

In my post about our Christmas Party, I did mention that we had a certain visitor come to our house during the holiday season.  Yes it is Santa, and yes at 32 I must say… I still believe.  I know this may sound crazy for a grown woman to say, but in our house Santa is and always will be one of the symbols of the magic of Christmas.  I have had several conversations with some of my mom friends who have asked me how we handle Santa. I have even seen it on online forums.  I get questions like "Do you tell them he's real?"  "Will they ever trust me again when they find out I lied?" "Will they be devastated when they find out?"

To be honest, I don't know.  I can't predict the future.  But for this precious few years when they believe in magic and are only limited by their imagination, I want to let them.  I thought I would share how we handle Santa at our house.  Although in order to explain fully how we deal with Santa in our house I need to give a little background about myself.

You see, when I was growing up, I KNEW Santa and he was one of the most important people in my life.   I know it sounds crazy because I just said I knew Santa, but truly I did.  He came to our house for our Christmas Eve party.  He came to my Girl Scout troop, church, Indian Maidens, school, you name it… he was there.  I knew it had to be the real deal.  He always looked the same and he always brought Mrs. Claus with him.  When I was about five I remember saying to my mom, “Hey mom, Santa has a nose just like Pepe (that’s what I called my grandfather).  That’s so funny.”  I was quickly whisked aside and given THE TALK.

 
Me and my Pepe, one of the most important men in my life.

It may not be the same as in other houses you see, as my talk involved finding out that Santa was in fact my grandfather, but not just for me for hundreds of kids each year.  My mom talked to me about the spirit of Christmas and how some people want to be Santa’s helpers and my grandfather was one of those people.  He was the type of person who wanted to share the joy of the holidays with as many kids as he could.  Since I was his granddaughter, it was part of my job to help keep his secret and spread Christmas joy to all the other kids and I loved every minute of it! Even a few year later, when I found out that there was no real person coming down the chimney and giving gifts on Christmas, I would hear his bells at our door and my heart would fill with joy and love because I knew he was coming.  My Grandpa was Santa and it was one of the greatest things of my childhood.

Both my Grandmother and Grandfather played Mr. and Mrs. Claus well into my adulthood.  All through high school, my friends and I would pose for our Christmas picture with Santa and talk about how awesome my grandparents were with all the small kids.  My sister even had them come to her rehearsal dinner for her Christmas wedding. It was one of the last times they wore their costumes. As they got older, they knew they weren’t going to be able to do it anymore.  I can assure you there were a lot of tears the last year they played Mr. and Mrs. Claus. It wasn’t just our family. It was schools, churches and many other groups that my grandparents were able to touch in their years as the Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Fast forward to a few years down the line, a new generation of Mr. and Mrs. Claus made their appearance and it also happened to be the first year I was a mother.  My mom made some new costumes to fit her and my father and they made their first appearance on Christmas Eve 2008.  I can’t explain how emotional I was as I saw my parents take over what my grandparents had done for so long.  James was only 7 weeks old at the time but he had his first picture with Santa as my mother and I tried to choke back tears as we remembered fondly the years we had with my grandparents

 
2008 with the next generation of Santa and Mrs. Claus

The magic I felt as a kid is alive tenfold in my heart because I get to see the wonder in my kids’ eyes.  Santa will forever be a part of our household just like it was for me when I was growing up.  In our house we talk about Santa and that he is a real person who delivers presents to all the children of the world on Christmas Eve.  We wrap presents in special paper just from Santa and talk about the magic of the season.  He fills their stockings with small toys and candy.  We leave a tray of cookies and hot chocolate (after watching the movie “The Santa Clause” Joe has informed  me that is what we are supposed to do, not milk, hot chocolate).  We make our lists to Santa asking for some items, and I try to get at least one thing off of it.

 
2009, oh my how fast our family has grown.

Back to those original questions about how my children will handle finding out that Santa isn't real and if I am worried.  My simplest answer is, “No. I am not worried.”  I love giving them the power of imagination and joy that comes with it.  I will handle it the same way my parents did with me.  My hope is that I can instill in them the magic and wonder of Christmas the way my parents did with me.  I never felt like I was lied to or that I couldn’t trust my parents.  I wasn’t upset or sad.  I still believe Santa is real in all of those who hold the joy and wonder of Christmas in our hearts, and I will teach that to my kids.

 
2010, I love seeing the changes in the kids in each year's photo.

 
2011, we are adding one more baby into the family.

To be truthful I have already had a little chat with my boys about this.  Last year they recognized my parents, so this year before our Christmas party I sat them down and we talked about Santa and the people who come to our house and their school.  I told them about my grandfather (Joe was exceptionally excited because it was the Grandpa he was named after), and told them about the spirit of Christmas living inside some people's hearts. I told them everything my mother told me. I told them they needed to help keep our Family Secret safe for the kids that don’t know yet, including their little sister. They were thrilled to be a part of the mystery and excited about keeping the secret for everyone else.

 
2012, the boys recognized their Grandma and Papa

Their talk was a little different than mine because I had the same experiences they had as a kid and I can share it with them.  I told them about the bells my grandparents wore on their belts. We talked about that sound and what it meant to me as a child. I told them how Grandma made herself a new costume but that they wore the same bells from my grandparents' costumes.  They couldn't believe that they would hear the same bells that I did as a child. (I am pretty sure they think I am ancient and anything from my childhood should already be crumbling into dust.) As my parents announced their arrival with the jingling of their bells, my kids jumped for joy.  This year they knew it was my parents.  They knew it was just a costume and they thought it was one of the greatest things in the world.

 
2013, even though they know our family secret the joy of Christmas is still there.

I know in the next few years we will have our second installment of conversations with our kids about there being no person who delivers gifts, but that Santa is a symbol of the joy that we should share with each other over the holiday season.  I am hoping they will handle it well, but of course there are no guarantees in parenting. So in our house, just as it was in my house growing up, Santa is real and I will always believe and I will share that magic with my kids. Nick has already told me that when he has kids, it will be my job to be Mrs. Claus.  I gave him a big hug and told him I absolutely would be!