I have a confession…I believe in Santa!

I have a confession, I believed in Santa until I was an adult.  Like after I graduated from high school! I know it sounds completely ridiculous but it’s true.  Now that I am a parent myself and am experiencing Christmas through my childrens’ eyes, I can truly see what a gift it was that I believed in Santa for so long.  

For whatever reason my parents decided that Santa was an important tradition and they were very serious about it.  They taught me at an early age that Santa was watching me and that I needed to be good to make his “Nice” list. Me and my sister made fresh baked cookies on Christmas Eve every year.  Before we went to sleep, we prepared a special plate with the cookies and carrots for the reindeer and a glass of milk and placed it by our fireplace underneath our stockings. And when we woke up there were bites of cookies and carrots left and half a glass of milk, and special gifts in our stockings.  It was one of my favorite Christmas memories. Sure this probably doesn’t sound different from many other people’s memories of Christmas. But it really meant something to me! And I wanted to believe it for as long as possible.

My sister is 8 years younger than I am.  So perhaps that’s partly why my parents kept it up for so long so that it wouldn’t be ruined for her.  My parents literally kept the Santa tradition going until I had children myself. Now I did realize it was them after high school because somewhere along the way I had to face the reality that Santa wasn’t “real”.  But I honestly believed in the magic of Santa until well in to my teens.

It was such a special part of my Christmas experience and childhood.  That childlike wonder and faith in the magic of Santa, his elves, reindeer, sleigh… the whole thing.  I really hope that I can continue this tradition for my own children for as long as possible. I realize that it’s so rare to keep it going for so long.  My husband says his parents really never did the Santa thing. But he does like the tradition and is as in to it as I am! (Thank goodness.) When we get older we lose faith in so many things when we are faced with “real life.”  So if I can help give my children more magic in their lives, I really would like to.