Each year, around this time, children sit down at the table and write a letter to Santa, sharing a bit of insight into all the things they’d like to see under the tree on Christmas morning. These wish lists are often misspelled, endearing, and somewhat amusing to parents whose little ones beg for things as though the sky’s the limit. After the letters have all been written, Mom and Dad (aka “Santa’s Checkbook”) get to see how charitable jolly Old Saint Nick will “get” to be this year.
The Pressure of the Christmas Wish List
Of course, the Christmas wish list is very important! It gives parents a chance to see what their children would be happy to receive on the big day. The problem, however, is that many kids hope—or even expect—that they’ll receive every single item they’ve listed. Little do they know that Mom and Dad are simply trying to figure out how to afford at least some of what they want and are hoping they can prioritize and purchase the gifts their children most want. Oh, the stress of it all!
When kids are young, dolls, baseball gloves, toy guns, soccer balls, Nerf guns, etc., are typically within the range of “Santa’s” budget. But starting around age seven, the “wish lists” begin to be enough to give Mom and Dad a stroke! The Legos they put on their Christmas list a few years ago were a mere $29. Now, that just won’t cut it. This time around, they want the 31313 LEGO Mindstorms EV3, which just happens to cost over $300.
Luckily for you, your wonderful daughter (a tomboy, aged 10) said she’d be happy with that, since the PlayStation 4 she really wants is even more expensive. When you remind her how pricey her choices are, she says they really aren’t… since they don’t cost anything, because Santa will bring them!
Touché.
That’s the major problem with allowing your kids to “believe.” We want to give them the best childhood we can by letting the fantasy of Santa, the elves, and all the magic live on. But man, it costs a pretty penny to do so! Gone are the days when kids were happy with an orange and a few pennies in their stocking on Christmas morning. Kids these days have sophisticated tastes, and they’re not afraid to ask for the world.
The world we live in today is much more of an “indoor” one. We’d rather sit inside and stare at screens than spend time in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, screens cost an arm and a leg, and they become outdated almost as fast as we acquire them. Kids spend so much time on phones, tablets, TVs, e-readers, and handheld gaming devices that they rarely ask for much else on their Christmas wish list. $$$!!!
Is it not time to let kids know that sometimes, Santa is facing a recession, or that their choices are simply insane?! Asking for $300+ gifts is just plain nuts! I think it would be great if Santa would put out a press release and let the world (and especially our greedy little monsters) know that this year—and possibly every year for the next decade or so—Santa’s facing hard times. Due to layoffs, binding arbitration with Rudolph and the other moneygrubbing reindeer, increased sick day pay to the elves, etc., Santa can’t deliver like he used to. Alas, the wish list needs to become more realistic.
But how do we make our children understand that the mythical, magical man in the red suit has fallen on hard times? Isn’t the entire point of the Santa “fantasy” that by being good, we can have everything we want in life? How do you explain to a child that despite all their hard work toward being a fine, upstanding citizen, Santa just can’t reward them the way he’s supposed to? What’s a parent to do?
Keeping “the secret” while also being practical and sensible is a balancing act every family has to navigate. Kids are only young for what seems like a few short minutes in the grand scheme of things, and we want them to believe. But we also don’t want them to become greedy, shallow, materialistic consumers who think the purpose of life is acquiring every shiny new thing that catches their eye. This is especially true considering that most kids lose interest in their Christmas gifts a few months—or even weeks—after the season has passed. Nothing is more frustrating to a hardworking parent than seeing all those expensive gifts flung into a forgotten pile before their shine has even worn off.
Christmas should be a joyous time. However, thanks to advertising by big corporations, it has become extremely expensive and is slowly depleting Santa’s collective bank account. Though it may not help Santa this year, perhaps he should just give free Netflix to all the Moms and Dads of the world. This would ensure our wonderful children won’t see ads for things that “Santa’s Helpers” can’t afford next year. Perhaps he could throw in some ad blockers for the computer while he’s at it!
In the end, just remember that playing Santa is a relatively short phase in your life, and you’ll be sad when it’s finally over. Once your kids “find out,” they become a little more cynical and a little less enamored with the Christmas season. Yes, Christmases during your children’s younger years may practically break the bank, but one day soon you’ll miss perusing those scribbled Christmas wish lists. Your moody older children will make you long for their earlier days of wide-eyed wonder when everything seemed possible to them, and they truly believed they could have the world itself if they just asked Santa for it. And that innocent attitude? It’s priceless.
