We rented a car this weekend for several practical reasons, but found ourselves on a road tour of Fife (our county) most of the day Sunday. We had no real destination except the Cocoa Bean - the most wonderful little cafe in Pittenweem that anyone who has watched the movie "Chocolat" has to appreciate. Anyway, we found ourselves at the Deer Park, which has something like 13 types of deer, wolves, otters, falcons, etc. And as we pulled in I saw a huge sign announcing that Santa was there. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but after seeing the animals we were queuing up to see Santa. I like Santa - the real one that is, but am not into the over commercialization of Santa. We couldn't see what he looked like ahead of time as only one family was allowed into the grotto at a time. What if he wasn't convincing and I caught a glimpse of the plastic toys he was handing out... So as we stood in line I tried to talk Jonah out of it. "It is a long wait and Rowan and Daddy are waiting in the car" (after the deer park Rowan was a bit cold and we were pretty sure he would see Santa and scream.)
But, Jonah was persistent and I must say I was happily surprised. Santa didn't ask Jonah what he wanted (I really don't like the incessant asking children what they want for Christmas this time of year), but instead Santa talked about his reindeer (who were right there by the grotto) and asked Jonah if he could leave the deer a snack on Christmas Eve (a lovely reversal of asking him for help instead of a wish list!) And making the conversation even better was that Santa had a Scottish Accent.
And most importantly Jonah was delighted. Oh, the magic of Christmas is a wonderful thing!
4 comments:
How sweet! My "Santa" pet peeve is the insistence that you don't get a gift unless you are "good." I've tried again and again to emphasize that we (even Santa!) give gifts out of love and in celebration of Jesus birthday--not to reward good behavior. But that song is a powerful thing!!
I'm in total agreement with you. I don't even think my kids know that they can actually ask for something for Christmas. We just surprise them with gifts we pick out. I'm hoping this will last for a long time! I LOVE the Cocoa Tree!
I just read your Questing article on Rhythm of the Home and I LOVE the idea. Thank You so much! I'm new to the Waldorf ideas as well and very much enjoyed your words! My three children are going to love it!
I'm with you on trying to overcome the 'naughty and nice' idea. I love the 'More Like Jesus' bag you are doing for advent, such a sweet idea.
And Jonah doesn't know to ask for things either, he is looking forward to the gifts, but certainly isn't making a list. I wonder how long we can keep this up?
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