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The issue of Santa Clause raises an interesting point in The House of Halpin. I was raised knowing Santa was a hoax, a fun game we play at Christmas time. My sweet husband, on the other hand, believed in Santa until a reasonable age, at which point he just accepted that Santa was not an actual jolly old man who deposited presents after plummeting down his chimney. No harm done. We, as parents, can not seem to reach a happy compromise about what to tell our impressionable Boys about Santa. We each desire to do what was done for us. It is especially difficult because of all the Santa hype, particularly among our beloved nieces and nephews. Never would we want to spoil any of the magic for them! I struggle with convincing my precious kids that the Santa story is reality only to have to dash their beliefs in a few years when I come clean and tell them Santa is pretend. Why put them through all that and at the same time take a little bit more of the focus away from the true and only reason for the season? And so, as mature adults, we decided to post-pone the decision for one more year and explain nothing to O. He thinks Santa is a guy who sits at the mall and wears a red suit. When asked on Christmas Day if Santa visited his house and brought him gifts, he responded with an inquisitive stare and a definite "No." When all his cousins adamantly claimed that they heard Santa's sleigh bells and signature "Ho, ho, ho!" Christmas Eve, Owen just stared at them without comprehension. Have we done the wrong thing? Is he missing out on some of the wonder and joy of the season? I think not, especially when I hear his precious voice raised in song Christmas morning before even glancing at his gifts:
"Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus,
Happy Birthday to you!"
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