It’s the chant of jolly green giants and the big guy who lives in the North Pole. I think that they are still both in litigation as to who owns the rights to the mantra.
I’ve taken a lot of pictures of kids and Santa over the years. Oh, not the real Santa as I haven’t seen him since I was somewhere around 8 years old. I’ve noticed that some kids like Santa, some can take him or leave him, and some are horrified of him.
I don’t remember who told me this, but they said that no child feels comfortable sitting on a stranger’s lap dressed in red velvet and fur and having minion elves passing out candy as a bribe to sit in a stranger’s arms – even for a little while.
As I was relaxing after I got home one night last week, I was too wound up to go to bed, so I thought I’d find out what was trending on Netflix. I came across a romcom called “I Believe in Santa,” and thought I’d last about 10 minute as it started out kind of stupid.
I ended up making popcorn, putting tinsel on my tree and drinking hot chocolate – getting my Christmas spirit on. Essentially, it was about a grown man who never quit believing in Santa even though he never saw the man.
According to thereviewgeek.com, “It’s a lighthearted yet thought provoking flick. The storyline, which stars Christina Moore, John Ducey, and Violet McGraw, centers on the significant practical vs imaginative argument. The flick explores the component wherein differing points of view from your partners can cause you to wonder about the sustainability of your union. Furthermore, the festive tone runs through the entire romantic comedy as the audience experience a strong “feel-good” component. It deeply follows the movie’s genre and serves as a pleasant, lighthearted, yet enlightening Christmas movie.
“Every happily married couple can strongly relate to the pair’s disputes and disagreements because they are conveyed in such an honest way. Variations in beliefs and perspectives are relatively common in relationships and serve to emphasize the uniqueness of each partner. The movie presents the challenges and difficulties that most encounter in a relationship. Furthermore, the flick also showcases how for a partnership to thrive; both parties must be able to find common ground on some core principles.”
Well, that reviewer went farther than I wanted to go, but kudos. I noticed one moment in the movie, the child placed on Santa’s lap screaming at the top of his lungs. This column, however is not a review of that movie, but will contain thoughts of the kids who you have to take kicking and screaming to Santa and then have Santa hold the child tight against his or her will while setting off the smoke detectors from the sheer force of their screams.
And, do parents really love to be THAT embarrassed, all the while smiling at the child telling him, “Aww… it’s alright. It’s Santa… come on you love Santa. Just sit on his lap and tell him what you want for Christmas.” Meanwhile the child’s face is red, there are snot bubbles coming out of their nose and they are crying real tears.
Now, I guess that there is something to be said for making your children face their fears, but in the case of the very young, I think the issue of fear is going to be addressed in lifetime therapy after the “Santa incident.”
Santa is feeling awkward, holding on tight to a squirming, screaming child so he won’t fall off the knee, but to the child, it will most likely be addressed as severe abduction in the forementioned therapy sessions in later life.
And then… when it’s all over and the child is safely in the back seat of the car, buckled into their car seat, the mom will turn around and say, “see, that wasn’t so bad was it?” while the only response she gets is loud sniffles.
And it’s probably good to just leave it at that – lesson learned. But then the statement comes somewhere in the following weeks.
“Santa’s going to come to our house…”
In the middle of the night. He’s going to sneak in and shape-shift himself down a chimney with a large sack. And we are going to leave him cookies and if you are good, he will leave you presents. But if not, you get coal. And oh yeah… he might have elves with him or at the very least huge reindeer that can fly.
Now… I don’t know about you, but I could never get to sleep Christmas Eve night because of my excitement, but I wonder about the kids who lay awake jumpy at every noise in a quiet house, pehaps fearing another abduction.
These ramblings of mine this week are tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken too seriously and of course, to poke some lighthearted fun at our holiday traditions. From my family to yours, Have a Merry Christmas.
I must be going as I have a therapy session to attend as I WAS the kid in the back seat with the snot bubbles. And to all… a good night.
