One of the hardest things to explain to children about Christmas is why Santa Claus brings some children so much less than he does other children, and for some families, Santa doesn’t visit at all? How do you explain this to children? My ex-husband had a different religion, so we celebrated Christmas, but we didn’t have all of the Christmas myths that some families have, so my kids have always known that Santa Claus wasn’t real. Some people think this was cruel of me as a parent, but I figure I did my children more of a kindness by teaching them that not every family in the world was as fortunate as ours was, and giving back was a part of our Christmas tradition. Believe me, they’re both well-rounded young adults now, so they’re fine. This little boy in the story below is going to be wonderful also.
I work in a party store. An eight-year-old customer comes in a few weeks before Christmas and I serve him.
Eight-Year-Old: “Can I see your Christmas decorations? I need to get some really cool ones.”
Me: “Sure you can. Is there something special you want to get, little guy?”
Eight-Year-Old: “I want to get a pretty tree with ornaments, and stockings, and presents, and Christmas lights! It’s for my neighbor.”
Me: “That’s a lot to get for your neighbor, sweetheart. Why do you need all of that?”
Eight-Year-Old: “Their daddy died. They don’t have Christmas this year, so I wanted to give it to them. I even got $wo from my mom to do it.”
Me: *on the verge of tears* “That’s very generous of you. Tell you what, let’s pick out some stockings and a tree. Then I’ll talk to my manager to see what we can do about some toys. How many kids does your neighbor have?”
Eight-Year-Old: “Three. [Name] is my best friend. I’m going to give him my presents for Christmas. I asked Santa to bring him an Xbox, too, but Santa might be busy. So I’m going to give him my Xbox.”
Me: “I’m sure, in this case, Santa will be listening very hard.”
(I help him pick out some special decorations and a tree. I ask my manager what we can do. Apparently, the boy’s mother has told my manager about the neighbor’s husband having passed away a few weeks ago in a bad accident, leaving the wife to support their family. We do a special discount of 5o% off everything. We even donate some bulk bags of toys and stockings. By this time, we’re trying not to cry. On their way out, the mother thanks us.)
Mother: “He doesn’t know it, but both he and his best friend are getting an Xbox for Christmas. He’s only eight and he wanted to give them everything. He even demanded we have them over for Christmas day. He is adamant they’re going to have a Christmas, no matter what.”
