The last time my kids saw Santa was in 2019, when we rode the North Pole Express. And it was amazing! So, I thought it might be fun to let Kohen have a turn to meet him this year, but I'm just picky about what I think seeing Santa should feel like and standing in a line to see a not so jolly guy, that doesn't even ask their names, just isn't it. And the whole "let me tell you my long list of what you have to bring me" doesn't sit well with me and what I want the spirit of the season to be about either. I have a hard time with it, but also don't see any harm in letting them be little, wonder and believe in the magic for a few short years either.
In a lot of ways, I think going to see Santa takes away from the magic because kids can tell that they aren't all the same person. Even though Kasen does believe in Santa, he says all the ones that kids meet are just mascots and nobody has seen the real Santa.
I did like how Cabela's makes you schedule an appointment though, so the line isn't insane and I was pleasantly surprised that Kohen wasn't scared and Kolt didn't cry either. Kasen just kept saying that he's too old for this and wouldn't even talk to the Santa. Then it got weird cause Santa told him, "If you don't tell me what you want then I'm bringing you a Barbie cause we have lots of Barbie's up there." What....
I kinda like how my Grandparents did it growing up, by inviting the same Santa come to our family Christmas parties each year. He would pull a gift out of his sack and call us by name to come up to talk with him. That is the only Santa I ever saw growing up.
I'm not a fan of the whole Elf on a Shelf movement either. Like they are spying on you and you better be good or no presents for you! Nope. Never will I use Santa to threaten my kids to behave.
I'm a big fan of seeing the Grinch though! That is just a whole different sort of fun because the Grinch is hilarious. I love the Grinch. Grinch > Santa
I tell my kids that I believe in the magic of Christmas. Christmastime is so magical! I believe in the type of Christmas magic where anything can happen. Hope, miracles, giving, thinking what others might like to receive, being with family, the anticipation, children's eyes lighting up, and the reverence of knowing that a baby was born to save the world, full of love and light and asking if we'd made room for Him in our lives. Wondering how we can better give like Him and love like Him.
I feel like we've had a very Sharky year this year, so our family Christmas Tree Ornament for 2023 had to be a Shark! It just made sense.
We bought a shark waterslide that we played on with friends, all summer long. Kohen had a shark birthday party and we flew his shark kite, took him to see the aquarium sharks, watched some SharkDog, danced to Baby Shark and then once school started Kasen and Tai went to a brand new school together, where they are the Saratoga Shores Sharks! To top it all off, Kolt was a baby shark for Halloween.
I saw the perfect idea for the kids sports medals too! We turned them into Christmas tree ornaments, to include with the rest of our memories that we have hanging on the tree.
So for this year Kasen has his flag football one and Tai has her basketball one!
Kohen got an adorable little ornament from his nursery class and is so excited to finally have a picture of himself on our tree.
Earlier this year I bought some cute shelves we hung downstairs for some of the kids books, so I cleared it out for all of our Christmas books we read this month. I love having them where we can see them so much better. Makes me so happy inside!
Every year we get a new Christmas book and this year the one I bought, to add to our collection, is called The Mismatched Nativity.
I also got our Christmas cards sent out because the other thing that makes be so happy, besides seeing memories hanging on our tree and reading Christmas books together, is receiving Christmas cards!!
I love hanging them up and looking at them and remembering how blessed we are to to have family and friends that we love.
Also, I will admit that I really love all the yummy neighbor treats we get around Christmas time too. I'll put receiving neighbor gifts on my top 5 favorite Christmas things for sure!
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