Father Christmas aka Santa Claus must be so confusing for children who don’t really understand what confusing means. There’s really only ‘one’ Father Christmas! Surely that’s correct?
As Christmas approaches following dressing up evening on Halloween and being rewarded with a ton of sticky sweets for knocking on folk’s doors yelling ‘Trick or Treat’ at those who dare open their front doors. Then watching explosive sky bombs of all the colours of the rainbow and noises magically saying to the families below “Hey watch me as I light up the sky for you for a few seconds that’s just cost you £20.00 a time!
And as soon as the last sparkler fizzles out and splutters it’s last fizzle in a nearby bucket of water, attention via grown ups then changes to decorating their houses and gardens with a multitude of ‘I can do better than you’ ornate Christmas lights from 6th November onwards as their thoughts of forthcoming Christmas time looms.
Now, not being anti Christmas whatsoever, yet children believe in Father Christmas who secretly invades our homes in the middle of the night all around the world very very early on Christmas morning to leave presents for those who take part, to open on Christmas morning and that’s wonderful! ( Father Christmas is a kind of anti burglar, so to speak!)
Children’s faces light up as they see the humungous amount of presents he’s carefully positioned under the pristinely decorated and lit up Christmas tree with each present carefully labelled and hand written by a parent, guardian, relative, ensuring that the correct present ends up beside the right household member, including any pets to open up following the distribution operation is completed. In a child’s mind it must be quite amazing to think that Father Christmas has the ability to write every label just like their parents, guardians and relatives write. Never challenged or questioned, just an amazing feat from the little big guy in a red suit and oversized overly fluffy white beard!
Yet how confusing must it be for the believing child as Christmas approaches.
There’s only one Father Christmas. Spends all year with his elves sorting through lists of children’s wishes where they are busy all year round making toys and gifts including the latest mobile phones, so very clever, and all from a workshop at the North Pole and all ready to be delivered to everyone around the world early on Christmas morning whilst everyone’s asleep. Magical, yes, truly and never challenged or questioned, so it can’t be confusing for a child?
Thoughts inside a child’s mind with the forthcoming excitement knowing that the one and only most important person in their life at Christmas time who brings tons of presents will do so on time, on schedule, no delays and most importantly invisible. It just happens. It just does!
So how does a child interpret the ‘Meet and Greet’ sesh Father Christmas usually does, in the lead up to Christmas? Why would he do that when he’s supposed to be overseeing mass toy production on an off-the-scale measure? Surely he knows what all children wish for as he’s magical and clever? And when each child ‘explains again’ as they’ve already written him a letter of what they want, how on earth does he remember it all? Has he got a direct elves hot line to pass all the information on or requirements per child? And how does he know where every child lives as he never asks for their address?
Even more so, how does a child feel seeing Father Christmas riding round a local estate where they live, on a trailer type float being pulled by a clapped out transit van chugging out diesel fumes directly into Father Christmas’s white beard and face with ‘Jingle Bells’ hammering out through over-volumed reverberating loud speakers and shouting “Merry Christmas” to anyone who dares to open their doors to watch him ‘float’ by? You’d have thought he would just be 24/7 working towards his deadline with no time to spare.
How did the children cope when at a local ‘Meet and Greet’ sesh where very long queues built up and the organiser had to apologise infront of all adults with their excited children saying “I’m so sorry for the delays today, one of the Father Christmas’s phoned in sick!” Eh, I thought there was supposed to one be one?
So how do young children cope with Father Christmas anomalies which crop up towards Christmas. In a very grown up way by being very dismissive as the actual event of the arrival of Father Christmas far outweighs any preconceptions that he’s more than one person. Yet they don’t challenge it, don’t question it and maybe just accept it all as if they were to mention it, the truth may come out and all that magicalness will dissolve away!
So, the big event arrives and with a whirlwind of mayhem it’s done and dusted. Presents opened, toys being played with. ” Thank you Father Christmas!…. When’s dinner? I’m hungry!”
now time for a cup-of-T
Telstales 