It ain't cheap, being Santa, ya know. Cafemom topic: did you ever believe in Santa?

[Julie411me]

Of course I believed in Santa.  I believed in everything about Christmas and took it all in, building the excitment level so high that by the time Christmas Eve arrived, I could barely contain the excitement and sleep was practically not even an option.  The possibility of a strange old guy entering our locked, fireplace-less house at night while everyone slept was enough, in itself, to cause me sleepless nights all year long.  But now, when the possibility of toys was included it was practically unbearable.  Add the bright Christmas wraps and bows and some candy and it's a wonder I didn't die of a heart attack by midnight.

Yep.  I bought the whole thing!  And it was a blast.

Then, about the time I turned 6 or 7, logic started to kick in and I began to wonder about the holes in the story.  How could a fat guy get around the whole country in one night if he didn't even have a car?  Why didn't he just get an airplane or a helicopter?  How could he still be alive if he was an old guy even when my parents, who, themselves were a half a geritol tablet away from ancient, were little kids?  Why did Santa, coincidentally, buy the same wrapping paper my mother purchased at Harvey's Dime Store year after year? 

Yes, I had my suspicions.

So, I did what every kid did when they had questions.  I went to my big sister.  I told her my concerns.  Being 14, and thus, knowing everything there was to know, I was sure she would tell me the truth.  And she did.

"You don't think mom and dad would spend that much money on toys, do you?" she asked, making me feel foolish and relieved all at once."

She had a good point.  My parents were so cheap they wouldn't fork over two bucks for a life raft if the entire family were drowning in the Pacific Ocean.  "Tread water." they would tell us.  "That's what we did when we were your age and we turned out OK." 

"New shoes?" they would scoff.  "I wore the same pair of shoes to school for 63 years and you didn't hear me whining about it." 

"You want a ride to school, do you, Miss Moneybags?  Don't you know gasoline costs 39 cents a gallon?  Why, when I was in school, we walked 15 miles to school in the snow.  And we liked it!" 

(And with ancient shoes!  I thought to myself as I headed out the kitchen door, on foot.  Again.)

Yes, my sister was right.  Santa had to be real.  There was simply no other explanation.  My parents seldom bought toys and there was no way they were about to buy six or seven toys per kid and for no good reason! 

Christmas was saved for another year!

[beachmamaof2]

Dec. 7, 2008 at 4:02 PM

[cassandrans]

Dec. 7, 2008 at 6:40 PM

haha.  I would probably still believe in Santa if my mom didn't have me wrap my own presents for Christmas!

[Mudfishzgirl]

Dec. 8, 2008 at 7:26 PM

LOL

[LeighAnne3]

Dec. 31, 2008 at 10:50 AM

Oh, this was great... That's exactly the answer I gave my kids several years ago..."If you think I would spend that kind of money after what you ALREADY got last night, you are outside of your mind!"

This worked well. It also made sense when I was growing up, because I KNEW my parents would NEVER spend money like that. I mean, we only ate out three times a year. 

 There was Mother's Day, when we headed for Wyatt's Cafeteria-like a Luby's- and had to hurry, hurry, dammit!! after church so we'd "beat the Baptists" in line, and then once each way (six hour trip) going to see my grandparents at Christmas. Of course, we had to eat in the car so my dad could beat his personal best time from the year before, and "hell, no! you don't need a coke, water is just fine" (or if he was feeling particularly generous, ONE coke for THREE kids swapping spit and hollering "You swallowed THREE times...DAAAAADDDDD!")  And heaven forbid you ask for "no pickles or onions", which would set off a tirade of "nobody is ordering anything EXOTIC!  You just take it the way it comes and pick it off!  We don't have time for EXOTIC crap right now..."

Ah ~~ good times, good times.