Round 12: Santa

If you could not tell from previous posts, I am more than slightly obsessed with Christmas. Yeah, duh, we got that. But something else you probably caught [if you've been paying attention] is that I LOVE Santa. And when I say LOVE, I mean LOVE. Santa is one of my absolute favorite parts of Christmas. Let me review:

1. It's not Christmas until Santa comes in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

2. My favorite theme of the Christmas season is Believe. [more on that in a minute]

3. I smile whenever I see a Santa in the mall

4. I love any artwork with Santa in it

5. I still go to bed early [ish] on Christma Eve so Santa can come. [Yes, he still does]

6. I still set out a treat for Santa.

7. Hands down, my favorite wrapping paper has Santas on it

8. The saddest thing ever is when someone stops believing.

9. Most of my favorite Christmas movies have something to do with Santa

10. I have been known to wear a Santa hat on random Christmas occasions.

Santa, to me, represents all that is good and magical and wonderful about the holiday season. As a child, there was nothing more exciting than the thought of Santa. I loved writing to him, making crafts of him, making cookies to leave for him, and seeing the magic proven on Christmas morning with full stockins, new presents, and an empty plate and glass. Of course, this also made falling asleep on Christmas Eve just about impossible. The lack of sleep was so worth it.

{How fun is this? Hope those kids are sleeping!}

Some people choose not to let Santa into their lives. That's their right, and I won't say anything about it because it's really none of my business. But to me, including Santa in Christmas only magnifies the true meaning of Christmas. What did our Savior come to the world for but to give us the most amazing, impossible gift of all? Why should we not allow the tradition of Santa, a man who brings joy to others and expects nothing in return, to fill our holiday season as well? The magic of Santa only magnifies the reality of our Savior's infinite goodness. That's my opinion, at least.

{Beautiful artwork by Greg Olsen}
I love hearing children tell me all about Santa, about how they saw him at the mall or at a party, how they wrote him a letter and mailed it... The innocence of children makes Santa even more fun for me. I remember asking my mother when I was young if she believed in Santa. "Yes, I believe in Santa. Do you?" I nodded. "Good. If we believe in Santa, he'll believe in us." I still hold true to that. He is as real as we let him be. This is probably why I love The Polar Express and Josh Groban's song Believe.

{I WANT THIS SHIRT!}

One of my favorite TV shows is NCIS [hang in there, bear with me, I have a point]. One of their recent holiday episodes involved pulling off an impossible task for a little boy who asked for just one thing for Christmas. Acting as Santa's helpers, they made it possible. When they have done it, the forensic specialist Abby, who is the most interesting TV character there is, says to the agent who did it, "You would make a great Santa." He replies, "I guess you just gotta believe." Then Abby delivers my favorite line of all time: "I do believe."

It's that simple. Believe in the magic, believe in the wonder, believe in the tradition. Macy's has the theme of Believe for the Christmas season, and each Macy's store has a mailbox specifically for letters to Santa. For this reason alone, I have grown exponentially fond of Macy's. [Okay, that and the fact they sell Frango mints. Gimme a break.] I almost get choked up when I see it. To bring emphasis to the importance of believing during this season of wonder and miracles and magic.... Way to go, Macy's!

{Someday, I'm going to go see this NYC Macy's in person. LOVE this!}
I believe in Santa Claus. Do you?