The Santa Story Book Excerpt

What if we could appreciate Santa more and enjoy Santa longer? What if Santa needn’t ever be outgrown? What if playing with Santa was pure fantasy without even the tiniest bit of “deception” that might later diminish the experience?

Each year, parents are faced with a dilemma -- how can we continue to keep the secret so our children can continue to believe in Santa? When they are very young it seems so simple. But with each passing year, our hold on the “believing in” part becomes more tenuous. As you’ll discover in these pages, as a child, I took it pretty hard when the older kids told me that Santa wasn’t real. I wondered how many other things my parents had said might not be true. Certainly such innocent woundings are simply a part of our growing up, but must Santa’s delightful story be tarnished with memories such as mine?

In addition to keeping the secret, some parents are also challenged by other aspects of the Santa experience, like concerns about the role Santa should play in a religious holiday and the commercialization that sometimes seems to make the holidays more about the latest fad toy or how many goodies they can get from Santa, than about the spirit of giving. If you think about it, the only task that most of us give our children during this magical time is to make a list of all the stuff they want Santa to bring.

When I was a young mother, I longed for a more stable and expansive Santa experience for my children than the one I had. I wanted to give them a Santa that would be honest and magical and timeless. I wanted them to have a Santa that would enhance their lives and involve them in the story, giving them much more to do than simply making a list.

I came to the idea for the enhanced Santa that I share in this book one day when my older daughter was three. The spontaneous idea that unfolded was surprisingly simple. At the same time, it was so encompassing that it threatened no one and included everyone in its delightful invitation to play. It worked perfectly for me and for my family because it allowed Santa to morph into more -- more fun, more creativity, and more opportunities to express the true meaning of the holiday he represents. If you choose, this is a Santa that can work for you, too.

The Santa story that I present in these pages offers you and your children so very much more than the one that most of us grew up with. If this new Santa story is a revolutionary idea, it is a quiet revolution. As you’ll see, the generous nature of Santa that encompasses everyone in his bountiful giving can easily segue to encompass everyone as a game. Anyone who wishes can play -- no matter our age. Any time someone engages in the story of Santa by simply talking about him, we are all invited to play along.

Because of the expansive nature of this Santa Story, it can be played openly without bringing the current construct of Santa into question. Children who learn this new expanded version of Santa can easily play alongside other children who still “believe in” Santa, without putting anyone’s belief at risk.

You see, no one knew that my children were enjoying Santa in a different way. My children didn’t even know it. They “behaved” much like other children during the holidays. They talked about Santa, wrote letters to Santa, planned for Santa’s visit, elaborated on the stories they heard about him, read the books, and watched the movies. The only difference that a diligent observer might have noticed about my children and Santa was their emphasis on both giving and receiving.

Later in the book I offer some brief sample scripts that will help you easily segue to this new, expanded Santa. Some are for very young children who are first being told the Santa story; others are for children who have been playing Santa for a number of years. These scripts are simply a jumping-off point; once you get the idea, you’ll be able to carry forth with your own variations on the theme that are uniquely yours. And, for those who are still conflicted about their own childhood experiences with Santa, chapter 6, The Ghosts of Santas Past and chapter 7, Santa as a Rite of Passage, will be helpful.

Here’s what The Santa Story Revisited does:

• It acknowledges Santa as the hero of anonymous giving and as a mentor for our own acts of generosity during the holidays and even beyond.
• It gives parents a Santa option that does not have a shelf-life, but instead cycles throughout the seasons of our lives without the need for any awkward adjustments.
• It liberates parents and their children into the fantasy of celebrating Santa without the limitations that reality can impinge on our hero.
• It invites adults to participate with their children in the expanded playfulness of the new Santa experience.
• It empowers parents as storytellers to inform and inspire their children.
• It assures parents that this new Santa experience does not threaten any other idea of Santa that may exist alongside it, but instead elaborates on the magic of Santa for everyone.
• It helps parents guide their children through any challenging segue from the believing-in stage.
• It assists adults in valuing their own Santa experience as children—no matter how it might have unfolded.
• It presents the parent/child experience of Santa as a rite of passage, an archetype along the lines of Pinocchio and The Wizard of Oz.
• It creates a model for celebrating Santa that is less like a religion of believing and more like a game for playing -- a modality more often demonstrated to adults by their children.
• It encourages parents to freely create and recreate new family traditions for themselves.

If your own Santa experience is already working for you, then perhaps there’s no reason to change the way you are now celebrating the jolly gift-giver. However, if you find the ideas in this book compelling, please feel free to shape them to your own liking, take them to the next level, and increase your own Santa joy each season.

If you’re like me, you love Santa and you want to enjoy the magic of his story year after year, with your children, grandchildren, the children of your friends and family, and your community in a way that is pure and easy and playful. Perhaps you, too, have wished for a way to embrace the Santa magic with greater honesty -- a way that could not be “spoiled” by an overheard comment or the discovery of a well-hidden present. Welcome to a new Santa for a new generation.

[If you want to cut to the chase and find my suggestions for segueing to the new Santa, you can read about it in Chapter 4 of The Santa Story Revisited book.]