The Santa Story in the News

Christmas is upon us, and for many Santa's bag full of surprises includes an assortment of personal dilemmas all having to do with ... Santa. We long for the idyllic experience that the song promises -- "tiny tots with their eyes all aglow," but we fall short of achieving the Hallmark card image.

My friend Arita Trahan, author of The Santa Story Revisited: How to Give Your Children a Santa They Will Never Outgrow, is on a mission to revolutionize the way Santa is celebrated. She is offering Santa interventions for parents via free daily teleconferences on her website at www.TheSantaStory.com to heal the wounds of Santas past and present and restore the magic...

Motivated by her own childhood wounding when she learned the "truth" about Santa, Arita Trahan wanted her children to have a Santa that would never lead to disappointment and that they would never outgrow. So, almost 30 years ago, Arita gave Santa a big make-over.

Without fanfare, she told her young daughter a new, expanded Santa story that transformed the holiday icon, reconnecting him to his roots as the hero of anonymous giving and acts of kindness, and expanding him into a game in which children also play Santa themselves...

While most parents would deny it, self-proclaimed Santa expert Arita Trahan suggests many of them are addicted to playing Santa.

Long after their children have given clear indications that the jolly old elf has been outted, many parents still insist on continuing the ruse. Arita Trahan says it's time to kick the addiction and gracefully segue from playing Santa for our children to playing Santa WITH our children...

Move over parents, the kids have crashed the party. For those who thought they could be territorial with the sneaking and the planning and the surprise, or thought they owned exclusive rights to the joy that follows their performance as Santa, their days are numbered.

The evidence can be found on a new YouTube music video, "I’m Being Santa." It begins with a pay-it-forward-themed story inspired by a “From Santa” gift tag. The mayhem that follows is a dancy, jumpy, joyous montage of children claiming their newest role -- actually playing Santa themselves....

As Arita reveals in her new book, The Santa Story Revisited: How to Give Your Children a Santa They Will Never Outgrow, she changed the Santa tradition in order to protect the innocent, both herself and her child, which is a parent’s innate right. Mostly, though, the intent behind Arita’s new Santa tradition was to dodge the kind of wounding she had experienced as a child when her own “believing in” fell apart. She also claims that she made Santa better by restoring him to what he has always been at his best—a magical story...

"The Santa Story Revisited: How to Give Your Children a Santa They Will Never Outgrow" offers an expanded Santa, with all of the magic and none of the pretense. In the book, which is both memoir and how-to, author Arita Trahan presents Santa as a game—a timeless game that everyone is already playing.

Arita’s expanded Santa is also the hero of anonymous giving. This is a Santa we can emulate as well as enjoy. Children are invited to play both roles—giving secretly as Santa as well receiving from Santa. This perspective segues the child into appreciating both sides of the Santa experience and eliminates any expiration date on their enjoyment...

As a young mother, Arita Trahan wanted her own children to experience Santa as magical, in a way that could not be spoiled by honesty, and in a way that would last a lifetime. Without any of the usual need for them to believe in him, she devised a way for them to celebrate Santa without outgrowing him, without a down-side, and in a way that is also more joyful and playful....

In The Santa Story Revisited: How to Give Your Children a Santa They Will Never Outgrow (Downstream Enterprises; $16.95), author Arita Trahan makes Santa a game for all ages to play...

Somewhere along the line, Santa went from a guy who fulfilled his annual obligation by dropping off a wooden train or a whistle to having to take down lists, and check them twice to make sure that little Timmy gets all 32 things he wanted.

To say Christmas has gotten out of hand is an understatement...

In her book, The Santa Story Revisited: How to Give Your Children a Santa They Will Never Outgrow, Arita Trahan offers good news! She introduces an expanded Santa story -- with all of the magic and none of the pretense....