Category: Traditions

How the Kids Challenged Santa Claus...Or So They Thought

12/5/2014

Keeping the Santa Belief Alive: A True Story

by Lyn Lomasi; Co-owner of Brand Shamans & Write W.A.V.E. Media

Keeping the Santa Claus belief alive in kids can be tricky, especially when they start to get older. Older family members and sometimes friends will try to convince them otherwise. If you'd like to keep the Santa belief alive in your kids, perhaps an experience I had with my kids will help.

Being very open-minded and cherishing many faiths and traditions, we celebrate the magic of Santa with our kids during Christmas. We feel it is something fun and allows kids another opportunity to dream. They know about various religions surrounding Christmas and we share traditions with them from many winter holidays, Santa being one of them.

Reading The Santa Letters

Reading over the letters that the eldest three kids had left out for Santa one year, along with his Christmas Eve snack, I wondered how long they'd continue to believe. "Is Santa real" is a common question among kids their age, and many times even younger.

One portion of the eldest child's letter inquired "Santa, are your reindeer really real? If so, prove it and leave me one of the reindeer's jingle bells." How Santa would pull that off with hardly any time, I was not quite sure.

Moving on further in that letter, reindeer footprints were requested. Only problem is that we lived in a city where snow does not stick, if it snows at all. Where Santa would allow his reindeer to leave a footprint was a mystery to me.

This girl is one smart kid. She even requested stories of how Santa met Mrs Clause and one other Santa fact, along with other hints and undertones of Santa proof. Could Santa pull this one off? It was a longshot, but this is after all, Santa. He's magic. He can do anything.

The next letter was not quite so demanding. However, again the existence of the reindeer was challenged, namely Rudolph. "Is Rudolph really real and is Rudolph's nose really red? Does it really glow?"

The 3rd of the older children simply left Santa a paper and pen with no questions. Santa has been known to write back to the kids, so I assume him leaving only the paper and pen was related.

What Did Santa Do with the Challenge?

The kids and I had left the camera on the table next to Santa's treats and letters as we had been taking Christmas Eve pictures. Little did we know, Santa would be able to utilize that. He took a picture of his reindeer in the grass. There was a slight glare, but you could still see the reindeer.

He apologized about the glare in the picture, explaining about Rudolph's shiny nose being too bright to take a better one. It rarely snows in Houston, but we could tell the reindeer had been in our yard because they did leave tracks in the mud. As for leaving a reindeer bell, Santa had to take a picture of that, too. It would have messed up sky traffic if any of the reindeer were missing their bells. How else would people know they were coming?

That Santa Claus is one smart and resourceful person...

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

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Craziest Family Holiday Traditions - What's Yours?

12/4/2014

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by Lyn Lomasi; Co-owner of Brand Shamans & Write W.A.V.E. Media

Image © adrigu; Flickr.com

A diverse group of women from all over the US were recently asked about their craziest holiday traditions. From singing Irish ballads, to banging pots and pans, and even decorating the spooky Christmas tree, these families are very creative in their celebrations. What are your family's craziest holiday traditions? How close (or far) from these traditions are yours?

Spooky Christmas Tree, Anyone?

"Our craziest holiday tradition is that we carve pumpkins at Christmas and decorate our Christmas tree with spooky things. We are huge Nightmare Before Christmas fans and do all of our Christmas decor in a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. Instead of a Christmas party we have a Nightmare Before Christmas party and have our guests come in costume." - Danielle in San Dimas, Calif.

Irish Joy

"One year while getting ready to decorate the tree, Mom suggested I dig out the Christmas albums to set the tone. I couldn't find them anywhere, yet I did find an album of old Irish ballads. Instead of 'White Christmas', Mom and I belted out 'McNamara's Band' and 'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling'. Mom passed on last year, and it's still my favorite memory of time spent with her." - Maureen in Chillicothe, Ohio

Songs for Gifts

"In my house, it is a standing tradition that from the oldest to youngest each must sing a song (holiday or not) before they can open their gift. Let's just say, I don't come from a family of singers and I own plenty of ear plugs!" - Nikol in San Diego, Calif.

Group Calls

"I don't know if it is completely crazy, but each holiday, my siblings and I will have a group conference call. Each one of us will connect one other siblings so we can keep one line open. We then stay on the phone for hours talking about anything and everything. During the hours, we will be cooking and all other activities, but we never disconnect our call unless for an emergency or when we all agree to hand up. We have been doing this for well over 15 years." - Malina in Pensacola, Fla.

Instrument Caroling

"Growing up in a musical family, during the holidays we would go caroling with our instruments. I liked the indoor gigs the best but the outdoor caroling was the craziest. In minus thirty degree weather, our once tuned instruments shrieked and squeaked, but we managed to warm hearts anyway." - Kay in Windsor Locks, Conn.

Pot and Pan Concerta

"Growing up in Roseville and Fraser in the East suburbs outside Detroit, on New Year's Eve, we were allowed to bring out all the kitchen pots and pans at midnight and bang them with big metal spoons and lids as loud and long as we could! We would also listen outside for people firing their shotguns, which is sort of an illegal tradition down that way. Years later, I was babysitting cousins on their first New Year's Eve night and had them do the same thing! They just loved it. At first I think they thought it was silly, but they really got into making a ton of noise in the middle of the night. Years later, I was surprised when one of them told me how vividly they remembered!" - Kim (Pare') in St Ignace, Mich.

Welcome Baby Sun God

"We turn off all the lights in the house, except the TV, so we can see. We do a short Yule ceremony lighting three candles. After a moment of silence we run around the house turning on every single light yelling, 'Welcome baby Sun God!'" - Karen in Fla.

Breakfast at Sheetz

"Every year on Christmas morning we eat breakfast at Sheetz. Started 13 years ago and just stuck. This year will be the first with no Sheetz breakfast." - Summer in Oak Island, N.C.

New Year's Eve Dance

"On New Year's Eve, we have to dance through every room in the house. Crazy, but fun! It ensures good luck and happiness throughout the coming year, of course." - Ali in Greensboro, N.C.

WoW Gifts

"Our craziest and newest holiday tradition is celebrating Winter Vale with World of Warcraft in-game gifts. We aren't obsessive about WoW; we don't even play every day. But some of these gifts take time and effort to collect and cost zero in real money." - Alex in Hogansville, Ga.

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

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How the Kids Challenged Santa Claus...Or So They Thought

Keeping the Santa Belief Alive: A True Story

Craziest Family Holiday Traditions - What's Yours?

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