i didn't know i'd do the whole santa routine...but i really quite enjoyed it. i like the moral manipulation of 'you better watch out, you better not cry'. it was actually effective a few times in calming C from a few point-of-no-return fits.
"oh, charlie? you know, santa needs you to be good so you can get presents? uh, uh uh, no crying--you better not cry!"
mark that up on my list of things i never thought i'd do as a parent. the list is becoming an epic novel. but there are some redeeming qualities about the santa claus myth:
1) although slightly twisted, it does demand a certain level of decency from children.
2) children love ritual. i felt like i was making an offering to a hindu god when C and I set the cookies and milk out for santa to eat.
3) it develops a sense of faith and deepens imagination. we don't really get to see santa in the flesh. we just have to belief that he's there and knows our whereabouts and whatabouts at all times.
so when C fumbled through his expanding vocabulary to describe to my mom on the phone the whole santa scenario, i didn't feel one ounce of remorse for having lied to my kid about where his presents come from. i love the sense of wonder bubbling in his voice when he imagines santa squeezing down the chimney and his sincere concern that santa doesn't get his bum bum burned by the fire.
i've even thought about the moment of truth and how i'll handle the accusation that i have indeed lied to C about santa. but it's late now and my mind is doing that tapioca end-of-the-day failure. to be continued...