When Santa Makes A Mistake
Parents of small children tend to focus, during the Christmas season, on making their childrens’ holidays as special as they can be. It’s the greatest feeling in the world to see your child’s eyes light up at the sight of the goodies Santa left under the tree, and to watch as your child tears into the gift-wrapping surrounding those treasures. But, for parents of little children especially, it can be equally disheartening to see those same young eyes register disappointment, if the hoped-for Christmas toys turn out to be the wrong ones.
Kids usually decide early exactly what they want for Christmas. They have plenty of input, all autumn long, as the commercials they’re bombarded with convince them that there are certain toys and games that they can’t live without.
The problem for many parents is that kids are hit with so much advertising that they can change their minds several times about what the perfect big present should be, before Santa even loads up his sleigh. It’s hard for parents to keep up, and know what’s the perfect gift, today.
Even if parents know what toys their little ones want for Christmas, they may not know the right color or size or model. It seems that every toy, today, has lots of variations, which can cause Santa’s helpers lots of headaches, when it comes to shopping.
There are many ways that Santa, or the parent helping him, can make a mistake when picking out the perfect gift for a young child. And as every parent knows, there’s little that can tug at your heartstrings like seeing your child’s months-long excitement turn to disappointment on Christmas morning.
Young parents need to learn what most veterans of the Christmas Challenge already know-it’s O.K. for Santa to be fallible. In the long run, there are a lot of events that will live much longer in a child’s memory than the gifts that Santa brought-or didn’t-in any given year.
There are other presents under the tree, no doubt, and the joy of finding them may eliminate the disappointment of Santa’s mistakes. And it’s really all right if a child does realize that, once in a great while, Santa Claus can make mistakes, too.
Tell your child that Santa won’t mind if you go out, together, in the next few days, and exchange what Santa brought for the gift that your child really wanted. That will take the pain out of any Christmas disappointment for both of you. And the next time it happens, you won’t be nearly as disappointed with yourself or with Santa.
Imaginary Greetings is committed to assisting families around the world create splendid holiday moments. When Santa calls, your child will remember those moments forever.