A couple of years ago I read something that broke my
heart. It was an open letter from a mom to all the other moms out there. The
woman was asking moms across the country to please have Santa give their
children simple, ordinary gifts rather than expensive, extravagant items like phones,
computers, gaming devices, designer clothes, and the latest and greatest toys. She wasn't asking parents to not give these gifts if they could and wanted to--she was simply asking that they let their kids know the more extravagant gifts were from them...not Santa.
You might be wondering why--what should it matter to her?
Well, she actually had a very good reason--one that should matter to her and every other parent on the planet. The reason for her request was because she never wanted to be put in the position of having to answer the question her six year-old daughter asked her ever again: “Why does Santa
Claus love other kids more than he does me?”
This loving mother went on to write that she and her husband worked
hard to provide for their two children, but their paychecks barely paid for the
necessities in life like rent, childcare, food, utilities, clothes, and vehicle
expenses. In other words, there wasn’t much left for Christmas.
“We couldn’t afford the things other kids in their classes
at school got,” she said. “But when my daughter heard other kids talking about
what they got, she was hurt and confused. Not because she didn’t get those
things, but because she viewed the obvious differences as a sign that she wasn’t
good enough in Santa’s eyes to merit such gifts—that she had done something bad
or wrong to cause him not to bring her the same type of gifts some of her
friends received.”
The mom who wrote this letter adamantly stressed that the purpose of her letter was NOT to try illicit pity and she wasn’t asking for a hand-out. She just wanted to remind
people that since we tell our kids that Santa loves all boys and girls and that
he brings gifts to them because of this love, we need to make Santa an ‘equal
opportunity gift-giver’.
So as you get ready to head out to grab up all those holiday shopping deals and try to fulfil the wishes of everyone on your gift list,
remember that it really isn’t the cost or extravagance of the gift, but the
fact that you thought of giving anything at all. Besides, if you think about
it, Santa couldn't possibly afford all those things, so….
Love,
Momma D
Copyright 2017 Darla Noble. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
