Christmas Without Kids?
What would that be like?
Imagine a world without any kids, a world where there were no humans under the age of 12. Christmas would certainly be different, right?
After all, Christmas is a holiday for kids. They know how to celebrate Christmas better than anyone. The joy, the excitement, the mirth, the anticipation, the expectation, the believing in miracles…. These are all things that come natural to kids.
But all that gets beaten out of kids as they grow up. Things really start going downhill for kids when they are told the big lie. And that big lie, of course, is that Santa Claus is not real. Why do we lie to our kids? Of course Santa is real. Why is the denial of that truth part of growing up?
Back when I had a kid I went bat shit crazy over Christmas. I was a decorating maniac. I baked Christmas cookies and cakes. I took my daughter to see Christmas plays and movies. I played Christmas music. I read Christmas stories to her. Decorating the tree was a mammoth event. And the pile of presents under the tree was ridiculously huge. (And there were always presents under the tree for the cat and the dog as well as presents from the cat and dog to my daughter. Those silly animals.)
I also became quite the wrap artist. The act of unwrapping the presents is a large part of the fun, right? Well, I wanted to extend that fun as long as possible so I used an inordinate amount of super strong tape when wrapping presents so that unwrapping them was an arduous yet delightful chore. Scissors were a necessity.
But then my daughter grew up, damn it. When she finally left the house I totally, completely and thoroughly stopped celebrating Christmas; no decorations, no tree, no presents, and most assuredly no Christmas music! I stepped into a Christmas-free dimension of existence. I even began questioning my belief in Santa Claus which I had carried with me into middle-age.
(I did, however, continue to celebrate the Winter Solstice. That goes without saying.)
It was rather relaxing to purge Christmas from my life. I didn’t miss the stress and the anxiety and the monetary squeeze. Life was wonderful without Christmas for many years.
But then my daughter gifted me with the best Christmas present ever: Two granddaughters! I believe in Santa Claus again!
So today (December 20th) I will be celebrating Christmas — but only for a few hours. No, I didn’t kill a tree to put in my tiny apartment and there are no decorations or any evidence of Christmas in my home. But after school lets out this afternoon I will be going over to my granddaughters’ house to celebrate Christmas with them for a few hours.
Why today? Well, it’s because tomorrow (on the solstice) a huge winter storm is predicted to come barreling into town that is expected to last into the weekend. I rescheduled Christmas to avoid that storm. Besides, this way the girls can have two Christmases; one with me and one with their immediate family. (By the way, they don’t know it yet but their dog got each of them a present.)
So today I am actually in a bit of a Christmas mood. And it’s fun. Later today when I look into those girls’ eyes my belief in Santa Claus will be reaffirmed. Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus. He exists in the hearts of children. Kids can help us old fogeys keep that joy alive in our hearts.
Although I don’t celebrate Christmas much anymore I’ve noticed that I’ve written plenty of Christmas stories lately. So, dear reader, if you are not yet in the Christmas mood here are some of my stories that might help you get in the Christmas spirit:
