Remember The List

Christmas is approaching and children everywhere are making their “lists” for Santa, and my granddaughter is no different than these children. Today, she came to my house with list in hand.  She had carefully looked through catalogs, surfed the internet for suggestions and attentively watched all the commercials.  Armed with this information, her list was one, well thought out.  I especially loved the request for a picture of all the reindeer that pulls Santa’s sleigh. I hope she gets all the things on her list. Of course, I will be happy to contribute!

I remember when my children were young, they always made a list for Santa.  We would take a trip to tell Santa what they had on their lists.  My daughter would slide up on his lap and proceed to remember and repeat the usually long list.  But, my son was a different story.  He wanted nothing to do with the white bearded man, regardless of wanting to get his listed toys.  At that moment, he would just settle for whatever Santa would bring. No amount of bribes could get him to go near the big fellow, so the yearly picture always featured my arm and him at arms length. The face was not that of a happy child. I always cherished their Santa pictures.

Later, when my grandson was little, he would see Santa at Dollywood each year. In one particular year, he had memorized all the things from his list, but when his turn came to sit on Santa’s lap, he became stage struck. When Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas, he said “a ball”. When asked for more, he simply repeated, “a ball”. With nothing else to add, he said goodbye to Santa and got down. Now, you must know, he had many balls and that was not on his original list. When asked why he did not give his list of toys to Santa, he replied that Santa would know, and if he didn’t, then his Mimi (me) would get them.

I love to watch the children approach Santa.  They are all different. Some children seem eager and happy to be on Santa’s lap. Some are hesitant and cautiously approach the Christmas icon. And, there are those being bribed for the yearly picture with Santa. As for me, I will always treasure my Santa memories. Have you made your Christmas list this year?