“When striving to raise polite, civilized kids your most formidable foe
will be their classmates with older siblings.” – A Crock of Schmidt
I didnt talk to my family at all last Christmas. Well, I did for a few minutes, but as soon as my niece came on the screen and started to talk about how all the toys at Christmas came from our parents because Santa wasn’t real – I shut it off.
It was a moment frozen in time. While she didnt get all the words out, I could see exactly where she was going and disconnected. My kids were standing right beside me! I didnt talk to my parents the rest of the holiday.
It’s weird how protective we get of this Santa myth. My kids believe and I want my kids to believe as long as possible. I relish in that wonderful, blissful naïveté. I love how they instantly believe in the impossible.
Put on a mask and they are a superhero, not just pretending to be one. Put on an animal costume and they are a dinosaur. Jump high enough and they can touch the clouds. Believe a fat man lives at the North Pole and brings toys to everyone in the world and it will happen.
But something happens between grades 1 and 3. Cynicism? Understanding? Literacy? Attention? Cousins? Peers with siblings? Whatever it is, something happens between 6 and 9 and the magic fades. I don’t want that day to come. So I am trying harder to make the myth believable. This is likely the last year I have any shot at hanging on to it, so I’m gripping it tightly.
Believing in Santa is good for kids, experts have said.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing for kids to believe in the myth of someone trying to make people happy if they’re behaving,” Dr. Matthew Lorber told the Huffington Post. “Imagination is a normal part of development, and helps develop creative minds.”
But soon, it will fade. A colleague admitted their 10 year old still believes, or at least pretends to believe. He says the magic peaked at 5 in their family, and has been nothing more than a game ever since.
Are you clinging to the Claus? Last year I cranked out the Portable North Pole to great effect, and am proud to partner with them again this year. Have a look at Charlie and Zacharie getting their verdicts last year:
That, my friends, is the magic of the season. Look at the absolute genuine, heartfelt smiles that little video brought to my kids. The pride, the joy, the ahh.. sigh. I just love it.
There are plenty of ways to share in the magic for free and the elves have been busy working to make PNP easier to use and extra personalized. There’s a new mobile version (compatible with Apple and Android devices) so you can carry the magic of Santa in your pocket, creating personalized video messages and calls on the go.
This year the Verdict Machine is now powered by a pedaling elf who will keep the kids entertained while they wait to learn if they’re made the Naughty or Nice list this year, and the new Classic video includes funny footage of the elves as they get in trouble while doing their daily chores.
Here are the Portable North Pole options:
Free video: Available online and as a downloadable app (last year there was a $3.99 charge for this; this year it’s free).
Premium ($4): Significantly more personalized than the free version, plus it’s longer and there are three storylines vs. one in the free. It’s good for families with more than one child (you can do different storylines for each child) and it offers unlimited mobile viewing.
Holiday Pass ($9.99): Create an unlimited number of premium videos and calls from Santa.
Take a peek at the pre-season trailer WARNING! DON’T SHOW THIS CLIP TO YOUR SKEPTICAL KIDS, IT’S GOT “BEHIND THE SCENES” INFO IN IT
This is may be the final year Zacharie is a “true believer,” but hopefully the magic and the spirit of the season will stay with him forever.
When did your kids stop believing in Santa?
This branded content was presented in exchange for a donation to Team Diabetes Canada.