Santa Claus Came To Town

As I have blogged in the past, our new neighbourhood is a very large one. So large in fact, that Santa himself comes to visit the children in the subdivision at their homes each year! We were fortunate enough, that Santa stopped in to check up on us too.

Now, the kids has just visited with Santa during our brunch at the golf course...and Santa remembered that! He also remembered that we used to live in Boston and that Rebekah left his reindeer some special reindeer food that they loved, last Christmas. Santa was on top of things!

Here is Santa when he first came into our house. He knocked on the door one night just before bedtime. He asked the children to show him our Christmas tree.


Here the kids pose for a photo with Santa. They are both a bit nervous at this point....I think they realized that Santa was checking up on them!

Kevin and I got a big laugh about something that Rebekah said during Santa's visit. We actually got it on video too...but the file was too big to upload here.

Santa was talking about how he knew that the kids were having a few problems keeping their mouths in check. Sassiness is a bit of an ongoing problem in our house. The kids both like to debate and will happily challenge the things that Kevin and I tell them. Santa seemed well aware of this! When he asked the children about this problem, Bekah very quickly spoke up to tell him that "Noah has been worse than me!". Talk about throwing your brother under the bus!! It was priceless!

Here Noah sat in the 'hot seat' confessing his transgressions to Santa.

I'll tell you, the visit had quite an impact on the kids! Noah became quite convinced that Santa only visited the kids who were having trouble following the rules, in order to get them back on track. He took it as a wake-up call....and we were happy to go along with that theory! :)

Brunch and a Visit

One of the things that we did in the weeks leading up to Christmas was to have brunch with Santa at a nearby golf course. The kids were nervous...they knew that they hadn't done their best to behave themselves. The biggest problem for Noah had been (and still is!) his mouth. It seems to get him into a lot of trouble these days. Bekah is doing her best to follow in his footsteps....and it makes me cringe!

Anywho, so that day when we were standing in line to meet Santa...the kids weren't sure it was such a good idea. Bekah hid behind me and Noah bit his nails.

Santa asked them how they had been behaving...and they were honest. Noah said OK...but with room for improvement! :) Bekah just twirled her foot nervously. We did get a cute picture though....and brunch was yummy.

And the best part was....after talking to Santa, the kids were good for a whole two days!

Little People, Big Lessons

One of the things that is new to us since our most recent move, is being part of a large neighbourhood. Our subdivision has about 300 families in it (so I've heard), and as a result it has a very large and active Neighbourhood Network. This group offers activities for the major holidays (Easter, Christmas, Halloween) as well as playgroups, book clubs and ladies' groups. The group also does charity work, and each year the members vote on which charities they would like to support for the coming year.

This year (and years past) the group collected toys for needy children. The toys were then set up in a temporary store, and families in need were invited to come and 'shop' for gift items for their family members.

It was all very organized, with drop off being on a Saturday at the home of one of our immediate neighbours. We were able to load up the wagon and wheel it on down to their house...piece of cake! The neighbourhood was divided into groups by last initial, and each group was assigned an age range to shop for. The goal was to cover all age ranges, right up to teenagers.

We were assigned the 4-8 year old age group. This was incredibly convenient for me, and provided a great learning opportunity for my own children, who both fall into this same age category.

I decided to take the kids with me, and have them choose the toys that we were to purchase for donation. I knew I was making my own life more difficult by doing this...but I couldn't pass up the life lesson that was to be hidden in there amongst the whining, begging and pleading that I was sure would ensue.

As scheduling demanded, I also ended up taking the kids on my own...without the benefit of another parent. Before we left, we had 'the talk'. 'The talk' was about how this was not about us, but instead it was about the children who were in need...the recipients of our donations. I assured my own children that they were fortunate, and would receive gifts for Christmas. They nodded and agreed and all seemed on track.

Once we arrived at the store, they both helped to choose items and we loaded up a shopping cart. Then the negotiating began. Now, my kids have been receiving an allowance for the last several months, since our last move. Noah wanted to pick out a toy to buy for himself, using his allowance. I struggled with this. The whole point of the allowance was to teach him about saving for something that he really wanted....so could I really deny him from buying something with money he had earned and saved? At the same time, I wanted the focus to be on others....not himself. Bekah didn't care where it came from...she just wanted something...from anywhere.

After we finished choosing the toys for donation, I did allow the kids to each choose something to purchase with their own money. I did have mixed emotions about it though.

We managed to get home...with all of our purchases in tow. When sorting everything out on the family room floor to remove the price tags and assess which items needed batteries....the real meltdown began. Rebekah spotted a bucket of sea animals containing a whale. Now, anyone who knows Rebekah knows that animals are her 'thing'. She loves them. She has dozens of them. She plays with them for hours on end. But, she does not have a whale. She cried and she carried on like the world was going to end.

In an attempt to console her, Noah bent down to her level and told her that he still had enough allowance left to buy her a whale for Christmas with his money. My heart melted. It was in that moment that I realized that he really did 'get it'. He really understood the lesson that I was trying to teach. Those are the moments that make it all worthwhile.