Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus. I’m sure you have read this story to your children over the years when they may have had some doubt about the real Santa.
We have had so much fun and some of the best times at Christmas. My husband has helped Santa put together bicycles, firehouses, doll houses, tricycles, four wheelers, dirt bikes, and so many other things. As a matter of fact, Santa said once that he was one of his best helpers. Imagine that? I remember one year they were assembling two bicycles, and the boys heard the noise and slipped into the room. Of course, Santa jumped behind the door, and there was Daddy working away. You can just imagine how fast they jumped back into bed when they were told that Santa had gone to the bathroom.
Our oldest son, Michael, was in third grade, and he came home from school one day and asked me, “Mom, is there really a Santa Claus?” I’m not sure what I was doing but I remember clutching his little freckled face between my hands and asking, “Why would you ask me such a ridiculous question?” He told me some of the kids at school asked him if he really believed a big fat man in a red suit, riding in a sleigh, pulled by reindeer could fly all around the world in one night. And then he added that his brother Marc had been climbing onto cabinets and in the tops of closets and had not found any hidden Santa gifts. (I had already seen footprints on top of my counter tops.) I asked him what he thought. He said it did seem strange.
We sat down and I proceeded to explain things to him. I asked him if he had ever seen me or his daddy putting his toys under the tree? No. Do you always get a letter from Santa? Yes. Do you hear bells and thumps on top of our roof top on Christmas Eve? Yes. Are his cookies and milk always gone you leave him? Yes. Does he leave you a thank you note? Yes. And, how about the smut on the floor I front of the fireplace and that we can never build a fire on Christmas Eve?
And now for the most important thing I told him was this, “Michael when you stop believing in Santa and you tell me there is not a big jolly, fluffy, belly laughing man in a red suit that comes on Christmas Eve with toys for you, then he will bring you no more gifts — NO MORE EVER!”
Now my children are grown men and a woman with children of their own. Why don’t you ask them if they believe in Santa Claus? I am positive you will get a resounding, “YES, I DO!”
Santa’s Hot Chocolate
(My daughter’s recipe)
1 ½ cups of heavy cream
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups milk chocolate chips
6 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Place in a Crock-Pot, and stir well and heat low until all ingredients are blended, stirring occasionally.
