My kids spend more time playing with water, mud, and sticks than they do their store-bought toys. They also love to play in the pantry. Abby can spend hours stacking and re-stacking cans, lining them up to make a train. She disappears when its time to put them up, of course. Friday night she got out bottles of diet coke and carefully placed each one on its very own Christmas dessert plate. Then took them all of and repeated the process over and over again.
So why does Santa come to our house if the kids spend a total of a few hours playing with the much-begged for toys they have been dreaming of for months?
Because Santa is my number one parent bribery tool from July through December 24th. The Santa threat is the only thing that keeps them semi-behaved. I have his phone number. I'm not afraid to use it. I threaten to quite frequently. Even after Christmas... Santa will pick up returns, you know. Yes, yes that is yet more money for the Therapy Jar. But I have learned that kids don't play by the rules. So I have to resort to bribery. I figure I only have a few more years with the Santa Threat. I have to maximize my threat now. Before they figure me out. My days are numbered.
10 comments:
Oh yes...we have Santa on speed-dial too! I've rung him several times while the girls listen on.
He's surprisingly understanding and patient though, he usually gives them one last chance to pull their behaviour into line before he moves them from the good book to the bad one.
Great post Melinda and so true! Abby sounds devine and so creative. Every parent should have a direct line to Santa as part of their child rearing policy. I found it amusing that some children were terrifed of him at the Christmas photos yet still wanted presents. Kingsley thinks Santa stops visiting after you turn 12 ( as he did for her cousins) but I argue you can be 40 and still expect him to visit! I have been very good this year Santa!
Ha ha, Fairlie that's funny.
I love the can train, and the coke on plates, so cute!
My problem with Santa threats, is the tricky questions I get asked by my son when I bring it up. Does Santa go to the shop to buy the toys? He can't make lego can he? How will the letter get to him? The post man will have to wear snow clothes won't he? How does the letter get across the ocean? etc etc
Oh yeah mine keep asking for things and I just say "Ask Santa" Ellie is a bit weird like your kids and likes to line things up. I wonder what that says about them????
It's true. Year after year, I watch my nieces and nephews play with the boxes or the paper or the ribbons the toys came in, instead of the toys.
One year, I am going to give them giftwrap in a box.
I will be thrown out of the family, I am sure. :)
Doesn't Aunty Evil have a direct line to Santa? She is his official photographer.
Rumor has it that, as a child, Aunty Evil clubbed Santa over the head with a baseball bat after not getting everything on her list from the previous year and took all the other kids presents. Using a combination of licorice and ribbons, Rudolph and the other reindeer were able to pull Santa to safety before li'l Aunty could exact any further damage upon the person of ol' St. Nick. However upon returning to the North Pole Santa was diagnosed with amnesia and now resides in a mental health care facility in a little padded room where he spends all of his days huddled in the corner shivering and muttering...."Aunty....evil....Aunty....evil...." It's quite sad. :-(
The elves have since gone corporate and now have exclusive contracts with the major toy companies and have 75 full-time Santa and Reindeer teams to make up the difference.
At least that's the story here in the States.
I forgot to mention that in order to pay for the 75 "Santa/Reindeer" teams the elves brokered a deal with the major retail chains to start pushing Christmas items on the unsuspecting public at the beginning of October. So the next time you complain about all the Christmas items being put out so early, getting in your way and sending your kids into a materialistic frenzy of "gimme, gimme, gimme" followed by a screamfest because you didn't, and making you go home and slap your husband because he just had to have lovin' while you were ovulating......its all Aunty's fault.
How she lives with the guilt is beyond me. ;-)
It's beyond me too!
Evil by name, evil by nature!
:)
I called our homeline from my mobile (cellphone) making it look like Santa had rung US to check up on the kids!! Should have seen their faces.
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