My wife and I are at an impasse over just how big of a role Santa Claus will play in our family.
She grew up in a family where Santa gave all of the presents to the kids and I grew up in one where he gave some of the presents and my parents gave the others.
I refuse to cede any more of the glory than is absolutely necessary. It remains unresolved how this is going to turn out, but, spoiler alert: I’m going to win.
Santa leaves at midnight and I always stay up late. A lot can happen between midnight and Christmas morning. If a few nametags get switched, well, sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
Figuring out the whole Santa thing is just one of many landmines first-time parents need to cross in the pivotal year known as Baby’s First Christmas.
“Baby’s first Christmas” is more than an expression; it is a mentality touching every decision made in November or December.
Among the most pressing issues are establishing lifelong family traditions, snagging the all-important Santa-lap photo, fitting in all appropriate family/community/work celebrations, squeezing church into the mix (on a Tuesday night!?), sending an adorable Christmas card to everyone who’s mailing address we know, decorating the house/tree, and (for me, because my wife is crazy) hosting a party for either 17 or 21 people, depending on how the wind blows that particular day.
Nothing says Christmas spirit like making sure your guest bathroom’s toilet is company-coming-over clean. This normally isn’t a problem, but nothing about life with a baby is normal.
Things are just taking longer this year.
For example, decorating the Christmas tree took several days. Probably because I wanted the baby to appreciate each ornament so I’d dangle one in front of her only to take it away when she tried to touch it. If you’ve ever met a baby, you’ll know this is a very good way to make one cry.
But the words, “baby’s first Christmas” kept echoing in my head and I wanted her to be part of it all – so we did it in stages.
And then there are the things we’re adding to our list, which we’ve never done before, like sending Christmas cards.
I now understand why toddlers’ parents pay for professional photo sessions for their Christmas cards.
It’s because they tried to do it on their own when their child was a baby and realized that by the time they’re able to get seasonal pictures with their kids, it’s too late to get cards printed and mailed.
We did get a perfect card, but they got delivered to us yesterday still needing addresses and stamps. Our friends should receive them by Groundhog’s Day.
The major hold-up was wanting to include a picture with Senita on Santa’s lap. We were traveling when the municipal Santa made his good-meaning visit to town so we had to rough it with a free-market Santa.
There, I encountered three very different Santas. The first was chilling at a local candy store trying to rope us in with a half-hearted display advertising the store more than Santa. It wasn’t the right look for our card.
The second was a cash-grab Santa taking advantage of a prime spot in a heavily trafficked Tennessee mall without putting in much effort at all (we passed). And the third was a high-end Santa at the South’s largest Christmas store, where they pulled out all the stops in exchange for photo packages starting at $24.99.
I snapped a few shots with my own camera while the official photographer was distracted. The girl in charge said, “no personal photography,” but Santa cheesed it up for us anyways.
Senita bawled the entire time anyways so we ended up using a different photo (but still included the Santa pic on the back of our card because it makes us laugh).
Maybe that’s the best you can hope for with a baby’s first Christmas. Enough fun and memorable moments to blur the line between laughter and tears.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
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