Speaking of Traditions - The Story of Santa
Santa, the North Pole, Santa’s Elves and Santa’s Reindeer
Santa is that jolly, old soul that brings Christmas to life for children. The story of Santa is mystic and gives children a lot to look forward to during the Christmas season. They are simply fascinated by Santa, the North Pole, Santa’s elves and of course, Santa’s reindeer.
Laura Legend’s ideas for bringing the story of Santa to life…
Children are fascinated with Santa Claus and the story of Santa. The excitement of the season can be brought to life with letters to (and from) Santa, classic stories and poems about Santa, movies about Santa and of course, a visit to see Santa.
A letter from Santa…
When Christmas rolls around, nothing is more fun for kids than writing a letter to Santa addressed to the North Pole and getting a response back from him.
There are several companies that will write children letters from Santa (you can find these on the internet), or you can write the letter from Santa yourself using colorful Christmas stationary.
Writing letters from Santa to young children is also a great fundraiser for school groups.
Letters from Santa usually tell children to be good, to go to sleep on Christmas Eve and to look for presents from Santa on Christmas morning. A letter from Santa may have “The North Pole” as the return address on the envelope.
It’s also common and exciting to include statements about Santa’s elves being busy at work in Santa’s workshop, or a quick note about how the reindeer are doing and how they are getting in shape for their Christmas Eve flight.
Of course, Mrs. Claus can be mentioned too. To add to the excitement, a letter from Santa may tell children not to forget to put out some cookies and milk for Santa because he gets hungry flying around delivering presents all over the world. It may even mention what kind of cookies Santa likes best.
Movies about Santa…
There are several movies about Santa that are appropriate for children of all ages. You can rent movies about Santa although during the Christmas season rentals may be hard to come by because they are in great demand. Using a source such as Amazon, you can search for great movie titles.
Stories and poems about Santa…
“‘Tis the Night Before Christmas” is a classic poem and many people make reading it to the children on Christmas Eve a tradition. You can also find story books about Santa in your local library, at a bookstore or through an online book distributor like Amazon.
Visits to Santa…
Most malls and some department stores have a Santa you can take the kids to visit. They can sit on Santa’s lap, take a picture, and tell Santa what they want for Christmas. Santa usually gives them a piece of candy or a candy cane and tells them to be good boys and girls to stay off the naughty list.
Children should always be told the real Christmas story, but it doesn’t hurt for them to enjoy the fantasy of Christmas brought about by Santa.