Tinsel, trees, mince pies and Santa … their presence in stores means that Santa will soon be on his merry way.
And, as usual, his impending arrival sees the rest of us in a flurry as we try to source the best gifts for our nearest and dearest that our budgets will allow. For everyone that budget is different, which brings up an interesting question: in theory, shouldn’t Santa have the same budget for everyone?
A Facebook post by a social worker last Christmas gained viral attention for it’s controversial request.
The post by US Social worker, Megan Dunn posed a discussion-worthy dilemma when she implored her readers not to tell their children that the expensive gifts and toys under the tree were from Santa.
“I can not stress this enough. Stop telling your Santa age kids that their iPads, and iPhones, and 200 dollar toys are from Santa,” she implored.
“Cause some families cant afford that. Little kids wonder why they got socks or a coat or hand me down toys from Santa and other kids got an iPad.”
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The social worker suggested that instead parents take credit for the bigger ticket items themselves, saving heartache for the parents who might not be able to afford to buy anything expensive this Christmas.
“This is the second year I’ve had a parent cry to me telling me that their kid asked if they weren’t good enough or if Santa didn’t like them as much. Breaks my heart for the parents and the kids,” Dunn shared.
“So take the credit for the gift. Santa didn’t buy that iPad, momma did or daddy did. Leave the less expensive gifts from Santa. Be blessed you can afford what others cannot.”
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Could kids question their self-worth if Santa doesn’t bring them gifts like their neighbours?
(Image: Getty)The idea, that for all intents is based on charitable thinking, drew some ire. While many commenters were quick to praise the notion, others railed declaring, “I’ll buy my kids whatever I damn well please!” and “I’m sick of people trying to control what other people do!”
And if there’s something I’ve learned in my years as a social media moderator, those Karens are 100 percent not only going to do exactly what they want, they’re probably going to angry post about it too. There’s no point trying to reason there.
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But for the rest of us, the idea that somewhere there might be a child thinking that they must have been on Santa’s naughty list and questioning their self-worth is heartbreaking. It brings into question the humanity of having a naughty and nice list in the first place.
While we’re probably a long way off from dismantling the Santa myth yet, the simple act of giving the big fella credit for the little stuff only is a pretty good place to start, wouldn’t you say?
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