Christmas was SO magical when I was a child. The magic of the sparkles in the snow, the glistening lights, the joyful music, and of course, Santa Claus! One of my most vivid memories as a child is riding home from my Grams house on Christmas eve with my eyes glued to the sky, watching for Santa’s sleigh and listening for the sound of sleigh bells. I think it was the last Christmas that I believed.

Its a hard thing as a child, to learn that Santa Claus isn’t real, that the magic isn’t real. You find new ways to enjoy Christmas but it is never the same as when you believed. Because believing is the true magic of Santa Claus.

Parenthood gives you the chance to rediscover the magic of Santa Claus and I have discovered, Santa Claus IS real. Not in the sense that a jolly, fat, old man squeezes down your chimney with a bag full of goodies, but he is real nonetheless. The spirit of Santa Claus is everywhere in the magic WE create for our children. When we tell our children the story of Santa Claus and the North pole, when we take our children to sit on his lap, when we watch Christmas specials, when we sing Christmas carols, when we stay up late Christmas Eve filling stockings and leaving presents from Santa (and eating his cookies). We get to BE Santa Claus. Allowing our children to believe makes him real. We are creating magic and that is a greater gift than any present they will find under the Christmas tree.

As I watch my daughters playing by the Christmas tree, gazing at it with magic in their eyes, and reading The Polar Express, it occurs to me that I never want that magical sleigh bell to stop ringing for them. I want to keep the magic alive as long as possible. Keep them filled with that sense of wonder. I want to keep Santa Claus alive as long as possible and keep the magic alive for them. Because honestly, they keep the magic alive for me!