One of the magical things about Christmas is that while much of the holiday is steeped in traditions, there are so many different kinds of traditions. As annoying as most found that “Frozen’s Olaf Adventure” special before seeing “Coco,” I did appreciate how it showed that each family has their own special ways of celebrating Christmastime.
When my husband and I were dating, we did our best to celebrate Christmas together while also holding on to the ways that we celebrated Christmas with our own families. But when we got married, a lot of traditions had to combine or evolve. That changed even more after having kids.
Which brings me to the big guy. Kris Kringle. St. Nick. Santa Claus. The man.
When Stella was old enough to understand Santa Claus, Zack and I realized that Santa did things very differently in Farmington Hills and Holt. When Santa visited my house, his presents were left on the coffee table by the fireplace, our stockings filled with goodies sitting next to an empty plate of cookies. Santa didn’t wrap our presents. It made the moment we came downstairs so fun and surprising. Look! He brought me the doll I wanted from the Franklin Mint! (How sweet was that store??)
But when Santa visited Zack in Holt, the presents were wrapped — in a different paper, of course. They sell different kinds of paper in the North Pole. Santa also hid Zack’s stocking for him to find.
So what would he do for Stella? What would our family tradition be?
Ultimately, we agreed to tell Santa that he didn’t have to wrap the presents he brought to Okemos. Save Mrs. Claus and the elves the time. But Santa could absolutely hide Stella’s Christmas stocking somewhere in the house after eating some cookies.
I’ve seen so many posts in mommy Facebook groups asking this very question though: does Santa wrap his gifts or not?
And while I have my own sentimental and practical feelings on the matter for our family, the beautiful thing is that there isn’t one correct answer. Like most things, all that matters is what works for each family to make it the most magical time possible.
Merry Christmas Eve, all!
