Design Crafters

One year as a kid we spent Christmas and New Years in beautiful Jamaica. My parents were worried that Santa wouldn’t know where to find us, so they made special arrangements with him to come a little early. Thus, we weren’t expecting the surprise we got on Christmas day.

While my sister and I were enjoying the beach and watching the hermit crab races, all of a sudden there was a commotion. As I looked out towards the water I was thrilled to see a young Jamaican Santa (with an obviously fake beard as he kept adjusting it) crewing his own tiny, two person sailboat towards the shore. Inside the boat was a big red sack full of gifts for all the children at the beach. He actually looked like a Coca Cola ad, because as he came in we could see him drinking out of a glass Coca Cola bottle.

I remember him stumbling off the boat and being assisted to his chair. At first we all thought it was just because he needed to get his land legs back under him. When it was my turn to sit on his lap and he started talking to me, I recall his breath could have killed a horse from the smell of alcohol. I don’t think it was Coca Cola in that bottle. It became very apparent that he wasn’t stumbling from sea legs, he was as drunk as a skunk!

Unfortunately photo Christmas Cards weren’t a popular thing back then, because that would have made a great one. It’s funny to look back on and to this day, we still hang the handmade Jamaican Christmas Angels he gave us, on our tree.

It looks like Santa needed some extra help at the North Pole last Christmas. That or perhaps he’s opened a North Pole resort for honeymooners.

Last year at the beginning of December (in some very snowy region of the world), some newlyweds were surprised to find Santa waiting for them outside the church, instead of their limousine. Apparently the relative in charge of organizing the couples transportation, called “Santa” instead of calling the limo company. It was actually a surprise to everyone except for this particular relative and the photographer. The photographer had to know in order to be prepared for the perfect shots. Needless to say, not only did the couples jaws drop to the ground, but the kid’s could hardly contain themselves. 

Now from what I understand, we’re talking a “real authentic Santa” with a real authentic looking sleigh, with real reindeer (not horses). How this was arranged, I have no idea.

Now the great thing about this being a surprise is that the smiles and other expressions on the couple’s faces were more real and not so staged or forced.

They had apparently already had pictures done by a professional photographer for their photo Christmas cards, but the wedding pictures turned out so well, the couple decided to use those for their photo Christmas cards instead. It was a rush job to get them out in time, but it worked out.

That’s all for now. Have a wonderful day.

If you’ve never had a chance to go dog sledding, then I suggest making it a point to make that a Christmas adventure at some point down the road.

I had the wonderful opportunity to go dog sledding a couple times as a teenager. I am here to tell you, it is incredibly fun and not everyone can say they’ve done it. If your teenagers are bored of the “same ol’”, I highly recommend it. Even little kids will get a kick out of it.

I can see it now…The teacher asks “so what did you do over the Christmas break Joey?”. “Oh I just went dog sledding”. That’s not one you hear every day.

I was surprised to find out there are actually many places in snowy areas that offer sled dog experiences. I found companies in both mountain and prairie states. I simply did a search on the subject and put the area I lived and found at least five companies/families that offered that. Some of them even offered the opportunity for kids and teenagers to physically help get the team ready.  

In my search I saw one picture that I thought would be perfect for photo Christmas cards. It was of a real looking Santa holding onto the back of the sled. He had a real beard and wore an authentic looking Santa suite made of real wool and fur apparently. The sled itself was carrying the big red Santa sack and the team of dogs even wore fake antlers.  I’m sure you can get just as creative.     

Whether you teach your children to believe in Santa or not, is a personal choice.  Most do, and having to tell your child at a later time that it all was a fantasy is always hard on everybody and a bit of a disappointment and let down for the child, but they can still learn the concept and joy of giving to others as they have learned by example from Santa (their parents).

Be prepared for the fact that they will quickly be able to put two and two together and on their own after being told that Santa was not real, they will figure out that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are also fantasy. It is one of the hard things to have to deal with in growing up. But many feel that the initial disappointment soon passes as their child has learned how much fun it can be to give anonymously.

Some families choose not to let
their children believe that Santa Claus is a real man. There are many reasons for this, but mostly
it is because they believe that the birth of Jesus Christ is the reason for the
season, and they do not want anything to diminish that truth. Just because children know that Santa is not
a living breathing person who will actually visit their house on Christmas Eve,
does not mean that these children will enjoy Christmas any less than children
who do believe in Santa. 

Remember the story about little Virginia who wrote to the New York Sun asking if there was a Santa Clause? Find the heartwarming answer at this Christmas site.