Santa receives a gift
Offering a special picture to Santa
Last night, we attended a Christmas picnic at my daughter’s kinder. It was a lovely night and we had a special visitor towards the end of the evening.
As my daughter had known that Santa was visiting the picnic, she created a gift for him in the afternoon. The gift being a drawing on a piece of cardboard.
Seeing Santa
When Santa arrived, not surprisingly, lots of children ran over to him.
The band was playing ‘Santa is coming to town’ and the children were happily looking at their Christmas hero.
Each child was given an icy pole by Santa, and Santa moved around to greet other children and chat to some adults.
My daughter had her icy pole in hand then grabbed her gift and followed Santa, trying to get his attention. Reaching out her gift, she was able to give it to him.
Santa’s response
Santa was surprised to be given a gift, thanked her warmly and leant down to kiss her cheek.
For the rest of Santa’s visit, her cardboard gift was in his hand. He also carried it up the street when he left, as witnessed by a friend 🙂
Santa waving bells and holding a child’s gift
My very excited daughter has since described Santa’s beard as being like ‘sheep’s fluff’ – soft and cuddly.
Gifts for Santa
My children often talk about giving something to Santa, and have left gifts for him on a number of Christmas Eves. However, it is the first time a gift has been physically handed to Santa.
It was a lovely memory for us and a special way for her to finish kinder – thanks Santa 🙂
Have you or your children ever given a gift to Santa?
Simple Christmas gift
Plain magnets and stickers – an easy and cheap material list!
To solve the issue of what my son could give to his classmates for Christmas, we decided on a card and a small, simple Christmas gift for everyone rather than trying to choose who to give a personal present to.
Christmas gift magnets
I found some magnets and Christmas stickers so our gift idea was found!
Foam stickers give a better result than flat stickers, I think. They are bigger and will look better on the fridge!
If you manage to get stickers and magnets exactly the same size, then all you have to do is stick on the stickers! However, the odds are you won’t be quite so lucky.
Creating Christmas magnets
If the sticker is bigger than the magnet, you can just take off the backing paper and attach the magnet. It will look great from the front and back but (and this is a big but!) the exposed glue surface will attract dirt and dust and soon will become messy.
The red surface of the left Christmas magnet is sticky and will soon be messy – the Christmas tree will stay nicer.
The sticky surface will also make it difficult to put the Christmas magnet into an envelope or gift wrapping. This simple gift would not be simple to remove from the wrapping either!
I traced around the magnet on the back of the sticker and then scored the outline. I actually prepared a pile of them before my son got involved, but older children could possibly score the paper themselves.
Trace around a magnet with the blade of a craft knife or pair of scissors
It was then easy for my son to peel off just that bit of backing paper and attach the magnet, leaving the rest of the backing paper in place.
Peeling off the relevant bit of backing paper and attaching the magnet was managed by four and six year olds.
That’s it – no drying time or finishing touches needed! And because they are small and light, it’s easy to just pop them into an envelope with a Christmas card and you’re done. In half a day, my son had a gift and card done for all his classmates (and writing the cards was definitely the most time consuming task!)
My son proudly laid out his completed Christmas magnet gifts
Safety for children
Climbing a tree is an acceptable and healthy risk, but not everything children want is safe enough
Whether it is from advertising or simple interest, kids will ask for all sorts of things for Christmas (and birthday) gifts.
There may be many reasons to decide against a particular item for you child (price, values, practicality, appropriateness, and so on) but one I have been reminded of this week is safety.
Considering safety of a gift request
This week, a mother contacted us about not wanting mention of a mermaid tail in her daughters’ Love Santa letter as she had decided it was not appropriate for her daughters.
I know very little about mermaid tails so I am not saying they are or are not dangerous.
But the point is valid.
If you don’t think your child’s gift request is safe or appropriate, then that is your decision and the child should not get that gift.
Choosing what is safe
At one level, safety depends on the specific child. That is, the child’s age, personality and physical abilities will impact on what is suitable for that child, and that takes someone who knows the child to make that decision.
Certain things are clearly not safe and thus easy to decide against – like small Lego pieces for a baby or guns for any child, for example.
Whereas other things may be less clear. So to decide if something is safe enough to give to your child (or the child in your life), here are some suggestions:
- do some research online – if you know little about the item, it is hard to judge it so find out what it is, what’s it made of and so on.
- look at the age group it is suggested for
- find out what other people think of the item and what experiences they have had with it – ask parents you know but also look for some online reviews. Even if you disagree with a review, it may give you some questions to ask or information about the item’s features.
- think about whether you would have used and enjoyed it when you were that age – this can help you view your child as a person rather than as your ‘baby’ who needs to be protected
- If you can, go and touch and try the item. Does it feel sturdy or likely to fall apart? Will it put the child high above the ground or travelling fast? Does the packaging and instructions promote dangerous activities?
Saying no to the child
If you decide a gift is not safe, what do you tell the child?
I think it helps if you don’t promise anything so you don’t have to back track 🙂
Beyond that, I tell my children that I don’t like a potential gift and give them a reason. I may simplify it to suit their knowledge, but I let them know to maintain their trust and get them thinking . It also means that I have already set the expectation that I won’t get it later nor allow them to buy it themselves a few months later.
How do you tell your children you have decided against them having something they would like?
Love Santa letters
Just to compete the above story about mermaid tails…
Santa understands safety and works hard to never give children toys or gifts that are not safe. And when Santa writes to children he never promises any particular gift will be given because he knows things may change between writing the letter and Christmas Eve.
As each Love Santa letter is individually adjusted, it was not difficult to remove any mention of the mermaid tails for the girls mentioned above, keeping everyone happy and safe.
Christmas jokes (child friendly!)
While Santa loves a laugh and often puts a joke in his personalised letters, the following ones are not in this year’s letters so won’t ruin any surprises!
Christmas Jokes
What do Christmas and dogs at the beach have in common? 
What happens to you at Christmas?
How long do an Elf’s legs need to be?
Once you’ve thought about them…
The answers are
They both have Sandy Claws…
Yule be happy
Just long enough to reach the ground so he can walk on them!
Image courtesy of 123RF
Bubbay – Christmas book review
Bubbay – A Christmas adventure
by Josie Wowolla Boyle
illustrated by Fern Martins
Magabala books, Broome, 2012
Age group: primary school
Coming across a lovely picture book that is very Australian (without any clichéd cute animals dressed as Santa) is a nice treat.
The story
Bubbay is a lonely boy fending for himself in the Aussie Outback. On Christmas Eve, he feels sad to have no family, no house and no Christmas tree. At this point, the story gets magical with Bubbay’s Grandmother’s spirit leading him on an adventure to collect special things so Bubbay can earn a special Christmas.
The story is a little detailed for pre-schoolers but is enjoyable for lower primary children. It is beautifully illustrated with simple, detailed paintings. Australian animals are included in a way that hints at the Dreamtime and characteristics of those animals (eg mentioning a Bower Bird’s home), thus inviting further discussions and learning.
My review of Bubbay’s Christmas adventure
My only disappointment was that Bubbay sat back on Christmas Eve to watch reindeer flying by instead of boomers, but reindeer may well work better for a wider audience.
I was able to predict the ending early in the book, but it is still heart-warming – and children wouldn’t see the obvious coming as easily as I, so this doesn’t detract from the story at all.
Definitely a beautiful book to add to any child’s (or adult’s!) Christmas or Australian book collection.
Passionfruit Christmas biscuits ~ recipe
While these biscuits don’t look or sound very Christmassy (other than by adding colouring to them or icing with Christmas colours like I have), they feel like a Christmas treat to me!
I think it is because the passionfruit flavour is a hint of summer and the texture is like shortbread (which I associate with Christmas).
These are fairly easy to make so are suitable for young children to help with – and I bet Santa would enjoy a few of these on Christmas Eve!
Passionfruit Christmas biscuits
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbs castor sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 Tbs passionfruit pulp (1 – 2 passionfruit)
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 Tbs cornflour
{Makes about 40 biscuits}
Mix the butter (softened butter makes this easier!) with the sugars and vanilla essence.
Mix in the passionfruit pulp then add in the flours.
The mix is browner than most biscuits because of the brown sugar.
It forms a stiff mix, not quite like a pastry dough – and it looks a bit sticky.
Put a little plain flour on your hands then roll small bits of the mixture into balls (the flour is enough to stop them sticking to you).
Turn a sticky blob into a ball…
Put the balls on a greased tray or tray lined with baking paper (I’ve tried both and neither seems superior to the other).
Greased tray or baking paper – the choice is yours!
Push down on each ball lightly with the back of a spoon to make them flatter. Note these biscuits don’t spread very much so you don’t need a lot of space between biscuits.
Bake at 160°C for 13 – 15 minutes.
Cool on the tray before serving, icing or storing.
Passionfruit Christmas biscuits – they look simple but taste divine!
Some additional notes…
Why use the different flours? Well, corn flour and coconut flour are gluten free so these biscuits are lower gluten than most biscuits. The coconut flour also adds protein and fibre so these biscuits are lower carbohydrate than you’d expect. It also gives a slight hint of coconut to add to the summery effect.
Why brown sugar? It is less processed so healthier than white sugar of any type.
I melted some white chocolate and added colouring to cover some of my biscuits. I love the crunch of the set chocolate but I found it did overwhelm the passionfruit flavour a bit – they still were yummy and melted on the tongue though!
What my children and friends thought of the biscuits…
I am thinking of making batches of these with my kids this year for them to give to kinder/school teachers as Christmas gifts.
What will you do with the biscuits you make?
And I’m curious, if you are from the northern hemisphere, would these feel Christmassy or would you prefer them in summer?
Do you know what I’m getting…
I have heard this question a lot recently.
My son keeps asking “Do you know what I’m getting {insert various names} for Christmas?”
I think it is lovely that a six year old is so excited about giving gifts to the people he loves.
Seeing children happy to give a gift with love is a beautiful sight
And he is trying to be selfless in the process – some the gifts are perhaps a bit more of what he is interested in than the recipient (like a Lego set for his grandfather!) but he is thinking about what they may like which is a great lesson for him.
At six, my son doesn’t truly comprehend how long it is until Christmas so his perspective is different. Of course, his idea of suitable budgets for presents is pretty limited, too!
In the adult world…
Some people are well into organising their Christmas gifts and others are horrified at the idea of preparing this early (I have a few relatives who will start on about the 20th or 22nd of December!)
But I am enjoying the fact that as I type this, my son and his friend are singing (made up) Christmas songs and playing time at the emergency centre with my daughter. They are happy and excited even if there are still 43 days to go!
Have you started thinking about what gifts to give people? Have you started getting those gifts?
I had a chance to go shopping without children last week so that’s when I started Christmas shopping. It does feel good to have crossed a few names of the list!
Special Christmas Memories
The perfect Christmas tree for a sweet tooth – it’s made of lollipops!
My momma always used to make Christmas for me and my brother special. I have such great Christmas memories thanks to her.
The Christmas tree…
We would get a Christmas tree as tall as possible without touching the ceiling. I remember the struggles we all had trying to get the trunk into the base so it would stand straight!
Decorating the tree was always a special occasion.
Although my mom stopped putting candy canes on the tree until Christmas Eve arrived, which was a bit sad. All because my brother and I would sneak and eat one or two or five a day…
Christmas in the future…
I loved Christmas! And now, 20 years later as my wife and I prepare to have kids, I will give them the same memories of Christmas my mom gave to my brother and me.
* Image courtesy of 123 rf
Egg Shell Ornaments for Christmas
When I was a child we use to make egg shell Christmas ornaments for the tree. Does anyone remember these?
They were super easy to make. But the worst part was blowing the inside of the egg out, YUCK!!!!!
Making egg shell Christmas ornaments
An adult, usually Mama, would give us all an egg. It was raw, of course, we would have to be outside for the first part of this project.
We would take a small nail, and very carefully punch a hole in the top and bottom of the egg.
Then we would gently press our puckered lips against the top of egg with the hole in it. We would then blow really hard into the hole.
Usually, it would take us at least three good blows to push the yolk and white out of the other hole at the bottom of egg shell.
Once we had that done, we could go back inside and decorate the outside of egg with paint or glitter.
Just whatever we wanted to do with it was fine. We would use thread inserted in the hole to hang our ornaments.
* Image courtesy of 123rf
Christmas jokes…
Christmas has arrived – have a great one!
From Santa and the Love Santa Elves, please have a safe and very
Merry Christmas!
Have a wonderful day today and remember to share a little Christmas magic with as many people as you can.
And Happy New Year!
Dance your way through a very Christmas, just like Santa’s helper and the Christmas fairy!
The night before Christmas – for aviation people…
Sorry, I don’t know the original source of this but as someone works with planes, this made me laugh!
I hope others enjoy it too – Merry Christmas!
The night before Christmas (aviation style)
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
The aircraft were fastened to tie downs with care,
In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.
The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
While peak gusts from three two zero reached 39 knots.
I sank behind the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.
When over the radio there arose such a clatter,
I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
Asked for clearance to land at the airport below.
He barked out his transmission so lively and quick,
I could have sworn that the call sign he used was “St. Nick”.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Sure that it was only Horizon’s late Dash.
Then he called his position, and there could be no denial,
“This is St. Nicholas One and I’m turning on final.”
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
A Rutan sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer.
Cleared for the ILS, down the glideslope he came,
As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:
“Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!
On Comet! On Cupid!” What pills was he takin’?
Those last couple of fixes left the controllers confused,
They called down to the office to give me the news.
The message they left was both urgent and dour:
“When Santa lands, have him please call the tower?”
He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
Then I heard “Exit at Charlie,” and “Taxi to parking.”
He slowed to a taxi and exited Three-Two,
As he came down the taxiway the sleighbells’ jingle grew.
He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
I had run out to him with my best set of chocks.
He was dressed all in fur, which was covered with frost
And his beard was all blackened from Rotax Reindeer exhaust.
His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn’t inhale.
His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
His boots were as black as a cropduster’s belly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old fool,
And he kindly informed me that he needed some fuel.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his toes,
Let me know he was desperate to powder his nose.
I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
He came out of the restroom with a sigh of relief,
And then picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.
And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
That with Rudolph, he could land in an eighth-mile fog.
Next, he completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, “Clear!”
And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
He called up the tower for his clearance and squawk.
“After departure fly heading three two zero,” the tower called forth,
“And watch for a Luscombe inbound from the North.”
Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed thru the night,
“Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight.”
* Images courtesy of Love Santa and 123rf
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