Dear Santa.
Two words, one greeting, and so much meaning for children and adults everywhere. Yes, I’m nearly 19, but with such a stressful year nearly behind us, I want to go back to a simpler time when we wrote letters to Santa asking for an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle and then getting… well, a less than loved pink rabbit onesie.
Ah yes, those were the days. I’d be cocooned in my fleece baseball blanket, Christmas DVDs and VHS' (yes, VHS) piled haphazardly next to the television. I’d munch on movie butter popcorn determined to stay up all night to see Santa Claus, only to inevitably fall asleep on the couch and my little sister on the floor.
Where did those days go? Lo’ were the days when my friends and I struggled to stay awake just to get a glimpse of the elusive Saint Nick. There were years even, where I swear I could hear reindeer hooves click up on the rooftop. What happened to those sweet, naïve days?
Oh, right. We all went and grew up. The week before Christmas is always incredibly stressful and I, like many others, have struggled to find the perfect gifts for our loved ones. My sister jokingly stated she’d take back all the gifts she got me a couple days ago. We laughed and then our faces fell slightly. When had Christmas in our house become about the amount or price of the gifts we got each other? Our mom is working two jobs. Our dad? Pretty much lives at his shop. I’m back for the holidays and yet, I’ve hardly seen any of my family.
The gift I struggled with the most was most likely what I was to get my boyfriend. He worked so hard to make Christmas special for me and I wanted to make it just as special for him. I scoured the local stores (there aren’t many in my town) and the ones in the next city over looking for, now don’t laugh, the 2011 Disney film, The Muppets. He loves the Muppets just as much as I do and when he moved out of his parents’, he was unable to get the film back from them. I was without luck, though. I could not find the film anywhere and it was too late for me to order it online if I wanted it to arrive by Christmas. So, instead, I got him a couple of button down shirts, knowing he would need new ones eventually.
I was so nervous when we exchanged gifts. Not that I didn’t think he wouldn’t like the shirts, I just felt so defeated in my search. He unwrapped his gift and hugged and thanked me for the shirts. I smiled, happy he liked the gifts. Unsurprisingly, he saw straight through me. He asked me what was on my mind and the entire story of hunting down the film poured out of me and I apologized for not being able to find it. When I finally finished with an exasperated breath (I tend to be a dramatic storyteller), he pulled me into a tight hug and whispered softly into my ear, “I don’t care that you didn’t find the film. You were the only person to remember that and that means the world to me.” I had to fight back tears, knowing I had done something that meant so much to him. They really mean it when they say “it’s the thought that counts”. A phrase that unfortunately has lost some of its meaning over the years.
So,
Dear Santa,
This Christmas, I didn’t want much. I didn’t need name brand clothing or the newest Pokémon game. I didn’t want people to stress over finding the perfect gift for me this year. All I wanted was to bring back the true meaning of Christmas, of which is so often found in those cheesy Hallmark films that I low-key despise. All I wanted was to bring a smile to the faces of those I love.
Yours Truly.
