Do you have the Christmas spirit?

As the weekend I saw two children, on two separate occasions, who fully embraced the Christmas spirit.

Well a big inflatable Father Christmas anyway.

They were not worried about those around them, they were not embarrassed to show their affection, they just walked right over and gave it a hug.

In the past I have had parents indicate that the whole Father Christmas thing is not for them, and each to their own, whatever works for you and your family.

However, children enjoy a good story, and the mix of excitement and anticipation makes the day special.

As adults it is easy to forget this, focusing more on the effort it takes to organise.

Even now though my girls like receiving gifts they are equally engaged in buying gifts for others.

There will be disappointed when they find out who Father Christmas really is, but they will have had years of excitement before this, which I know I would not have wanted to miss.

Belief tends to wane around eight upwards and by 10 neither of my girls believed in Santa anymore.

Even though they didn’t believe they showed real disappointment when we said we were not looking to use the Santa sacks or stockings anymore.

My eldest looked at us and said “but there is a Santa”

“really” I said

“yes” she said as she came and hugged me and looked into my eyes with a smile on her face.

We came to a compromise and agreed to continue with the stockings, which even as teenagers they still look forward to.

What do you still look forward to at Christmas?