How Do We Tell My Kids, I Believe in Santa Claus?

*Only Semi-Autobiographical*

Santa Claus is Holly Jolly and all of the fixins. Never does the man fail to put a smile on a deserving child's face. Spreading joy and wonder throughout the many realms. Unceasing the man is, perhaps to a fault. He is neverending, some say he existed before humankind even walked the planet and roamed with the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs celebrating Christmas never really got that big. Could you imagine a Jurassic Christmas Parade? The awestruck feeling left behind on that paleontological Yule Tide festivity. The holiday has been a fixture of many cultures for a Millenium, offering consistent Christmas cheer. A constant fixture many people look forward to, some all year long. This holds true in my house. Quinn and Gypsy love this time of year and celebrate with enthusiasm.

I'm going to tell my twin daughters Quinn and Gypsy, that Santa is coming this year. I must believe in The Clause or the Cause is dead. The cause of getting my girls to love and appreciate imagination and traditions new and old. Being that they are six, I assume they think I believe in Santa Claus. After all, is said and done, how do you know whether or not I believe in Ole Saint Nick? Science or journalism has yet to prove he doesn't exist. There is no data on the matter to convince me otherwise. The more I think about it, I can't unbelieve in him. I'm fully expecting him to pull it all together when we least expect it. Deciding to go all in on Christmas festivities has left me drained but I stand by on making believing in Santa Claus fun. This may be happening more for me than for my kids.

After I was 10 years old there was no need to believe in Saint Nick anymore. Never crossed my mind after a certain time in my life. My Holiday cheer had gone cold far too long for my liking. Losing the ability to recognize Holidays and Birthdays for years on end, my beliefs were in doubt. How was I going to feel the Holiday Spirit again? Am I doing this for me or for my chitlins? It should be both, but one always wins out over the other. It took the birth of my progeny to shake my inner spiritual beliefs. It took over a year sober to realize I still believe in the Clause. Spent most of my time hiding the fact from others. This grown man believes in the power of magic.

I started believing again after the girls were born. It didn't happen right away though. It took quite some time to feel like there was still magic left in the world. I accepted magic as soon as the girls were prematurely evacuated from their host. They beat the odds of two-and-a-half-pound babies clinging for life. Other sets of twins in the hospital didn't all make it. We became so lucky just to have them around, and healthy to boot. There was a time when we couldn't afford anything, and we were blessed by many people and organizations that helped us in our time of being homeless while having twins in Nicu. I know magic exists. It was until recently that I fully committed to the Kris Kringle beliefs. Every day with them is a blessing. No matter how hard or frustrating or scary it can be. The magic surges through us all.

Being as I am a somewhat mature man, I should know better when it comes to Santa Claus. Logic should trump everything. But, when logic tells you there is no reason not to believe. I know it can get a little bit confusing. When my logic is telling me I'm right, what does that say about my state of mind? Confused, one could say.

I'll pull out all the stops with cookies and milk. This year I'm leaving a key in a fake rock for Santa since we don't have a chimney. Gotta think ahead. The twins draw a picture of Santa and The Easter Bunny to signify they believe with every ounce Kris Kringle is real and hangs out with Easter's mascot. I add Santa to my phone to show them I called him. We sing Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas songs, seguing into Charlie Brown Christmas songs. We drink our coffees with espresso to stay up to see him whenever he comes. Excitement is at an all time high in the house on this special day. We start dipping our toes into yule tide mythology.

So much belief goes into this tradition, I start expanding with my own mythos. I got so swept up in Christmas lore I told the girls Kris Kringle had an evil twin brother, The Anti-Claus from the Ultra Prime Universe. A new tradition was born, to add a ridiculous, melodramatic companion story to the long standing annual continuity. Christmas is what we make it. I'm proud to say I believe in Santa and other universes. Christmas miracle.

The End.