I was watching a movie last night and the one character states she will never allow her children to believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny as the disappointment would be too much when the children find out that’s all fantasy. It immediately took me back to when I was a little girl.
When it came to Christmas and Easter my mom really made it a magical time. Christmas, we had all the little gifts that lead up to the main one – one year I received roller skates, oh my Giddy aunt did I love those! Another year it was a ragdoll – she was my best friend forever! I remember trying ever so hard to stay up so I could meet Santa when he finally got to our house, and waking in the morning with such disappointment that I had missed him and Rudolf, but my heart beat with excitement when I saw he had been. The cookies were nibbled on, and the gifts were there under the tree. The excitement was palpable. I recall, when my eldest son was young, crawling around with my hubby’s shoe and baby powder, making foot prints, Ryan awoke and his first question was “Mom why is there baby powder everywhere?”
WONDERFUL MEMORIES!
Easter fills me with wonderful memories of my childhood too. When our boys were much younger it was our Easter Tradition for friends and ourselves to hire a bunny suit. Gary would dress up as the Easter bunny, and we would ensure the kids got a sighting as the Bunny hopped around the garden.
THE BIRTHDAY BUNNY
Talking bunnies, when both boys were small, they loved their dummies and bottles. Ryan in particular truly loved his bottle. We were on holiday in the Cape, and I recall Uncle Percy telling Ryan that when it was his birthday the Birthday Bunny would come and take his
bottle for the baby bunnies. I remember us prepping him for weeks before his birthday. The day his birthday dawned my heart quietly broke for him (I know how I feel to this day when someone says the bottle of wine is finished) but he did us proud and bravely accepted that the Bunny had taken his bottle.
Chad, now he adored his dummy and as much as he adored them, he also constantly lost them. He loved the Honey dummy, remember that one, it was all rubber? Actually, in the majority of his photos, I never thought to remove his blady dummy! So, yip his photos are a bit like the ones these days where we are going to have heaps of photos with our stupid masks on. When I read the newspaper, I swear I am always flummoxed as to why the heck they have the top students, with 80 distinctions (another exaggeration) , all posing with their ridiculous masks on!
What the heck, one day when these kids brag to their kids about how good they were at school, the kids looking at their parents’ photos are going to be: “Ja right as if – who even says this is you mom!” Oh, my word, I totally digressed here, even re-reading this now, I was thinking ok so Liz what was the whole point of Chad and his dummy? Well as Ryan adored his bottle, he adored his dummy. That is till the Sunday we were at the Stables (the flea market in Durban back in the day) and he lost his dummy. Shame I will never forget his little mouth, sucking in and out that night as he slept with no dummy. Poor little chap.
THE TOOTH FAIRY OR MOUSE!
So last but not least, we have the Tooth Fairy. How many times do you only remember you have not put money under their pillow till morning when you hear your little one stirring as they rumple up their bed linen desperately searching for the money the Tooth Fairy has left? You drop the egg lifter, discard the eggs sizzling in the pan and race through to grab your purse. You frantically race around looking hitherto for your bag – finally you find your bag but your purse isn’t there and stubbing your toe on the foot of the bed you race from room to room finally finding your purse back in the kitchen – right where you started this big search!
The other debate is just how much to leave under their pillow. I remember the excitement when that first tooth fell out (or you helped them yank it out) and you are so, so happy to leave twenty rand, but you not really thinking this through, I mean there are plenty of teeth still to fall out. By the time all their milk teeth have fallen out, you’ll be needing to take out a second bond on your house. Yip I know you also fell into this trap.
The other day I was at a market and saw the cutest little Tooth Fairy kit, it comprised of a big stuffed felt tooth, with a crown sewn on it, a little note pad and a cute little pencil. I started retrieving my purse from my bag when I had a flash back to my younger Tooth Fairy days and my bruised big toe, and decided against being the Nana that puts my kids through the Tooth Fairy situation.
So in conclusion dear reader. Yes, I do believe in allowing our kids the pleasure of believing in Santa (or Father Christmas), the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy. I do believe more than ever these days it is a great fantastical fantasy, jam-packed with FUN, not to mention the incredibly amazing memories you are creating as families.
Have an amazing Festive season. If traveling – stay safe. See you in 2023.
