Right. If you’re of a cynical disposition, easily offended by sentimentality or allergic to mawkishness – you’re going to have to look away now. Because I acknowledge that the following is a maybe a bit… sickly sweet. OR it’s just sweet. (It’s Christmas, I now cry at adverts, and I don’t know the difference anymore).

So. Someone asked me what I actually said to the Big Small when she pinned me down about whether or not Santa was real.

And I just wanted it to be something more than, “No love, it was all a big ol’ lie – LOLS!”

Because Christmas IS magic to me, however nauseating that sounds. Even more so since I had kids… and I think magic/joy in any small form is worth trying to preserve, and pass on.

I also think I managed to sell it to the Big Small okay because she’s genuinely been really excited to be involved from the other side this year. She’s LOVING joining in on the Elf and is full of ideas for Santa’s visit! The Small Small has no idea what she’s in for…

I was probably slightly less eloquent at the time, but I had been thinking about it for a while, and this is the general jist of it.

I want you to know that Christmas magic IS real – but there is also a secret. Are you sure you’re ready to know the secret of it, or would you just like to have the magic for a bit longer?

Okay, well if you’re really ready, this is it. But before I tell you, you have to promise to keep the secret. So I can never hear that you’ve told anyone else about this, ever. Do you promise?

Christmas magic is real. And Santa is real… But he’s not a man in a red suit. I’m a Santa. And now you’re a Santa, too.

The magic bit is that all these grown-ups – and now you – across half the world, with all our different views and opinions and languages and ways of doing things – we all agree that once a year we’ll come together to tell this shared story, and make this legend of Santa Claus come to life for children.

We don’t talk about it. No one confers. We just all quietly agree to do it – and we all keep the secret. And THAT’S a pretty magical thing for half the world to do. And the REALLY INCREDIBLE bit is we all do it without expecting anything in return. It’s a completely selfless act – and there aren’t very many of those.

Usually, when people give a gift, they do it because they’re building a relationship with someone. So you give your best friend a present on their birthday because you know they’ll like it, but also because you know they’ll like YOU for giving it to them. It’s part of how you confirm your friendship. They feel good about getting a gift, but you also feel good about giving it.

But when a gift comes from Santa, it’s not about you at all. It’s JUST about them. You won’t get a thank you. You won’t get the credit. But you get something else instead – something better; you get to be the one who makes magic come alive for someone else. And that’s really, really amazing.

Sometimes, the world isn’t always a very nice place. Sometimes it isn’t fair. Sometimes life is really, really hard for people. But sometimes, sometimes there IS magic in it.

And if you’re the sort of person who knows how to believe in magic from your own childhood, who knows how to look for it – and who then knows how to MAKE it for someone else – you’re someone who can not only get on in the world, but make it a better place, too.

(I did warn you it was sentimental).

Happy Christmas

xxx