Kids care about more than simply presents at Christmas.

(originally posted December 30, 2009)

I have to admit that I was more excited for Christmas this year than the previous three years being a parent. This year, my son really got it...not in the 'he knows who Jesus is and what it really means' but in the guy in the red suit, eats cookies, drives a sleigh, etc. way.

Although we were on a tighter budget than usual this year, we still managed to make it big. When my son woke up, there was a shiny new 'big boy' bike and tons of little presents surrounding it. The tree was lit in the dark and half of the donuts we had to leave out instead of cookies were gone. Milk: polished off.

I laid in bed just waiting and silently begging my son to wake up and step outside of his room. Sure enough, at 6:30 he came padding toward our bedroom. He walked up, right next to my face and here's how the conversation emerged:

Son: Mommy, Santa's here.
Me: He's here right now?
Son: Mommy, Santa was here...and he brought me a bike.
Me: Oh really, well let's go see it.
Son: Come on. It's a bike! (runs out of the room)

My husband I jump out of bed (literally) and race into the living room. Our son is climbing all over the bike and going on and on about the shiny presents. But what he was most taken by was the fact that Santa didn't polish off the donuts we left out. He had three and only ate one and a half. Who would do such a thing!

Of course the bike has a horn, so it didn't take long for baby sister to wake up. And, like her brother, she went straight for the donuts, but decided to take it upon herself to finish them off for Santa.

What a perfect holiday. I didn't even care that none of the gifts were for my husband or I. Neither of us missed them. Our gifts are our children and the innocence we get to relive through them.