Simple Things Can Make All The Difference

Down the street there are two small children, Jeff and Janet, who I sometimes watch after school. They like getting to come around my house during Christmas. They love that Christmas decorations are present in every room of the house. They get so excited when we get out our craft box. This year they came over while my daughter was making a Santa card for a friend's newborn baby. Janet hopped right next to my daughter and asked her if she could make a card too. Then Jeff looked up and asked, 'can I write a letter to Santa too'? Janet told us that they had never written a letter to Santa before.

My daughter Angela and I decided we wanted to help them make some really nice cards. We got out all the different paper they could use for their cards. Janet chose a deep red paper while Jeff picked a bright green with small red foil stars along the border. They both took their time deciding which colors of glitter and puffy paints to use. Janet wanted her card to sparkle and she covered the front in swirls of gold and silver glitter glue. Between the swirls she scribbled in Merry Christmas. Jeff used cotton balls to make snowmen on the front of his card. He really liked gluing on the seed bead eyes and nose. Then Jeff looked up and innocently asked how he could get a letter from Santa.

Angela told both of the kids that if they were good all year long and wrote a letter to Santa he would write them back. This had both of them so excited about sending their cards to Santa. Angela went to the closet to find some of her old letters from Santa Claus – she wanted to show Jeff and Janet some of the cards she had got in the past. They both sat still as Angela read a couple of the letters to them. After seeing Angela’s collection of Santa letters they wanted to work on the inside of the cards. Angela told them they should tell Santa what their Christmas wishes are. Angela told them that they could wish for anything and maybe Santa would bring it.

We finished their cards and found envelopes that their cards would fit into. They were so excited to get a letter from the North Pole. The rest of day all they could talk about was the cards they had made and the letters they were hoping to get. We made more Christmas cards and crafts for other people. Jeff and Janet couldn’t wait to show their mom and dad the cards they had made for them. It is so funny to me how the simplest of things can amaze small children. It is hard to deny the magic of the season when you see it light up in the eyes of a child.