Santa Fools My In-Laws

Posted 9 Comments by dogear6

Merry Christmas Everyone!

One of my favorite Christmas stories is the year that Santa fooled my husband’s siblings.

The first year that my Mom & Dad were divorced, my Dad was at loose ends on Christmas Eve.  I usually spent it at my in-laws house and he was reluctant to join us there.  He came up with the idea instead of playing Santa.  My husband had siblings who were much younger, young enough to still believe in Santa.  Or so we thought until many years later.

My father-in-law loved the idea!  He gave me a stack of presents for Santa to give out and my Dad gave me money to buy more gifts as well.  At the appointed time on Christmas Eve, Santa appeared at my in-laws house with a sack full of presents.  The youngest siblings were just flabbergasted that Santa made a personal appearance and my father loved it.

There was a lot of fun that night, but the most fun came over a decade later, once again on Christmas Eve at my in-laws.  The little kids were in bed and the adults were around the kitchen table and the old stories came out.  One of my younger sister-in-laws brought up about the year that Santa came to visit.

It turns out she no longer believed in Santa the year he visited – she knew he was the neighbor next door.  No doubts about it. . . until Santa showed up that night and it wasn’t the next door neighbor.  She didn’t know who he was, none of the other siblings knew who he was, and in the end, she decided it had to be Santa.  She believed in Santa for a few more years, but all those years later she still didn’t know who it was that night.

My father-in-law and I had no idea that had happened to her.  We looked at her, look at each other, and started laughing.  Oh did we laugh and laugh, before finally admitting to who it was and how it happened.  Thankfully she laughed too and it became another family story for us.

As for this year, we’re playing with puppies and visiting with friends.  Notice that my daughter’s hand has been engulfed by a crocodile in the leaves!

© 2011 dogear6 llc

Word for tomorrow – BLOGGER’S CHOICE.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the week under “A Word A Day”.

Holidays

dogear6 View All →

I am a backyard adventurer, philosopher and observer, recording my life in journals and photographs. Visit my blog at www.livingtheseasons.com.

9 Comments Leave a comment ›

  1. Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Companionable | Living The Seasons

  2. Oh, what a great story and wonderful memory! Of course, Jaimie loved the dogs. She always patiently waits for me to read your post in anticipation of the new photo. Since we are doing catch-up today, she is blessed with several opportunities. :)

    • Thanks Jane! I got a lot of great dog pictures, so I should be able to satisfy Jaimie for a while. I’m glad she enjoys the posts so much (you too). I never dreamt this would have such a great evolution in our friendship.

  3. Absolutely love this story! I can picture the wide-eyed looks the children had for the new santa. So clever of your dad, even though he wasn’t aware he’d be renewing your sibling-in-laws belief in the magic of Christmas.

    holiday hugs for sharing…hugmamma. :)

    • You’re so right about the wide eyed looks. My father-in-law assumed it was because Santa came to visit, having no idea what was really going on in my sister-in-laws head.

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