In the modern cultural climate it seems children are discovering Santa isn’t real earlier and earlier, and that moment they find out can often be a difficult one. So if we can’t keep our children as innocent as possible for as long as possible, we should make the best of it while it lasts.

So to help out with those magical Christmases, here’s a few techniques you can use to convince your kids Santa Claus did in fact visit while they were sleeping Christmas gifts:

When it comes to Christmas Eve, you can leave out some suitable festive food for Father Christmas and his reindeers. The most relevant choices would probably be carrots (for Rudolph), a mince pie (or two) and a glass of brandy or milk. Then, when your kids have gone to bed, remember to take a bite out of the carrot and mince pie and drink whatever you’ve put out. Your kids will be so pleased when Christmas morning comes and they see that Santa has eaten what they left out.

This next one is almost guarnateed to get the desired reaction – leave ’snowy’ footprints in the room where you keep your presents. The best thing to use to get the snow effect is icing sugar, as it looks just like snowy footprints. Leave them throughout the house, but particularly near the chimney, to the Xmas gifts and back the same way. Then just wait until you see the pleasure on your children’s faces on Christmas morning.

The next one seems obvious, but is often overlooked. Although you’ll want to sign most of the presents with who they’re actually from, if you’ve got a couple of Christmas stocking fillers or less expensive gifts, you could sign them ‘Santa’. Then tell your children you know nothing about them. This will undoubtedly please your children and should help to keep the innocence and magic in Christmas for a longer period of time.

Christmas Tree Light Wars

Have you ever driven down a street only to find that every house on the block is elaborately decorated with countless Christmas tree lights and other decorations? This is a common theme around Christmas time. Some people refer to them as Christmas tree light wars. This is when neighbors try to outdo each other as far as Christmas decorations are concerned. They will come out. They will put up thousands of Christmas tree lights, some will put up nativity scenes, some will put up  figures of Santa with his reindeer and some will have all of the above. Some yards are so full of decorations that their entire yard is full. You can experience the great look while going from your car. But there are behind the scenes aspects to the Christmas tree light wars that most people wouldn’t think of unless they were involved in the war personally. Let’s take a look at the ups and downsides of the Christmas tree light wars and we’ll probably find that we’re glad we don’t live on one of those streets.

Why Christmas Tree Light?

First you have to consider the why question when it comes to the Christmas tree light wars. The person with the most decorated yard will be rewarded by the neighborhoods as that usually fuels the first shot in the war. However, some neighbors just decide to go all out and then the neighbors will get competitive and will follow suit. This continues until it gets ridiculous. Some neighbors have even become so competitive that they steal decorations out of their neighbors’ yards so that they can have bragging rights. And for most that’s all the Christmas tree light wars are about; it’s about the right to brag that you have the most decorated yard.

Cost Of Christmas Tree Light

Most don’t consider the cost as far as the Christmas tree light wars go. First of all, Christmas decorations are not cheap. They cost a lot of money, especially when you consider just how many Christmas decorations it takes to fill up an entire yard. But then there’s the electricity cost. Think of how much it costs to not only run the household but all those lights and figurines that move and make music and sing; it can get very, very expensive. And what do they get for all that money? Bragging rights? It hardly seems like a fair trade.

The Upside To Christmas Tree Light?

So is there an upside to the Christmas tree light wars? Well, there are all those cars that drive by to see the spectacle. The wars definitely entertain those that aren’t involved. But what else do these wars do? The chimes ,noise and lights from the windows create discomfort for the neighbors to sleep most of the time. Wait, that’s not an upside. Maybe there isn’t an upside. Maybe it’s just a practice borne out of excess and pride. Well, if nothing else, the scene would make a good Christmas card picture. Now doesn’t that make you want to get started decorating your yard? That’s what I thought.