Santa and believing in the unseen aka Yes, Virginia there is a Santa!

Recently there have been a rash of articles, blogs, and essays written on whether or not we should as parents perpetuate the myth of Santa.  I was dumb and broke the 1st rule of the internet and read the comments on some of the articles.  It was a bit of a "duct tape moment" for me since the vitriol over this topic was out of control!  Seriously I am not a bad parent because I allow my kids to believe in magical things while they are still young.  I am not a liar.  I don't care what you teach your kids about mythical beings, but I tell you one thing, if your kid bullies mine because you failed to also teach them tolerance for what others believe I'll be pretty upset.

In the end I remember my mom reading this letter to me when I was a child and starting to doubt.  It put it all into perspective and I no longer questioned why she so fervently believed in Santa and why she wanted me to as well.  This is what I've read to my kids each time one of them started to doubt.  I don't think you're ever to old for believing in love, magic, and goodwill.

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.


"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011

So this year we all dressed up as Harry Potter characters! I had a lot of fun making the kids robes in their characters' house colors, shopping for accessories, and going through a few different Goodwill stores for Marc's and my costumes. (total score on my wig btw only $1!!)  You can see a bit about the process of making the robes here.

I'm pretty happy with the finished results!  

Austin was channeling his inner Slytherin
dressed as Draco Malfoy

Colton made the PERFECT Harry!!

Lily had a lot of fun and looked "hauntingly"
like Moaning Myrtle!

My Wizards and Witch at their
schools' Harvest Ball.

Halloween night we all got dressed up and headed out for
Trick or Treating! Marc is Remus Lupin and I was Tonks.

The kids and their loot!

The making of a Harry Potter Halloween!

This year I stayed true to my "no store bought costumes" mantra and made all 3 of my children robes for their Harry Potter character costumes.

I started off with THIS pattern that I found online.  But rather than lining the whole thing I only did the top (hood, sleeves, yoke/collar area) For the sleeves on the boys' robes I only did the area that is the cuffs, rather than the whole sleeve to save time.

As I was merrily sewing along my needle busted and got stuck in the presser foot! I had never seen this happen before, so of course I had to take a picture of it!

Lily's robe was the first one I worked on, and it was very much a "learn as I go" project for me.  The main body of the robes are polar fleece, and the lining is suiting in the appropriate house colors. Lily's is grey because she is a ghost.  You'll have to see the my next post to find out WHICH ghost!

Here is her robe all finished (I thought I took more in progress pictures, but I guess in the hurry to get them done in time to wear to our cub scout party I forgot!)

My hubby helped with the finishing touch for their costumes and whittled them all wands. (we have lathe turned wands that a friend's hubby made them a few years ago, but they have gone missing) Here's Lily's:

A few other finishing touches like hair color, ties in the right house colors, a couple of temporary tattoo scars and we were looking pretty good!  All in all I am thrilled with how the whole look came out.