Santa's Gifts...

When I was ten years old, my father and mother surprised us, my siblings and me, with "Santa's Gifts"... well, my parents had always used Santa as part of the discipline they instilled in us. If we do good for the entire year, we will get rewards from them and from Santa. So that was the story behind the doubled gifts from Santa twenty two years ago. lol... Actually, I know the story now. My parents has always told us to sleep between 8:30 pm and 11:30 pm, before the clock strikes midnight, signaling that we should wake up and celebrate Christmas eve with the family in the usual Noche Buena... when we looked inside our socks, there were the usual candies and money and gifts and a note telling us to look under the tree for "Santa's Gifts"... and of course, they were there, the gifts we wanted for Christmas...however, that Christmas eve, our father was not with us because he was on duty. Being a military man, he had to be on post when he was scheduled to be on post... no exceptions, even Christmas eve. But of course, the assurance was that, he will be with us in the morning...so there we were, the five of us, my siblings, my mother and I... of course, my mother gave us their gifts and for that Christmas eve only, we had to postpone our usual exchange of gifts until Christmas day, when father will be with us already.... Here's where the story got bundled up...When my father arrived, he brought with him gifts, the same kind, although of a different color and size, for each of us, saying tha Santa left them by the gate, ahahahhaha, and he found them there while he was letting himself in... And of course, innocent as we were, believing that Santa really existed, jumped for joy in disbelief...Then my mother told us that perhaps Santa found us to be extra nice that entire year that's why he doubled his gifts... Being the eldest, I already had a hunch of what went on that time... and my guess was correct... My father did not know that my mother already bought the gifts for us, ahahhaha... And now that I am a mother, I know that Santa is just a figment of our storybook childhood fantasies... However, I still would like my daughter to believe in the same things up until she is old enough to understand what's real or not... Anyway, fiction or not, I know that the thought of having a Santa Claus will not be possible if it did not really exist in the olden times...just like the existence of Buddha or Jesus Christ or Mohamed... Someone good and caring existed before and it was really wonderful for most parents to have kept the idea alive, if only something good will come out of it... I should know, my parents did not raise criminals and problems in the society, but peace loving citizens who care enough for humanity and the world in general. So anyway, why am I blogging about Santa and his gifts? Like what I said, now that I am a mother, I still would like the same tradition to go on... Fortunately, here's what I have discovered to day while I was surfing the net..."Got a Wish Sweepstakes"..what is that all about? Well, with or without Santa, we can still continue to give gifts to others or like me, I would still like my daughter and the other kids in my family receive gifts from Santa (this time I will prepare the gifts for them... the same way my parents did for me and my siblings...lol). And we, adults, can join a contest where we can have our wishes come true. That's what the sweepstakes is all about. They are ready to give away 29 prizes each day to lucky winners, and each of the prizes are worth US$500 dollars. They will be awarded through check to the winners chosen via a random draw. This contest is open to all US residents and is sponsored by CEIVA Digital Photo Frames. To join, contestant must be at least over 18 years old. The said contest runs until December 24, 2008.

So anyway, while I was at the site, I had a chance to rekindle my happy thoughts about Santa and his gifts. I had fun interacting with Santa and his little helper. I even uploaded my picture to try it for myself, and wow! I still look adorable as a ten year old, lol... What 's even more exciting and fun, was when he tried to put my picture on his CEIVA Digital Photo Frame, which sports an 8 inch high definition display and can receive pictures from a cellphone and via WiFi connection. Here's more, I realized that my wish was even listed on Santa's book! When Zarelle saw what I was doing, I explained to her that Santa was asking me if she was ever good or bad, and what she wanted for Christmas...Of course, my daughter replied that she was a good girl and that she wants the Mariposa Barbie, lol... now I know what to get her... Why don't you visit their site and try it for yourself? I promise, it will be worth your trip!