Yes, my nine year old son still believes in Santa Claus. I love the magic of the season and the fact that he believes that a man in the North Pole spends the whole year working on toys. How can one not find that cute? We shall see if my son’s belief holds after this Christmas season when his nine year old cousin comes to live with us. See, she stopped believing in Santan Claus years ago.   I really don’t know when it a kid usually stops believing in Santa but I like the idea of this enthusiastic belief in a magical sleigh.   Call me cheesy, silly or old-school.

Now I am happy to have him still believe in Santa, I do want to encourage him to start having more realistic expectations for Santa and his team. We were just going through his Christmas list and it is of medium length.  In the past, he most definitely had longer lists.  However, he decided to add another item to his list. Apparently, this is a hot item. It is called a Switch. It is a new Nintendo console. That’s about all that I know about the device. Well, that and the price. I believe it is $300 (for the cheaper version). Wow. I recall when I was a kid, I would ask for pencils and maybe a typewriter. Times are changing.

I sat my son down for a little talk. I explained to him that Santa may be on a budget. My son looked at me and said “But he doesn’t buy anything. He makes them all.” I then tried explaining to him the costs of parts and labor. I explained that the elves have rights and need to be well compensated for their specialized, while also all-encompassing skills sets.   He looked at me quizzically and noted that he got it. Then he asked me how many elves would it take to make the Switch console. I honestly couldn’t answer.  My son walked away and left the conversation alone.

Then two days later, he casually mentioned to us that he had started his own business and showed us the money he had already earned this week. I was in awe and completely surprised. How innovative, creative and entrepeneurial.  Maybe he will be the Mayor after all.  What the business is, I will leave that as a story for another day.

I told my son he has to pare down his wish list. And apparently, he now feels that he can pay for the rest from his side business.  These are the funny conversations one has with a child that will provide fond memories twenty years later.   And that in itself, is priceless.