I’ll Have What She’s Having

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Last year we spent the weeks leading up to Christmas day preparing one of our children for disappointment and it seems this year will be no different.

“What do you want for Christmas?” Tracey would ask each of our kids while I stood unobtrusively nearby with a pen and paper, taking notes. The classic ploy we make is to shake our heads and declare there’s no way they can get the thing they want most because it’s too expensive, rubbish or annoying, and then for Santa to deliver the gift in a frenzy of wow. Last year it was all going well until we came to Miss6.

“A Ninky Nonk,” she said without any hesitation.

“What a great idea!” Tracey said, although she was thinking In The Night Garden was more Miss3’s thing. “A toy Ninky Nonk.”

“No. Not a toy,” said Miss6. “A real Ninky Nonk.”

Oh, dear.

“Um, I don’t think so…” Tracey started.

“That’s okay. Santa will bring it.”

So then began weeks of ‘programming’, the likes of which might see the CIA asking for our notes, as we tried to convince her she really wanted something else.

Still, while the wonderful DS from Santa did manage to distract Miss6 for a while on Christmas morning it wasn’t long before there were questions being asked.

“It’s my fault,” I told Miss6. “I didn’t include it in the letter I wrote to Santa because I knew he wouldn’t have the time to built it, with all the other presents he had to make.”

She got over it. Eventually.

So it was with some apprehension we again took to asking the kids what they’d like to see under the tree this year. Miss6 did not disappoint.

“Magic.”

“Um…” began Tracey.

“Real magic.”

“Real magic doesn’t really exist,” Tracey tried.

“Yes, it does! Santa uses real magic.”

“And what will you do with your real magic?” asked Tracey. I suspect this was just to give herself time to think of some way to let our daughter down gently.

Miss6 had obviously given this some serious thought.

“A button next to my bed – here – so I just press it and all my chores are done. Like my bed is made and my lunchbox is in my bag. And then I’d put a fridge in the wall beside my bed – here – for snacks, and a wardrobe that rotates and I tell it whatever I want to wear and it just makes it.” She grinned up at her mother hopefully.

You know that expression ‘like a stunned mullet’? Well I know what that means now because Tracey’s face did a great impression of it.

Yeah, I think it’s safe to say there’s going to be some disappointment again this Christmas.

And this year, I’m not covering St Nick’s butt. The big fella’s on his own.

In fact, I might write him for the same sort of gift myself. A bar fridge next to the bed sounds dreamy 😉

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When not over here, Bruce Devereaux hangs out at his Big Family Little Income Facebook Page. Come join us 🙂

 ”Raising a family on little more than laughs.”

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