Thursday, December 22, 2011

"You're Not Getting a Chihuahua" - Stealth Santa Part I

In an (ultimately successful!) effort to forestall Christmas meltdown, Santa did some unusual communications with our family this year. The first was a letter that arrived for Wendy on the 22nd. It was in a unmarked envelope, bearing just her name. Wendy likes to go through the mail as soon as she gets home, and her excitement in finding the envelope was only matched by her realization that Santa! had! written! personally! to! her!!! It was a lesson for me in low expectations. I had been prepared for a meltdown ranging from tantrum to assault, but she was so thrilled to get a letter from Santa that the contents turned out to be no problem. She couldn't wait to read the letter to Chris when he got home that night, telling him, "Papi, you won't believe your ears! Neither my mouth!!" She eagerly shared the letter with any friends who stopped by. Some children were kind enough to merely raise an eyebrow, while others were very impressed. One child seized the letter, carefully read through every word, and upon finishing, gravely said to Wendy, "You're not getting a chihuahua."

Below, Santa's letter to Wendy:

Dear Wendy,

Merry Christmas!! You are a wonderful girl and I love you very much.

I know about your Christmas list and the elves and I had a big meeting to decide what would be best. I want you to know ahead of time that I can’t bring you a Chihuahua this year. I know this may make you sad and that’s OK to feel sad. You are a great little girl and I want you to be happy, but the elves and I don’t think a Chihuahua would be good for your whole family, and so I can’t bring you one.

When you are grown up and can have your own dog in your own house, I think you might really enjoy having a Chihuahua of your own to take care of. Until then, I hope you will like the presents that the elves and I are giving to you and Fer. (Hi Fer! I love you too!!).

Much love and Merry Christmas,
Santa

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