Santa Letters

Friday evening was Santa letter writing night. The guys like to make an evening of it and write by candlelight for added effect. They then seal their letters with wax and put their own marks on each of them.
We are very lucky that with so many of the children still young and with the other children not in school that the magic of Santa is still there. We are always truthful with the children and when asked if Santa is real we ask if they would like to know the answer, in which case we will tell them, or whether they would prefer to join in with the others and just enjoy being swept along with the spirit of Christmas. So, whilst the older children aren't that naive, they don't worry about it too much and just join in the fun.
I read somewhere that a study had shown that children who had the chance to be 'proper' children and enjoy a childish childhood in the real sense of the word made better adults later in life. I believe that this is true and that when children fulfil all they need to at each stage of development without being rushed to grow up quicker that they will then naturally progress to the next stage of maturation. They will also have greater inner confidence and less insecurity as what they feel should match where they are at, so by eighteen they should actually be more independent than those who raced through childhood. I also hope that when they reach adulthood that they will be ready for the responsibilities it brings, having played properly as children and not feel the need to regress and play computer games all the time aged 30!
Therefore we buy into 'play is the work of childhood' and our children play a lot of the time, coming up with all sorts of imaginative play which we encourage. It is that imagination that should help them come up with answers to the various problems life will throw at them.
In the meantime the Santa letters were posted and we've nearly got all the wax off the kitchen table!