According to most psychologists, the image of Santa Claus plays an important role in the development of a child. As family psychologist Irena Pokhomova notes, this fairy-tale character teaches the child to believe in miracles, goodness, and to fantasize. In addition, waiting for Santa Claus with gifts teaches the child, on the one hand, to formulate wishes, his “I want”, and on the other hand, disciplines him, because the realization of what he wants is possible only in a strictly allotted time.
And in order for your child to have the brightest memories of the New Year holidays, it is important to correctly present him with the image of Santa Claus. Let's look at the most important nuances.
At what age should a child be introduced to Santa Claus?
According to Irena Pokhomova, you can already invite a gray-haired wizard to your baby’s home from two years old . If your child is younger, then he may not understand the meaning of what is happening or may be completely afraid of an unfamiliar bearded guy.
“Be sure to prepare your child for the first meeting in his life with a wizard in advance. There is no need for Santa Claus to suddenly crawl out from behind the stove. Give your baby the opportunity to carefully examine it in a calm environment. You should also not force the child to communicate with the guest,” the expert recommends.
How adds clinical psychologist Alisa Galatz, with older children, 4-5 years , you can discuss a meeting with Santa Claus in advance. The expert advises telling your child some facts about the life of the winter wizard in order to whet interest in him.
For example, you can teach your child where Santa Claus lives, what he travels on, who his assistants are, why he has a long beard, etc. “You can also unobtrusively offer the child something to please the wizard - learn a poem, make a postcard or something else. This will help the child better reveal his talents and assert himself. The main thing here is to rely on what is interesting to him,” the expert notes.
At the same time, as the psychologist emphasizes, the child should associate Santa Claus with something uniquely positive and joyful. “There is no need to scare the child that if he behaves badly, he will not receive a gift. In general, there is no need to talk about Santa Claus in the evaluative categories of “bad” and “good,” says the expert.
As for inviting Santa Claus to a teenager’s house, you should be careful here. "At the age 12-13 years old It is important for a child that you perceive him as an adult and independent. And the arrival of Santa Claus can only cause him negativism and a desire to rebel: “Am I small?” explains the specialist.
What is the best way to organize a meeting between your child and Santa Claus?
A personal meeting. You can invite either a friend or a specially hired professional to visit a 2-4 year old child. “The most important thing here is the ability to find contact with children, and not just play your role and leave. If a loved one in a Santa Claus costume would do it better, invite him,” says Irena Pokhomova.
Older children, as a rule, are very attentive to details, and therefore a dad or grandfather with a glued beard runs the risk of being immediately exposed. “In this case, it is better to invite either an actor or someone who is less close to the child - a neighbor, a distant relative. And it’s better, of course, to think through in advance all the details of the image of Santa Claus and the features of his interaction with the baby,” explains Alisa Galats.
Illusion of presence. To avoid incidents such as the smell of alcohol or a loose beard, you can not invite the “living” Santa Claus at all, but create the illusion that he came to the child. You can, for example, at some point on a holiday evening ask your child to loudly call Santa Claus, and then pretend that someone rang or knocked on the door, and “suddenly discover” a gift behind it.
“This game is an endless field for the creativity of parents and the imagination of the child. A huge advantage of such an illusion is that it truly creates in the baby a feeling of something magical, mystical. After all, in shopping centers and at matinees he has already seen a lot of Santa Clauses, they already seem like something familiar to him, but here it will seem that the real one has come to him!” - comments Alisa Galats.
"Magic Mail". You can also organize your child’s communication with Santa Claus using letters. “This practice teaches the child to plan, teaches him to dream. And this is an unspoken permission to dream in principle. And dreams, as we know, come true,” explains Irena Pokhomova.
You can, for example, a month before the New Year, ask your child to compose a message to Santa Claus. Let him tell you about what gift he wants to receive, what he dreams about, what worries him, what successes he has achieved this year. That is, as Alisa Galats notes, a magical letter can serve as a means of psychological relief for a child, and for you as a way to find out what he lives by and what worries him.
“But, again, under no circumstances use these letters as a tool of punishment or manipulation. There is no need to say: “I will not give this letter if you behave like this,” “Write to Santa Claus that you are not doing your homework, so he can know what kind of person you are.” Let Santa Claus evoke in the child a feeling of joy and his own “goodness,” and not guilt and shame,” adds the psychologist.
Be sure to also provide your child with “feedback” from Santa Claus. Write a response letter, praising the child on behalf of the wizard, emphasizing successes, supporting him in the problems that he described, etc.
Is it worth saying that Santa Claus does not exist?
According to Irena Pokhomova, it is better for parents not to raise the topic of the existence of Father Frost: “I always tell parents at seminars - keep and cherish your faith in Father Frost until the last.” The psychologist recommends waiting until the child himself raises this difficult question. “And as soon as the child asks, answer: “I always believe in Santa Claus!”, the expert clarifies.
Of course, this strategy may not work with children who are old enough and already have well-developed critical thinking. “In this case, you can carefully say that Santa Claus is a fictional character. But then be sure to emphasize that it is important for many people to believe in it as something good and kind. Tell us about your experience of communicating with a wizard as a child,” adds Alisa Galatz.
The story told in the book begins in 1911, when high school students were still tormented by spelling words with the letter “yat”, and they drank delicious tea from samovars. Christmas was approaching, and tram depot engineer Sergei Ivanovich Morozov was preparing to celebrate it with his beloved nephews. Winter snow-covered streets of St. Petersburg, horse cars, churches, bridges flash by. The respectable, bearded engineer Morozov and his wife Masha are walking along Diagon Alley. And suddenly... A snowfall of dancing colored snowflakes, which came from nowhere and enchanted, twirled, and carefully wrapped a couple of random passers-by. Snowfall, which unexpectedly brought Morozov an amazing gift - to guess children's wishes and make dreams come true.
The boys, reading the book in turn, have already satisfied their primary curiosity, having guessed that the engineer Morozov had become the real Santa Claus. But the story managed to hook them. Moreover, until the very end of the book it remains New Year's - all events, joyful and sad, occur at different times, up to 2012, but always on New Year's Eve. Eleven months a year Morozov works in an ordinary tram depot, and only in December he turns into a kind, sensitive wizard.
Any fiction is a little bit of a game, an attraction where you can try on the fate of another person, feel the atmosphere of a place and time. In “The True Story of Santa Claus” we try to look into the childhood of the most distant grandparents - those with the prefix “great”. Find answers to children’s questions on your own, like “Dad, did you decorate the Christmas tree in your time?” Vanya found the page of text with the old “yats” very interesting and even assured that the “yats” didn’t bother him at all: he just needed to replace them where necessary with the letters “e” (this is written about in the book).
Page after page, through the biography of Santa Claus, the authors tell us about the life of the entire country. In the mind of a modern child, such a semi-magical story, taking us a century into the past, can look quite fantastic. “Mom, what is “anonymous”?” - a variety of questions sometimes arose among children while reading. By the way, the historical information that precedes each chapter was of great interest to the boys - after all, they had heard about the revolution and wars more than once before. And it is quite natural that boys’ preferences are given to strategies and battles - just as girls’ preferences are given to peace and love.
Unexpected - and rather for me (the children “swallowed” this chapter without comment) - was the final part of the story, where today’s “our time” begins. After an atmosphere filled with soft fluffy flakes of snow and homemade paper toys, the Internet in its not best manifestations suddenly jumped to the fore - with the arrogant “Albanian language” and phrases like “aftar zhzhot like aftagen” (for those not in the subject, at the end of the book there is a dictionary). Of course, the Internet has also provided significant benefits. And yet, when on the adjacent pages the words “young lady”, “bonbonniere” and “Bristol cardboard” seem to float in the air... As they say, feel the difference. We felt it. In our 21st century, a new magical cloud was shot with modern means to ensure good weather on Nevsky, and was not allowed to crumble into multi-colored snowflakes. And the miracle disappeared...
“Somehow it all ended sadly: the magical snowfall did not fall, Sergei Ivanovich lost the gift of Santa Claus,” I sigh. And then consolation comes to the inattentive me - in the face of my youngest son. With the words “Well, don’t you understand anything?” Vanya begins to passionately explain that everything is fine with Sergei Ivanovich, the main assistants of Father Frost - the birds and the oohs - gave him a magical fireworks of multi-colored stars, and he and his wife, the Snow Maiden, will again help children's dreams come true. “Why did this happen?” - “Well, of course, because the children believed in Santa Claus.” And I immediately feel good and comfortable from the thought that we have found the answer to this story, and it, no matter how hackneyed it sounds, is in faith, hope and love.
Both boys also really liked “Stories about Little Birds and Little Birds” - a kind of “bonus” for readers from the authors. Here again I will quote Vanya’s words: “At the end of the book there are additional stories. The first one is about who the heck and the ooh are. There is not much written there because no one knows for sure. They themselves don’t tell, and asking them about it is somehow inconvenient. The rest of the stories are also interesting - about ancient customs in different countries, how people celebrate the New Year.” I’ll add that both the Pterki and the Okhli are very cute guys, similar to gnomes. As a rule, pterki deliver gifts to boys, and ohli - to girls. Along the way, another funny thing became clear: the children and I do not have a common opinion on the correct name for these babies. Everything was clear with the birds. And here " O khley" (in my opinion) Vanya persistently called "ohl I mi."
The Moscow child also had a simple explanation for the fact that the action took place in St. Petersburg: “After all, St. Petersburg was the most beautiful city, that’s why they wrote about it.” Why do children need such a book? “It was written to make children believe more in Santa Claus. At the end of the book it is said that in 2012, one of the children heard the words of some children that Spider-Man or a ninja puts a gift under the tree. Although more children still believe in Santa Claus.”
Undoubtedly, for many parents this book will open up a number of nostalgic memories. For children - the veil of mystery of New Year's magic. And the story of Santa Claus itself is written so smoothly and convincingly that I would keep it as the main hypothesis for the appearance of New Year's gifts.
Maria Kostyukevich
Children differ from adults in that they believe in a world created for them. And this is correct, because up to the age of 7, a child goes through, so to speak, a “mythological phase”, when, in order to reveal his creative potential and imagination, he needs fairy tales and miracles like air...
Why do we need a fairy tale?
Faith in miracles
Psychologists believe that creating a New Year's fairy tale for a child is simply necessary, as this will support his well-being both in the present and in the future. After all, the formation of the mechanism of belief in miracles laid down in childhood remains with a person forever. Namely, the belief that a miracle is possible helps a person cope with serious and sometimes insoluble problems that arise in adult life. In other words, this belief is, in essence, nothing more than a psychological defense mechanism.
Society
Everyone around believes in Santa Claus. And you probably remember how important it is in childhood to coincide with the environment. Therefore, try to ensure that your child’s self-esteem, the foundations of which are laid in early childhood, does not suffer due to the fact that you do not want to participate in the general New Year’s euphoria.
Rapprochement
The process of creating a New Year's fairy tale (decorating the house, costumes, gifts, rehearsing a festive concert) can be very exciting, and most importantly - bringing you closer together! Don't miss the chance to get one step closer to your baby.
Readiness #1
A New Year's gift is not just an ordinary “present”, but a dream come true on a Fairytale night that has been awaited for 12 months. Our children will carry the memories of this throughout their lives, so we need to pay special attention to preparing for the holiday, not forgetting about the answers to the questions that our beloved “Whys” love to ask us.
Who is Santa Claus?
Santa Claus is a plump, kind wizard with a white beard.
Where does Santa Claus live?
Grandfather Frost lives in the city of Veliky Ustyug in a palace made of wood and glass, and his granddaughter Snegurochka and his assistants live with him.
Who is Santa Claus?
Santa Claus has relatives - cousins. Santa Claus lives in America. Pere Noel is in France, and Jelopukki is in Finland. And each of them does the same job in their country - bringing gifts to good children for the New Year and making sure that the winter is correct.
How does Santa Claus know what to give and to whom?
Santa Claus needs to write a letter and send it either by mail or via computer, or simply put it under the pillow, and at night Santa Claus' assistants will take this letter and take it to him in the palace. Adult children write a letter themselves, and their parents write for the kids, telling them what their children want to receive as a gift for the New Year.
After reading all the letters, Santa Claus opens his magic book, which tells how the boys and girls behaved. Santa Claus will see how you behaved - were you a good boy (girl)? Did you listen to dad and mom? Did you eat well? Did you offend your grandmother? And if the book says that you were good, only sometimes you were naughty and did not obey, then Santa Claus puts on his fur coat, hat and mittens, and goes to the toy factory, where he gives orders to his assistants what gift to make for you.
At the Santa Claus toy factory, little gnomes and fairy-tale forest animals make gifts for children. Some things that cannot be made at the Santa Claus factory are taken in stores. Therefore, you can see the same toys on sale as those that Santa Claus gives you.
What does Santa Claus travel on?
On New Year's Eve, Father Frost puts gifts in his magic bag and goes on a long journey to leave them for the children under the Christmas tree. He can ride on a sleigh drawn by reindeer or horses, as well as on a snowmobile or even a car. It all depends on the city where Santa Claus is going, and on what kind of winter it is this year.
Can we give a gift to Santa Claus?
Certainly! Santa Claus likes drawings about winter, which we can put for him next to the Christmas tree on New Year's Eve.
Does Santa Claus bring gifts to adults?
No. Santa Claus brings gifts only to children. But adults also want to have a holiday. That's why adults give gifts to each other instead of Santa Claus. Mom gives a gift to dad, and dad gives a gift to mom, and together we prepare a gift for grandma.
Why doesn't Santa Claus always give what was asked of him?
Firstly, Santa Claus looks at how many good deeds you have done and whether you deserve all the gifts that you asked from him. Secondly, even if you ask, Santa Claus will not give you a dangerous thing, for example, a real tank or a dinosaur. In addition, he simply cannot give you some things - for example, an elephant, since you simply have nowhere for him to live!
There are also gifts that Santa Claus can give only after asking permission from your dad and mom. For example, if your parents do not allow you to keep a dog at home, then no matter how much you ask, Santa Claus, unfortunately, will not give it to you.
Is Santa Claus at a children's party fake?
The real Santa Claus needs to have time to prepare a lot of gifts and check his magic sleigh in order to have time to take the gifts to all the children. Therefore, he himself cannot come to the holiday in every kindergarten and every school, which is why Santa Claus before the New Year invites people who love children to be his assistants. Having received costumes from Santa Claus, they congratulate all the children at the matinees, after which they tell how everyone behaved at the holiday, what they did, what costume they wore, what poem they recited, and what competitions they participated in.
If the baby found out the truth...
Surely many have encountered a situation where the parents have not yet had time to gently present the child with the truth about New Year’s Grandfather, and one of the older children “opened the baby’s eyes.” Of course, if the child is small, it will not be possible to avoid tears in such cases. Therefore, it would be better if mom said something like: “Santa Claus exists for those who believe in him!” However, sooner or later, the time will still come to tell your child about the non-existence of Santa Claus, for which it is worth turning to history and remembering who Grandfather Frost really is, where he came from and what he symbolizes.
So, initially Frost is the evil spirit of winter, which gradually transformed into a kind but strict old man, absorbing many features of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - a real person who lived many centuries ago.
When the baby is very small, you can give him gifts on behalf of Father Frost, and when he gets older, you can explain that Father Frost is a kind of image of St. Nicholas, who helped the poor and gave gifts to children. Saint Nicholas died, but the tradition remained of giving each other gifts for Christmas and New Year, saying that “Father Frost brought this.” And while celebrating the New Year with Santa Claus, we honor ancient traditions.
Such an explanation will most likely be understandable to the child and will not bring disappointment.
But remember that the New Year is an amazing holiday, which even in adults, against their will, evokes a feeling of miracle. Therefore, psychologists advise not to destroy children's faith in Santa Claus for as long as possible.
How it's done
We won’t talk about corporate parties, school matinees and Christmas trees in kindergartens, because this is usually what professional actors like Ivan do. They prepare large programs in advance with different numbers, songs, games and competitions. You better start with apartments.
1. Meeting with customers
Before congratulating you, one of your parents will meet you at the entrance and give you gifts, and sometimes a letter to Santa Claus. The child writes the letter in advance, but the parents do not send it by mail, but hand it to you. And then you show it to the child and say that you received it and now you are fulfilling the wish.
2. Mandate
Parents also say what instructions you should give to their child. For example, a person reads little, often eats unhealthy chips and sweets, and behaves poorly in kindergarten. How did you know this? A magpie on its tail brought it. And you order him to eliminate all these shortcomings and oversights by the next New Year. It’s strange, but children often fear and respect the stranger Grandfather more than their own father, so they try to fulfill their promise.
3. Appearing in front of children
After a secret meeting and conspiracy against the child, the parent returns to the house, and ten minutes later you appear. “Children should have a feeling of the magic of the holiday, so it’s better to start working from afar with your voice: “Hey, hey!” Oh-ho-ho!“ So that from behind the door the children can feel that something magical is approaching,” explains Ivan. - In general, the moment of appearance is very important. Santa Claus should inspire respect and awe.”
4. Meeting program
Upon entering the house, you recite a short greeting poem, then you can begin to get acquainted. Don’t even try to lisp, only the Snow Maiden can afford it. And there is no need to sit children on your lap, as in Western films about Christmas: this is not customary here. This is possible only in exceptional cases, if the baby bursts into tears and the parents cannot calm him down themselves.
You can put your child on a stool and listen to poetry, but it is not necessary. The main thing is that there is dialogue. As for the duration, you yourself will feel when it is time to leave. On average it is 10-15 minutes. Then the child can no longer wait to deal with the gift, and you are no longer needed.
The target audience
Children from 4 to 10 years old. There may even be 12-year-olds, although Santa Claus is usually not invited to them. But they may find themselves in the company of children of different ages if you were called, for example, to congratulate the children of the company’s employees. Older children shouldn't scare you. Although they don’t believe in you, they usually play along and don’t interfere with the joy of the younger ones.
And in general, the more children, the better. Have fun. They are less embarrassed and behave more relaxed. Adults usually call Grandfather to corporate events. Don’t think that it’s easier with them than with kids. Children do not get drunk and do not make vulgar jokes like “Santa Claus, show us your staff.” In addition, children rarely dare to rip off Grandfather’s beard, but drunk women do so very often.
The Force Awakens
Festive enthusiasm and external persuasiveness alone are not enough. The main quality of Santa Claus is that he should not be afraid of children! Don't get lost, don't be embarrassed and always be prepared for any surprises. For example, children are very shy or have gotten into a fight and are crying. Or they dropped the Christmas tree and don’t want to get out of the closet. In general, it is better to prepare in advance for the fact that children will turn out to be disgusting. Moreover, they will immediately declare that your beard is flimsy and that you are not real. And to the fact that they simply don’t want to talk to you.
You have nowhere to retreat, otherwise it will be a shame. Therefore, confidently stick to your program, deftly adjusting it to the situation. Don't want to talk? And it is not necessary. Then I will give all your gifts to my grandmother. And so you don’t know what’s in the boxes, she and I will now go into another room.
Believe me, curiosity will make even the nastiest children cooperate. But your attempt to play by their rules will immediately ruin everything. The main and supreme deity in the New Year is Santa Claus, that is, you, so be able to prove it to them and to yourself. It's up to you to fix everything and make everyone happy.
Thanks to Hollywood Christmas epics, Santa has more or less taken root with us. On postcards you can sometimes see Father Frost with reindeers or Santa with the Snow Maiden. But a personal visit by the host of the New Year is a conservative matter. If according to our tradition it should be Father Frost, then let it be Father Frost.
By-effect
Don't be scared if you start to turn into a real Santa Claus. Intonations that are unusual for you will appear, your voice, gait, and attitude towards the world will change. This means that you are succeeding. Rejoice.
Do you need a Snow Maiden?
“On the one hand, yes,” says Ivan Lakshin. - It’s easier and more fun to work with her, because small children are sometimes afraid of Santa Claus and quickly find contact with the Snow Maiden. And the younger the children are, the more necessary it is. She can squat, Grandfather cannot.”
On the other hand, mothers of children do not really like to invite call girls to their house, where for some reason they also book the Snow Maiden by default. Dads sometimes like to invite the Snow Maidens, but only without Santa Claus, not to the child or home. And this is a completely different story.
External effects
This is not difficult: there are a variety of options in online stores. It’s better to buy everything in advance, because closer to the New Year some items may run out or delivery times will increase. You can buy regular felt boots for your feet - the simpler the better. Because of the mud on the street, don't forget about your galoshes.
2. Makeup
The nose and cheeks should be red and the eyebrows white. You can buy makeup, for example, here: www.arte-grim.ru. It can be removed with one swipe of a damp cloth, but by the end of the New Year's campaign, the eyebrows can actually turn white.
