Sitting on Santa’s lap may never have been quite so telling as it is this year. Santa Claus impersonators around the country are reporting that children are asking for more modest gifts this year probably due to the financial struggles they hear about at home. Letters posted to Santa Claus in North Pole, Alaska where there is a Christmas-themed shop set up to receive wish lists from children is reporting a sentiment reflective of the tough economic times. Rather than the normal expensive video game system, many kids are asking for more practical items like school clothes and lbrary cards.
A recent article from the Wall Street Journal reports on the change children have made to their wish lists this year. Operations manager, Paul Brown, from the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska has seen the change coming in the last couple of years. Brown says of the letters to Santa that they receive, "When we had the housing crunch, we saw, ’Please help us stay in our house,’ This year it is more job related."
As a part of training, many Santas are now receiving tips from their employers on how to deal with questions regarding the recession and how to calm a worried child. Some of the advice given to theSantas today are to let the child know that things will get better and instead of promising a specific gift to tell the child that Santa will bring a surprise this year.
The Wall Street Journal goes on to report that Santa is not always the best indicator of how the season will turn out, economically speaking. Some recent government data shows that sales inched up from October to November indicating that holiday shopping was well on its way.
What do you think of the reports that children are scaling down their Christmas lists this year?
Unfortunately nowadays kids are seeing the effect the economy is doing to their parents and other people. They can't act like children without worrying if mommy and daddy are going to have enough money for toys and food. The little ones may not know the situation but for kids who are older and more aware just seems that the economy is affecting them.
Christmas at my house is all about family but I also like to reward my kids with a special toy for working so hard at school.
BadgerBride::
on Dec 22, 2009
Hopefully this will have a positive impact on kids and help them to be less present hungry during the holiday's. When I was young the holidays was about spending time with family and friends. We didn't really get a lot of presents and I don't think we were any worse off for it. I think it's a great time for parents to teach their kids the true meaning of christmas and maybe take them shopping for a present to give to someone less fortunate than themselves.
abbybell::
on Dec 22, 2009
This year I plan to start my christmas shopping the day after christmas that way I can get all the holiday items on clearence, plus if I spread out the shopping and put items on lay-away it will not leave me broke and not feel like i am spending too much.
gramma::
on Dec 22, 2009
The economy is making it necessary to focus the meaning of the holiday instead of commercializing it.
mommys3angels::
on Dec 23, 2009
While I think it's great that this generation seems to be more modest, it saddens me that they are so aware of the economic situation. I know it is hard to shield them from the troubles and stressors we face during this trying time, but it can be done. My husband lost his job in January, two weeks before the birth of our third child. We made it a priority to keep things as normal as possible for our other two children especially with the impending changes coming with a new baby and an inevitable move for a new job. This year hasn't been without hardship for my kids, but I think that things could have been a lot worse.
funinme::
on Dec 24, 2009
I agree. This year should be about family and if you have children teach them the importance of giving to others that are in more need than them. This year I had to cut back on Christmas gifts. But at the same time I told my children there a so many children in the world who will not have one thing for this Holiday and that they should be thankful that we are able to enjoy what we have and the huge great dinner that we are going to eat. Also this year I had my children give hats and scarfs to foster children because they were less fortunate than them. This helped them to understand the importance of family gathering and not just presents.
LoriAbramson::
on Dec 30, 2009
I seem to have lucked out in the child dept. My daughter doesn't understand economic issues as of yet and has never been personally effected by them yet she has always had the simpliest of lists. When she was 2, all she wanted from Santa was french fries and coke. This year, now that she's 4, she asked for candy, cookies, art supplies and a stuffed panda.
