Father Christmas: Let us pass on the magical memories

Whatever happened to the good Christmas holidays complete with a generous Father Christmas? As children, ‘Father Christmas’ was that one person we all looked forward to seeing every Christmas holiday because of the wonderful experience that came with him. Children’s parties, sweet treats and fun games.

These days, retailers have reduced Father Christmas to tired, mean-looking men with drowsy eyes ringing bells at the entrances of business premises.

They have nothing much to offer apart from directing a rusty bell to your ears as they ‘welcome’ you to go in and spend your money. Sometimes they even doze off and snore!

Last week, my daughter and I were doing rounds in the city centre when we came across one who imagined that jumping in front of my daughter in a worn out costume would excite her.

Let’s just say, I spent the next hour trying to calm her down. Right now, she doesn’t even want to hear the words ‘Father Christmas’.

We no longer enjoy the fun of decorating our houses with tinsel (meta meta) and balloons like we did before. I just don’t know where these traditions went.

Twenty years ago, one would have to walk into a house with a slight bend because of the decorations and Christmas cards hanging all over.

Nowadays, you will be lucky to find a Christmas tree or decoration in a house. We have turned this season into a goat-eating and a drinking spree, when we barely spending time with our children.

But I must admit that I am guilty as charged because my daughter doesn’t even know what Christmas is. Every Christmas since she was born, I have been stuck in the house with her sleeping and me browsing through TV channels.

Maybe it’s the feeling of reporting back to work almost immediately after Christmas that kills the spirit in us. It’s even worse for parents with young children whose domestic managers have resigned. You spend the better part of December trying to figure out how your January will be without your domestic manager.

Just how did our parents hack the festive season with all the celebrations? Some of us have numerous sisters and brothers but still, our parents helped us make special memories for this season.

Most of us right now have one or two children but if you have a look at us during this time, you will think a truck ran over us. If only we could pass on the joy that was given to us as children.

I know friends who have already sent their children to their rural homes because they want to ‘rest’ during this period. What kind of rest is this that makes you keep your children away? When exactly do you want to spend time with your children if not now? No wonder there’s a huge disconnect between parents and children of today.

Instead of passing on the love that was passed to us to our children, we prefer to pass it on to our peers.

So many people are already in WhatsApp groups with their friends, planning to meet over Christmas and make merry. But they are not as active in family WhatsApp groups.

If you tag them to say something in these family groups, they will reply in defence mode, claiming they already had plans for the said period, or better still, they will lie that they will be working. After all, no one will have the time to walk to their offices and confirm if they will truly be on duty.

Then there are those who I think have a social problem or are just fighting some imaginary wars. They will fight to be on duty during this time so that they can be away from everyone else. They prefer to have slow unproductive days at work than creating memories with family. To each their own but let’s put family first and give our children what was given to us by our parents.