We're just a few weeks away from Christmas now, so I think it's OK to start talking about it, start the decorating and holiday music.  We are within the acceptable Christmas window now, which is decidedly shorter than what retailers are pushing.

So as we approach the festive holiday, I was thinking of Santa, that incredibly fun part of the Christmas tradition for me growing up.  And today in the office we got to talking about the sort of things our parents did (or what some folks who now have kids do) to keep the whole Santa thing alive and "real" for us as kids.

Here's one from when I was little...

One of my dad's coworkers did the Santa thing at the local Lions Club and for the department Christmas party.  He had a really good costume too.  It probably cost around $500 back in the 70s when he originally put it all together.  Heavy felt, good beard, sleigh bells, the works.  Looking at pictures, he's still one of the most convincing Santas I've ever seen.

Now, the cool thing here was that every year, about a week before Christmas, Santa would pay us a visit.  Late at night one day during the week there'd be a jingling on the front lawn and then there'd be Santa at our front door.  As a 5 year old kid, this was completely convincing.  Not only did he LOOK exactly like Santa, but he KNEW things about my sister and I that only Santa could know... like how one fall we toured the university dairy farms, saw how they milked cows, and petted deer at the nearby deer pens.  Of course that's because the guy who played Santa was the one who took my sister and I out there in the first place. 

He was so utterly convincing.  And my sister and I both knew him too, so we should have picked up on the voice.  But it turns out we weren't the only ones fooled who should have known better.  He even had his own grandson fooled for years.  It wasn't until many years after the Santa visits started that he figured it out.  One day, his family was watching some old home movies, and one of the Santa tapes was put in.  He was in the other room and heard Grandpa's voice on the TV so came out to see what it was.  That's when he finally put 2 and 2 together.

Those visits had my sister and I convinced for years that not only was Santa real, but that he personally paid us a visit every year before Christmas.  It probably added a few years to our belief in Santa too.

Now sadly, Mr. Tukey (Santa) is no longer with us, so no more visits with Santa.  The last one was at the final department Christmas party when I was probably 17 or so.  It was so much fun watching all the little kids line up to sit in Santa's lap, and how absolutely sure and convinced they were that this was THE Santa.  It was a great window into the past for me.

So with the best Santa in the world gone, I've had to look for new ways to help keep belief in Santa alive for the little kids I come across (kids of friends, coworkers, neighbors etc.)  One of the absolute best things in the world for kids now is my favorite Christmas site...

The NORAD Santa Tracker - Link

Started over 50 years ago,  North American Aerospace Defense has "tracked" Santa on his annual race around the globe.  Originally a phone line you could call into to get the latest status update, it's now a website packed with video and audio recordings keeping an eye on Old Saint Nick's journey.  This is possibly my favorite use of taxpayer funds!

This is a great site, especially to show kids who are on the very edge of no longer believing.  I mean, this is a government military project!  The same folks that watch for ICBMs also keep an eye on Santa Claus (with the help of our NATO allies).  The site discusses the techniques and tools used to track Santa, as well as the history of how the agency tasked with saving us from World War 3 came to track Santa.  It's a very convincing site and a blast for kids of any age.

I've used the site in the past to convince several kids that Santa does indeed exist, and the US Govt is watching him, even sometimes providing fighter jet escort over portions of international airspace.