Bangee5 Loc: Louisiana

As to giving credit where credit is due on the childs present it is "To: Johnny From: Santa", for adults it is "To: Jane From: John". After all, we are adults and no longer believe there is a Santa. When the kids no longer belive in Santa, having put 2 and 2 together, they get tags as the adults do. I don't know what you mean by "This reduces the whole idea of Santa to little more than a delivery service". After all, Santa is not real, why should he get credit?

BuddyLars Loc: Rockton, Illinois

I was raised by parents who were deaf. I was an accident baby. My siblings are 15, 11, 10 years older than me. When my siblings were growing up they got presents, not expensive but they got presents. I come along, my siblings (all quit high school at 16) are gone out of the house. I am the last one around and I get good presents. I wanted to be a drummer as my Dad would watch on TV people like Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich play the drums, he would turn up the volume and touch the speaker. They bought me a set of drums from Sears and I would play for hours. My parents also bought me a guitar amp. to plug into my stereo so I could play along with records. They would sit in front of me while I played. I ended up buying my 1st real drum kit when I was 15, working and saving for it. That was in 1973 and that kit cost me over $1,000.00. They would have bought it for me but I wanted to do it on my own. My siblings took advantage of my folks for years after my siblings became adults, I didn't want to be like them. My drumming became a great joy for my Mom and Dad as it was for me. If one of my kids wanted to play drums I would have guided them to an electric piano with headphones.
My wife on the other hand would get a coloring book and a box of new crayons for Christmas and she said she was so excited to get new crayons. Inger (my wife) is a good artist, though she doesn't think so. I tried through out the years to get her to draw but she won't.
I guess my point is that the best gifts are the gifts that will help stimulate that child. IPhone / Playstation / XBox are not the gifts that would enhance a child's advancement in their gifts that they have inside.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Tell them that rich kids tend not to get the same amount of real love that poor kids get, and while expensive toys are no real substitute for love, it's the best alternative under the circumstances.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Wellheim....I noticed you didn't quote my full post. Here is the rest.

Sixty Minutes showed a piece on a singer named Rodriguez tonight. He came out with a couple of albums in the late sixties that just didn't sell. However, they sold 5 million copies in South Africa because they spoke to the anti-apartheid movement. He didn't know and never got a penny. He worked as a day laborer for 40 years until somebody found him and did a documentary on him. He did concerts in South Africa, appeared on Letterman, and did concerts across the U.S., finally making some money. Sixty minutes asked him about being poor for so long and having to work so hard for so long. He said that there was nothing wrong with hard work, and there was nothing wrong with being poor...it didn't mean that you were dirty or anything. End of quote

My grandparents immigrated from Italy. My grandfather worked on the railroads and then the coal mines. In West Virginia the family of nine chldren lived in a wood frame house with a wood burning stove for food and heat. The company made sure that they had food and clothes, but that was about it. Eventually my grandfather moved to the Detroit area and went to work for Ford. My point is this. As the children would gather together on Sunday at my grandparents place they had fond memories of growing up in W.Va. They would tell stories and laugh. They were a cohesive group. They didn't mind growing up poor. They had wonderful times in the hills of W.Va. It all comes down to your philosophy of life. Fortunately my grandparents had a positive outlook on life. My father was a hard worker all his life, although he ended up a coach, school teacher, and A.D.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

Steve, I didn't quote the rest of your post because I wasn't questioning it. What I was questioning is how you came to the conclusion that I was saying there's something wrong with being poor.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Wellhiem...It goes with the question. When you're poor, like my grandparents were, it's understood that Christmas can't be a big deal. I wouldn't be surprised if presents were things that were needed, like clothes and shoes that Grandma had saved up for for months. Christmas instead becomes about family and perhaps more food than usual. I will say this...that family knew how to enjoy themselves. As far as poor children being shortchanged, they realize that the family is trying to provide the basic needs of life. They understand that fancy toys are not something that can be afforded. I remember the year that all I got was clothes. I'd been bad!!

nikon_jon Loc: Northeast Arkansas

Don't talk to me about Santa Claus, man. When I first understood that Santa wasn't real, I was so upset and nervous I couldn't hardly shave without cutting my face all over. :-(

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I hope you didn't spill the beans to your kids!! :mrgreen: :-D :-D :mrgreen:

Bruce with a Canon Loc: Islip

Another facet you might consider is why some people pull themselves up by their boot straps and persue education and training and work overtime to improve their standard of living to one extent or another, and some less so.
If you consider 5th grade your "Senior Year" and hit the streets looking for work, the fellow that puts himself through tech school or college and works his arse off and sacrifices to save for his future can simply earn more money and enjoy a better lifestyle.
If you are a toilet scrubber at the leper colony and can not afford the latest greatest gifts for your young who is responsible?
Hell I joined the army to ensure aggressive training in a great field. In 1971 the expectation was anyone joining would go to Viet Nam and pull a tour there.
I could not afford college out of high school and the military has great shools.
Speaking for myself, it was a great choice, considering the draft was still in existance.
Personal responsibility trumps the government dole.
While I acknowledge there are folks that simply can not fend adequately for themselves. And there are programs to care for these people.
Ask yourself if it is necessary to spend a BILLION dollars a DAY to help people? I am all for giving a hand up.
Hand outs should be reserved for those that can not take care of them selves.
We must get our government spending under control. That means eliminating redundant programs, ineffeciant programs..
People that CAN work, need to work and reduce the drag on goverment purse strings.
rant over

PS. A rising tidr lifts all boats
ask NOT what your country can do for you, ask what you mcan do for your country.

Where are THESE Democrats?

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

I would explain to them that the reason we celebrate Christmas has nothing to do with Santa, Rudolf, frosty, or sleigh rides. Your children got the best present of all because God chose to wrap himself in flesh and took human form in a manger in Bethlehem. Jesus is the means by which we are reconciled to God. That is more important then weather or not you get an xbox for a present. I would also argue that comparing yourself to others is a trap. Just cause someone has rich parents does not mean they have a good life. Look at the Kennedy's. Would you want their history in order to get their money?