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(By Dione Goyette, December 16,2005) Snickers from Santa 2004 was our first Christmas in San Miguel, and we entered into the holiday season with mixed emotions. On one hand, my husband Paul and I love the traditions we’d worked so hard to create over the last few years in Canada. On the other hand, we were full of curiosity to see how a Mexican Christmas was conducted. We were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to create that Christmas “magic” here and that it would just be another cultural experience that had little to do with what our kids understood Christmas to be. In the end, I possibly can’t properly explain—but I’ll try, nonetheless—just what an amazing Christmas it was for all of us. To say that we weren’t victims of any Christmas stress last year would be an understatement. What with the expense of shipping and receiving here in Mexico, we agreed that we’d not try to facilitate any exchanging of parcels and gifts across borders. Did I hear a sigh of relief? Oh yes! And it was my own. Can you imagine: not having to buy one present for anyone else outside your immediate family? Besides, everybody was already heavily outfitted with Mexican trinkets that we’d brought back with every visit. The issue then became making our own kids’ wishes come true, when X-Box, PlayStation and Lizzie McGuire paraphernalia wasn’t so easily acquired. For the most part, we all felt very detached from the latest technology-and-toy-panic that television and the schoolyard back home inevitably created, but my kids’ Christmas lists still held things that were virtually impossible to get here in Mexico. How to alleviate any broken hearts come Christmas morning? The answer turned out to be relatively simple. It’s called marketing—and a little lowering of expectations. We simply reminded the kids of the limitations that Mexico presented in trying to find almost all of the things on their lists. And on top of all that, we weren’t even sure that Santa came to Mexico, because the children of Mexico received their presents on Three Kings Day in January. Instead, we offered to help them save money to spend once we crossed the border for our return trip home in the summer. It worked (phew!) and we were off the Christmas hook—so-to-speak. Then, without the focus on those crazy Christmas lists, cards and maniacal shopping—an incredible thing happened. We turned our heads and started to pay attention to Christmas, real Christmas: the lights, the decorations, the incredible live nacimiento in the Jardín, the over-the-top Christmas tree in front of the Parroquia and, most importantly, the story of Christmas. To be honest, I had forgotten most of the details of the story, except what remained in a few Christmas carols. The posadas staged throughout the city allowed us to interact with the story of Mary and Jesus. And when the lights went down here in San Miguel, we could almost imagine that we were walking through the streets of Bethlehem…cobblestones and candles and singing. It was incredibly beautiful—and to experience it all with your children is a gift no Target or Wal-Mart could ever compete with. On Christmas Eve, we staged a last-minute party where almost 60 people showed up (food, care of our friends Jorge and Lucas, who set up their taco stand in our back courtyard). We ended the evening with a quiet walk up to the Jardín to stand beneath the lights of the Christmas Tree. It was a peaceful evening, as many people were off having their family feasts, and it was easy to spend some time thinking about the meaning of it all. We did end up doing some Christmas shopping, however, but we focused on having the kids buy special things for one another. We hit the Tuesday market, the artisan’s market and several shops in town. The kids put lots of thought into it, and we spent a lot of time deciding on the “perfect” present for everybody. Then there was a lot of sneaking around, hiding things, extremely creative gift wrapping and “Betcha-can’t-guess-what-I-got you!” By Christmas morning, the kids could hardly stand it they were so excited to see one another open their presents. With lots of clapping hands and jumping up and down, it was clear to all of us that the giving was way better than the receiving. I guess one of my favorite moments was when the kids rushed in to see only a few presents under our little tree and little colorful baskets (“Mexican Stockings”) filled with tiny Snickers bars. Santa had come, and they were as excited with that chocolate as if it had been a PSP or X-Box or PlayStation. I know this to be true because when Jackson was on the phone later that day with his cousin Julian, he interrupted Julian’s lengthy list of presents to exclaim, “Guess what Santa brought me? A whole bag of Snickers bars!” Thankfully, Julian (who loves his sweets) was equally as ecstatic. |