The Santa Scaries

Hi! Welcome to Blogmas Day 10!

Ah, Christmas. A time of celebration, happiness, excitement, and…fear? Oh yes. Fear. Let’s take a walk down memory lane as I share with you a story about how I was utterly afraid of the man in the big red suit.

Guys. I’m not kidding, I was actually terrified of Santa. I mean, check out this letter I wrote to him in 1st grade telling him not to come into my bedroom:

Most kids can’t sleep on Christmas Eve from pure excitement. I, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve from pure terror. The idea of a random, elusive old man coming into my house while everyone was asleep just did not sit well with me. One year at an event with Santa, I would only go up to him to get a candy cane before making my way back to safety. This picture shows the closest I would get to him the entire time:

Here’s another picture of me keeping my distance from Scary Santa:

No matter what, I just could not shake my fear of him. The bottom stair on my staircase creaks, and one Christmas Eve I heard it. I don’t think my fight or flight response has kicked in as fast as it did at that moment.

The year I learned the truth about Santa was the first time I peacefully slept on Christmas Eve. When you think about it, my fear of Santa was pretty rational. A big old man that no one has ever seen coming into your house in the middle of the night? He sees you when you’re sleeping? No thanks.

Don’t get me wrong, I still loved Christmas. I even loved the idea of the reindeer and would throw cereal on my lawn for them to eat. It was just the idea of Santa being inside my house that I could not cope with.

Even with my major fear, Christmas was and still is my favorite holiday of the year! What were your thoughts on Santa as a kid? Let me know in a comment! Also, if you liked this post, be sure to head to my homepage and subscribe to emails and follow me on Instagram @mainly.mackenzie!