I am all for Father Christmas and I dread the day when my children discover the truth about him, but I am much less enthusiastic about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Christmas Eve is a magical time; waiting for the big man in red is still exciting, even at 39 when I fill my own stocking. In contrast, expecting a pile of chocolate eggs on Easter morning and a shiny coin under your pillow seems harshly materialistic and not an attractive trait in children (quite apart from my feelings about the true meaning of Easter being undermined.)
However, I am not prepared to be the mother responsible for shattering the dreams, not just of my own children but all the others in their class, so I do prepare Easter Egg hunts and pay for lost teeth, but I play down the role of the mythical visitors.
Until last night. R lost a tooth on Friday morning while we were visiting friends in Essex. I dutifully wrapped it in tissue and put it in my bag, then forgot about it. So did he! I remembered the tooth last night and urged him to put it under his pillow, but I went to bed without effecting the crucial swap for a pound coin. Whoops! Fortunately he is not the most observant of 7-year olds so my panicky sleight-of-hand went undetected this time.
I'm sure I won't be able to keep up the deception for long and I don't think I want to. I'm happy to pay him £1 for growing up and cleaning his teeth instead. I suspect, in fact, that I might be worrying unnecessarily - maybe he already knows and plays along for my sake, and for the haul.
But how do others feel? Do you follow these traditions? How old were your childen when they stopped believing? And how much is the going rate for a milk tooth?
Lastly, because it's not a post wthout a picture, here's a pretty little fairy of the kind I do approve of:
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1 comment:
I'm not entirely sure there's much difference between waiting for a stocking filled with presies and a basket of chocolate or some money if it all comes form a magical source. We had a tooth fairy - naturally it comes to an end and on the nights I forgot (MANY) - there was never too much fuss, but it was never much money either to be honest, in those days, 20p seemed perfect! There was never an Easter Bunny here - I guess because neither of us had the experience. We just (did and do) swap eggs and if we have friends or family coming we would (and still) lay an egg hunt on...so no secrecy there! After she started school, the 'stranger danger' thing kicked in and a visit from Father Christmas was for a while, a bit of a negotiation. As a mother who has never tolerated drama or hysteria (unless it's mine!), this was a dificult thing,but we worked out a safe 'delivery method'!! I think right now at the tender age of 16.11. she still sort of believes...because she wants to. Because if you don't believe, it can't happen, right?!
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