Are We There Yet?: Santa Season Starts Early

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

 

Those famous words are recounted every holiday season, especially when a child questions the existence of Jolly Old Saint Nick. I myself printed out a copy of the 1897 New York Sun editorial last Christmas when my daughter, having just turned 7, began expressing some doubt. I was beside myself; how can a 7 year old not believe in Santa Claus? I blamed her friends with older siblings. I blamed TV and the Internet and all those silly apps she has filled my iPad's memory with. I especially blamed myself for recounting within her earshot the story of how I purchased something that went into her stocking, which is supposed to be from Santa. ("Sometimes Mommy helps Santa fill the stocking," I backpedaled quickly to her suspicious gaze. "Here, have a cookie. Or another app.")

I thought I was older before I started wondering, but maybe 7 is truly the age of not believing. That's one of the things that drew me to the movie "The Child King," which will be screened this Saturday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. at the North Adams Movieplex. In the movie, when 7-year-old Jarret West questions the existence of Santa Claus, his teenage older brother Jeremy, a young man with Down Syndrome, takes him on a quest to the North Pole to prove Santa is real. The free screening is being sponsored by United Cerebral Palsy of Berkshire County, an organization that has dedicated itself to offering supports and advocacy for any individual, regardless of disability, to pursue a fulfilling, self-determined, high-quality community life. The film will be followed by a meet-and-greet reception with Peter Johnson, the young man who played the lead role of Jeremy and who has Berkshire County ties, at UCP's North Adams office, located at 535 Curran Highway; there is a $5 suggested donation for the reception. 

 

To watch the trailer, click here. The film is made by a crew of Massachusetts residents who wanted to make "an inspirational and adventurous tale that shows us those with intellectual disabilities are not to be underestimated, but rather looked to as examples of how to love unconditionally and transcend the stereotypes in our society," according to Special Olympics International. If the trailer is in any indication, it will put you and your family into a warm holiday mood in this early holiday season.

 

And it is early, despite that I happily heard the first Christmas songs of the season on the radio on Wednesday and despite the advertisements and store displays and mailbox full of catalogs from stores I have never heard of. But if you attend the screening of "The Child King" and find yourself beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, head south or east for some more holiday cheer.

 

Head south and you will find the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School Holiday Handcraft Fair, which runs Saturday, Nov. 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the school, located at 35 West Plain Road in Great Barrington. Highlights include carnival games, maple sugar cotton candy, a photo booth with dress-up costumes, the children's craft room where youngsters can make presents themselves, and the Pocket Lord and Lady, whose many pockets are filled with small gifts.

 

The Handcraft Room, the centerpiece of the Fair, offers a large selection of warm, soft handmade items, including baby booties, winter accessories, soft toys and classic Waldorf dolls. And at the Little People's Shop, children in third grade and younger can choose gifts for friends and family. Admission and parking are free; visit gbrss.org for more details.

 

Head east and you will find the Handmade for Kids Holiday Fair at Berkshire Trail Elementary School on Route 9 in Cummington (which I recently learned is technically outside of Berkshire County but interestingly is still a part of the Central Berkshire Regional School District). The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., also on Saturday, and features local vendors selling beautiful commercial-free, handmade items for kids of all ages, drop-in crafts for the kids, raffles, lunch and more to benefit the Cummington Family Center. Admission is also free; for information, visit cummingtonfamilycenter.org.

 

And if Santa should happen to drop in to any of these events, set a good example and embrace him completely and sincerely, no matter what the ages of your children are. Why? I'll let The Sun's editorial answer that: "Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world."

 

Berkshire County native Rebecca Dravis of Williamstown is a former journalist who now works for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts. She can be reached at rdravis@verizon.net.