Santa's house is very very far

We've begun the buildup to Christmas around our house. Sadly, this does not mean that we have our tree and decorations up. What it really means is that our three-year-old daughter has heard about Christmas, read books about Christmas, and sung songs about Christmas, so she's developing opinions on the subject.

Fortunately for us, she's a generally content and easygoing child, so she doesn't often "want" things or ask for things. So for her, the concept of "asking" Santa for presents seems strange. I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon, but in the meantime, she's come up with other things she can talk about when she meets Santa. For example, I bought her a dress (a rare thing in her wardrobe) so she'd have a special outfit to wear for our big family holiday gathering, and it's red with off-white fuzzy trim. When she saw it, she said, "I can wear this dress to see Santa, and I can tell him that my dress matches his clothes!"

On another occasion, we were talking about where our family Christmas celebration would be held, and she explained, "We won't be going to Santa's house, because he lives at the Pole and it's very very far." I said, "Oh, really?" and she went on, "And besides, there are too many reindeer!" When asked how many reindeer there are, she replied, "Eight."