Mr. Toffee believes in Santa

_Elsa_

Although the importance of doing childlike activities as an adult and learning about the importance of playtime is a great idea it’s still not helping Santa understand why children give up on those beliefs.  

“Why can’t adults still believe in me?” questions Santa. 

Elsa sure wishes that she had the answer for Santa. Tiffi suggests that they go into her father’s store to get a snack. 

“Santa what are you doing here?” questions Mr. Toffee. “You still have 3 weeks left until you have to deliver all those presents.”

Santa explains to Mr. Toffee that Elsa and Tiffi have been trying to help him find a way to get fun back into adults’ lives. He shares with him how upset he is that children give up their beliefs at such a young age and adults are too busy with everyday life to bring that imagination back. 

“I hear you Santa,” Mr. Toffee says. “I think that’s why I have so many candies from a long time ago to remind adults about the delicious candy that they enjoyed as a child. Do you remember those black licorice pipes? See I have them over here and they are a big sell out every time I get new stock. Hold on a second. I have to get my phone and show you an article that I found not too long ago.”

As he is walking back towards them with his phone, he tells Santa that he did some googling when Tiffi told him about the concerns that children give up their beliefs at such a young age. But more important than that was why adults stopped believing in fantasy. He finds the article and shows it to all of them.

‘Children who spend their free time befriending fire-breathing dragons or traveling through time in a magic school bus are not only having fun, they're also developing their minds. During the holiday season, dreaming of how Santa is able to make his deliveries around the world in one night, and how reindeer are able to fly, is a similar mental exercise. Active imaginations are a healthy part of childhood.

But an active imagination is good for adults too.

"For both adults and children, playing with fantasy or thinking about the world through fantasy play may take the form of art or other creative processes or productions, intellectual projects or relationships with people and objects. Fantasy and play are not things that we outgrow," said Gail Boldt, Penn State associate professor of education. "They serve ongoing important functions in our lives. The materials and the forms that are socially, intellectually and emotionally recognized and used for adult fantasy are often rather different than what we see coming from children and are perhaps not named as fantasy or play."

Often parents like to get involved with and feed into their children's imaginations, if for no other reason than it takes them back to their own childhood, said Boldt. Primary examples are when parents work to develop strong beliefs in the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny and Santa Claus. 

Cindy Dell Clark, Penn State Brandywine associate professor of human development and family studies, said characters such as these are more of a family ritual. She compares them to going to a religious service on Sundays and celebrating the Fourth of July with fireworks. She said they're more expressive of feelings and faith than anything else.

Clark said adults are important participants, especially at Christmas: adults often choose gifts because they like to see the look of awe on their children's faces and participate in the emotional experiences they have on Christmas morning. Clark added that when filmed observations are analyzed, it's often because of parents or grandparents that children sit on Santa's lap at the mall.’ (Source)

“Well I better get back to my inventory,” says Mr. Toffee. “It’s great seeing you Santa and I sure hope that when you fly all over the world on Christmas Eve that you sprinkle some magic into the air for all those non-believers! We need to believe in fantasy.”

Let’s continue - Santa is real!

Start at the beginning – Elsa learns how to play again