I usually spend way too much time trying to figure out what to buy everyone for Christmas. This year, I haven't had that problem.

In fact, I haven't spent any time trying to figure out what to buy everyone. The stores are too crowded and I am too busy, or so the story goes.

I have already purchased almost everything and put it away for safe keeping. The best cure for holiday stress is preparation. There's no need to worry about making a fuss at the last minute like I usually do.

Somehow, I must admit, the excitement of last minute shopping is really part of what I consider to be the holiday spirit.

When you are a person who does everything at the very last possible minute like myself, then doing something early makes the entire thing anti-climactic.

As for other facets of getting ready, I had a discussion with my friend today about Santa Claus. She still believes in him, I think. I remember when I was young finding out that the whole thing was a hoax and feeling like I had been made fun of the entire time — like I was living in a lie.

Santa was a god-like figure. I asked him for presents and he was supposed to bring them to me. With my parents living on the single income of a disabled veteran, that didn't always happen. However, more often than not, it did. My parents sometimes borrowed money to buy presents for the children for Christmas, even though it didn't make good financial sense. I suppose the smiles they saw were worth it to them.

However, my friend remembers having magical feelings about Christmas and Santa Claus in the days when she was growing up.

These days, I would be much more inclined to believe in Frosty the Snowman, myself. After all, animating life from balls of snow isn't any more far-fetched than the North Pole. And Frosty is more real because he melts if the weather gets warm. Just having a weakness makes him more tangible. Besides, I can make my very own Frosty in the front yard if the weather continues the way it has been.

As for the big red guy, when my friend first heard he was a hoax, she said she was thankful to her parents for allowing her to live in that magical and innocent time, a time when she could believe a jolly old fellow rode around in a flying sleigh tugged around the world by flying reindeer.

In my eyes, it is all the perpetuation of a senseless lie, one commissioned by society through tradition. I can't see anything magical about telling lies to little children. But maybe, like she says, I am just missing the point.

My friend's children still believe in Santa, but are getting to the age when they are asking questions. "Is there a Santa?"

"If you believe, you will get presents," she tells them.

I would think she could better answer, "It depends on who you ask." Just don't send them to me, I'll straighten it all out for them and then you can toss magic out the window.

Despite my negative attitude toward some of our yuletide traditions, just watching the excitement on her face as she talks about the whole thing almost makes me want to believe, too. The light in her eyes as she talks about hiding presents and labeling them "From Santa" instead of from "Mom and Dad." I can just see her slipping out of bed in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to place the presents under the tree, quietly slipping through the house so as to not awaken the rest of the family.

I'm all for exercising the imagination, but there are other ways to do it. I still think the truth is pretty exciting in its own right. For instance, just knowing that your parents care enough about you to spend their time and money selecting you nice gifts sounds magical to me. The anticipation of getting presents, the giving of thanks, the bright lights and delicious smells of the holidays and the gathering of family members from far and wide, aren't those enough to make anyone happy?

She also tells me that believing in Santa and helping children believe isn't really a lie, it's more like a fantasy. "It isn't any different from believing in a movie while you watch it," she said. "We all know Peter Pan isn't real, but for a brief time when he is on the screen, he is real."

So maybe Santa Claus is real for the brief time that the holiday season is here and then he is gone again, back into the cardboard box with the other VCR tapes. Maybe it's all about childhood and enjoying it without worrying about whether or not Mommy and Daddy can pay for the presents you want this year.

I do appreciate the spirit of Christmas, a time when people think about others for just a little while as they carefully select their gifts. A time when people care a little more about one another. So maybe a little bit of Santa, that nice old fat guy who makes sure children don't do without presents, lives in every one of us at this time of year. I know I am doing my part to grow into a jolly old fat man myself, especially with all this holiday food around. Who knows, maybe I'll get a big red sweater for Christmas this year.

Get more tongue in cheek commentary this week's issue of the Alleghany News!

Email: allnews@ls.net