“Dear Kids,

I cannot give you everything you want this year.

Money’s tight.

Santa Clause”

Christmas is a time of giving, although this year there will be a lot less of it.

Stockings may be the gift, rather than being stuffed full of them.

Coal will seem more appealing, because it’s free.

The recession we are facing does not bode well for anyone and when peoples’ jobs and houses are being threatened, the newest games console or animatronic dancing dinosaur aren’t at the front of parents’ minds. Reports from the British Retail Consortium reveal that overall sales growth is slowing and conditions are toughening for customers and retailers as the crucial run-up to Christmas begins.

People need to be sensible; this is a time of worry and panic and money needs to be secure for the unpredictable future of our economy. According to new research by Abbey Credit Cards, income has dropped by nearly 30% in the last 2 years, and the main cost of living for 90% of the population is spent on mortgages or rent.

Kids will be waking up on Christmas morning wondering why Santa wasn’t so generous, or why he didn’t come at all.

It looks like Santa Clause will suffer because of the credit crunch too.

But how many presents really make you happy?

Why do we hurry through our piles of presents expecting them to be never ending? As kids, we wanted everything, so the more we got the better that Christmas was. Nowadays we don’t stop to think about the true meaning of the season. Are we buying happiness?

In 2008, a time when the world and the majority of its population celebrates the festivities of Christmas, is it still a religious festival? Is it still Christ-mas?

People celebrate getting together, the seasons greetings. We celebrate family, friends, love and life. We share big hearty meals and give presents and charity. We smile at strangers. And we dress up as Santa.

He is more than a man in a red suit delivering presents. He is the spirit of Christmas and shall not be dampened by the credit crisis.

But is he real?

A tree in the forest falls down. Even though no-one sees or hears it, doesn’t mean it didn’t make a sound. Just because we don’t see or hear him, doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. He may not put presents under our tree but he may have given us something else.

Joy.. Laughter.. Hope.. Love.. Eachother.

“Dear Santa,

Thanks for everything you have given us.

The World”