'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town' airs tonight on ABC

December 2, 8:28 AMBaby and Toddler ExaminerDarby Herrington

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Baby and Toddler Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

A young Kris Kringle and Topper the penguin   [Source]

Moms and dads, boys and girls, get ready for another Christmas classic to air on prime-time television tonight. 

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.

This Christmas special has been around for thirty-eight years.  During that time it has been a story to remind generations of little children about the meaning of Chri...oh wait, no, that is not it...ummm...well, it is a story to remind little children about toys, how they should thank their lucky stars that they even have any, and if they do not behave they are not going to get any more. 

Maybe that is not a fair interpretation.  But as a kid I remember that this Christmas special freaked me out because of the mean characters, such as the Burgermeister Meisterburger and the Winter Warlock.  It can be a bit disturbing to watch how the children of Sombertown are forced to do hard labor and never get any toys because they are outlawed by the Burgermeister.  Even worse, once Kris Kringle overcomes major obstacles to deliver toys to the kids of Sombertown, they are forced to watch all the toys being burned by the Burgermeister when he finds out about them.  Yikes! 

On the flip side, there are also plenty of positive messages in the film, such as when Kris Kringle overcomes adversity by befriending the Winter Warlock and finally bringing Burgermeister's reign of power to an end.  Kris earns his title as Santa, sets up shop in the North Pole and forevermore delivers toys to children all over the world on Christmas.

As a kid, I enjoyed watching "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" mostly to learn about Santa's life from the time he was a baby.  It illustrates the history of how Kris Kringle becomes Santa Claus, and even how he meets and marries Mrs. Claus.  I thought it was funny to see him grow up from a baby to a man.  I always knew he could not have been an old, fat guy with a beard from the beginning of time, but I will admit I was surprised to find out he was a redhead.

As an adult, I now enjoy this television special much more than I did as a kid.  Because of that, I think I may hold off a few years before I let my toddler watch it.  Although, as a parent I do like the quintessential motivation for good behavior:  Santa's magic crystal ball that lets him see if kids are bad or good. 

In fact, the last line of the film, as stated by the narrating character S.D. Kluger to all the little children watching, is, "Behave yourselves --- because Santa can still look into his Magic Crystal Snowball and see just what you're up to!"

No pressure or anything.

"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" airs tonight at 8 PM EST on ABC. 

Subscribe to Darby Herrington’s column by clicking on the "subscribe" button below.

Questions? Want to see a certain topic addressed?  

Add a comment here or email me with "Examiner" in the subject line at:  edarby11@aol.com

Copyright ©2008 by E. Darby Herrington.  All rights reserved.