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The real story of Christmas
Sarah Warden23/12/2005
Sarah Warden finds out what children really think about Christmas.
MANY children would give their right arms for a career in
television - but youngsters at Abingdon Primary school, Stockport,
would draw the line at any job which made them work on Christmas
day.
Nine-year-old Tom Sutton thinks his TV heroes Ant and Dec will go
to bed on Christmas Eve after a party with all their friends
dreaming of waking up to a new mansion or a limousine from Father
Christmas.
But when they awake, they are likely to have to go and present some
Christmas television before they get their full turkey dinner,
which leaves them more in need of pity than admiration in Tom's
eyes.
Joshua Mullock, four, thinks Santa's job is a tough one, saying:
"Father Christmas starts getting the presents ready when the advent
calendars go up - when we start eating chocolate every day."
Five-year-old Millie Dunn agreed that anyone working over Christmas
deserved sympathy, which she extended even as far as Father
Christmas himself.
She said: "He goes out all night long and delivers presents to a
thousand children, maybe even a million, all at about one o'clock.
The elves tell him who has been good.
"But then he comes home and wants to have Christmas before he goes
to bed, so he sits in a comfy chair and has a present for
himself.
"It's a shame he has no-one to crack his crackers with, but he
could do them with a reindeer or an elf, because they are a bit
like family."
But nine-year-old Adam Melville thought Father Christmas would
celebrate in a completely different way.
He mused: "I think he probably gets home at about 6am and wants to
sit in front of the fire and have a beer. He must be tired because
he's been up all night delivering presents to all the children in
the world."
Victoria Reeves, seven, added: "He probably wants to watch
Christmas telly like us."
Though all the children plan to watch at least some television on
Christmas Day, none seemed keen on the idea of tuning into the
Queen's speech.
In fact, Tom thought that she shouldn't bother making one at all.
He said: "If I were the Queen I would have a big party at Christmas
and find myself a husband, then there could be a king too.
"Then I would have a massive feast on Christmas Day and spend the
rest of the time sitting round polishing my crown."
Joseph added: "I bet she could get a quilt cover with a big crown
on it for Christmas, and spend the whole day in bed."
Courtney Choudhory, nine, thought the Queen was probably less
festive than other people. She said: "The Queen can probably sit on
her throne all day being grumpy, because she is allowed to. She
probably wouldn't be happy unless she got a big wardrobe with lots
of new clothes for Christmas."
Abingdon Road school's lollipop lady will be spending Christmas in
Australia - something 10-year-old Eleanor Brickell thought sounded
terrible.
She said: "I hope she's having a good time. She told us it was
going to be sunny, but I don't think I'd like it. It wouldn't be
right to have ice-cream on Christmas day. It's supposed to be cold
and snowing."
Headteacher Jeff Cooper will be spending the festive season closer
to home, but his pupils obviously don't think he has much fun when
they're not around.
Eleanor Brickell, 10, thought his ideal Christmas gift would be:
"Probably something like a new tie or a suit.
"Adults presents are different and I think he just chills out at
Christmas until we come back to school."
Rachel Holebrook, six, opted for an even less exciting gift,
thinking the thing Mr Cooper would appreciate most in the world
would be "a new teacup".
While Joseph Wilson, seven, said: "All I want for Christmas is a
load of money. I bet Arnold Shwarzenegger gives all his children a
thousand pounds each. And I bet he gets loads of money for
Christmas too."
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