261: I See You, Santa: The Unsung Holiday Hero (Share With A Holiday Stressed Mom)

Mom Founder Imagination Hub

In this heartfelt podcast, a mom (Melissa Llarena your host and mom of three) shares the raw, beautiful reality of holiday preparation. From a hilarious Target shopping adventure with her three sons to a powerful love letter recognizing the invisible labor of mothers during the holiday season, this episode is a must-listen for every mom navigating the magic and chaos of Christmas.

Key Highlights:

• A unique approach to gift-giving after revealing the truth about Santa
• Comedic tale of shopping with three sons and avoiding potential "holiday shoplifting"
• Intimate look at the emotional and logistical challenges of motherhood during the holidays

What You'll Hear:

• The story behind teaching kids about thoughtful gift-giving
• A moving tribute to moms who create Christmas magic
• Raw, honest moments of holiday preparation and emotional complexity

Memorable Quotes:

• "Jail time for the holidays is not on my Santa wish list"
• "We can all use some encouragement"
• "Dear Santa, you are the magic during Christmas"

Call to Action: Share this episode with a mom who needs to feel seen and appreciated this holiday season.

🚨This episode is brought to you by Fertile Imagination: A Guide for Stretching Every Mom’s Superpower for Maximum Impact

This holiday season purchase a copy or two of Fertile Imagination, email me a picture of your copy of Fertile Imagination (under the tree by the candles) using this email address melissa [at ]melissallarena.com , and then on Christmas day I hope to share these images across my social media. Let’s support the moms we are and love this holiday season! Shop Fertile Imagination for the holidays! – https://bit.ly/fertilebook

About Fertile Imagination You can be a great mom without giving up, shrinking, or hiding your dreams. There’s flexibility in how you pursue anything – your role, your lifestyle, and your personal and professional goals. The limitations on your dreams are waiting to be shattered. It’s time to see and seize what’s beyond your gaze. Let’s bridge your childhood daydreams with your grown-up realities. Imagine skipping with your kids along any path – you, surpassing your milestones while your kids are reaching theirs. There’s only one superpower versatile enough to stretch your thinking beyond what’s been done before: a Fertile Imagination. It’s like kryptonite for impostor syndrome and feeling stuck when it’s alert!

In Fertile Imagination, you will awaken your sleeping source of creative solutions. If you can wake up a toddler or a groggy middle schooler, then together with the stories in this book – featuring 25 guests from my podcast Unimaginable Wellness, proven tools, and personal anecdotes – we will wake up your former playmate: your imagination!

Advance Praise

“You’ll find reality-based strategies for imagining your own imperfect, fulfilling life in this book!” —MARTHA HENNESSEY, former NH State Senator “Melissa invites the reader into a personal and deep journey about topics that are crucially important to uncover what would make a mom (and dad too) truly happy to work on…even after the kids are in bed.”

—KEN HONDA, best-selling author of Happy Money “This book is a great purchase for moms in every stage of life. Melissa is like a great friend, honest and wise and funny, telling you about her life and asking you to reflect on yours.” —MAUREEN TURNER CAREY, librarian in Austin, TX

Where can you find Melissa Llarena?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissallarena/

Transcript

Around Thanksgiving, I took my three sons to Target with a unique mission: help them pick out gifts for each other.

When we'd revealed Santa wasn't real, I proposed a new tradition. "Buy a gift for your brother," I told them, "Think of it like knowing someone has your back."

My youngest brought a Nordstrom bag to hide gifts in the basket. My middle child, a Trader Joe's bag. My eldest? Nothing. Just determination.

I stood by the cashier, watching them navigate this new territory. What I didn't anticipate was how suspicious they would look - like they were potentially shoplifting in the same aisle, taking turns, eyeing each other's selections.

Realizing this could go sideways quickly, I alerted a store worker. "Jail time for the holidays is not on my Santa wish list," I thought to myself.

One by one, they bought gifts. One by one, I watched $50 after $50 go to Nintendo. The young cashier - on his first day - had to create separate transactions for each item, hiding them like you'd discreetly handle a maxipad purchase.

It's December 17th now. Like you, I've been operating on full steam ahead mode. Ensuring everything arrives on time. Making sure nothing gets discovered. Keeping the house from falling apart - or at least fixing what breaks before the holiday buzz begins.

My business and conversations with moms everywhere have made me realize: we can all use some encouragement.

I'm not a runner, but I imagine these last school days feel completely out of control. So here's my hope - that you feel a bit of a lift.

Here's a letter. To you. To us.

Dear Santa,

I see you.

I see you trying to make this hectic week work. Juggling a million tasks, moving through chaos with purpose.

I see you doing the laundry, pre-packing for the holiday trip - meticulously checking what you have, what's missing, calculating what you still need to buy.

I see you helping out for the school holiday play. Gathering cardboard, duct taping backings to make designs stand up, secretly hoping nothing falls on your precious children's creation.

I see you crying in your car. Thinking about the family you'll see this year, wondering if this might be the last time - yet putting on your brave face to get through the visit.

I see you hoping your Christmas cards reach everyone on time. So many people have moved, and keeping up has gotten harder and harder through the years.

I see you updating your spreadsheet. Tracking the guest list, planning foods you'll order or make, asking for help, making sure you remember everyone's food restrictions and requirements.

I see you frustrated. A leak in the garage you now have to fix. Your dryer blew out - all during this crazy, busy week.

I see you trying to remember: PJ day, the winter party, a concert band - all on the same day, for kids at different schools.

I see you waiting in long lines alongside other moms, searching for organic lollipops or stumble guys figurines to put into the precise stockings that keep falling off your fireplace mantel.

Dear Santa, I see you trying to figure out when you'll get your hair done, or when you'll finally have a moment to breathe. I see that you added this to do on your list and yet you first need to do so many other things that you just might skip what makes you feel good….

Dear Santa, you are the magic during Christmas.

I see you keeping your magic hidden with your little ones, and navigating a less magical Christmas with your older children.

Dear Santa, my hope for you is that you get what you wish for - and never have to clean it, dust it, or find a way to maintain it.

May it all work out. May you feel loved. May you feel magic too.

My call to action is simple: Send this to a mom who is out there, busily navigating the logistics of being Santa for her family.

Give her the gift of recognition. And may you feel its presence too.