Read Part 1 of The Santa Solution here.
The star wand turned out the best, that was Santa’s gift to my son. Filled with the joy of Christmas as well as the light of a star, it was to be his for the rest of the year, keeping the holiday spirit alive.
“Its not done yet, it has to charge more,” he said with certainty, inserting the wand deeper into our Christmas tree.
       Sitting by Santa in the spirit world the night before, I watched as he called in golden light and the power of one magical star to charge the wand. It was carved from the stem from a mulberry tree on our property, with a star ornament I fixed to one end. I painted it sparkly gold and adorned it with matching ribbons and bells before journeying to offer it to Santa so he could infuse it with his magic.
Our son is at the cusp of understanding how Christmas functions in our house. He gets that Santa will come, and gifts will be involved, but beyond that its all just crazy joy. He was fully immersed in the insanity of opening present after present when I first introduced him to the wand.
“Santa made this just for you, with some help from Papa. Its a magic wand filled with the joy of Christmas and a bright shining star.”
He looked a little perplexed. Apparently it had been too long since we’d watched the wizard of Oz or Harry Potter! I’d lagged in my want wielding education.
“When you want to feel the Christmas spirit, or you want others to feel the spirit, wave the wand over them and say ‘Merry Christmas'”!
“Mewwy Chismasss!” Thwack!
“That was good but don’t actually HIT Pappa with the wand, just wave it over him.” (DUH – my son would have to grow another four feet before he could wave it over my head.)
A few more attempts and he got it down pretty good, before turning his attention back to the collection of miniature cars he’d just opened. Hmmm, not one for wands.
It took me a while to realize Santa had not given us flashy gifts to bring a smile to the face for just one day. The magic wand could be used through the year, and perhaps would serve more important functions later on.
“Trust,” said Santa on a follow-up journey, “and some patience.”
“Nope, still needs to charge more.” Our son stoked the Christmas tree freequently with his wand in the days following Christmas, as if to kindle an invisible fire with the eternal flame of his star wand. Got to fill it up with Christmas spirit while the tree is still here!
It seems that Santa does not limit his power to one day as I had thought. This could turn out to be the beginning a beautiful relationship. I’ll keep you posted.
Image: Stars In Fire by By Boris Lechaftois from Flickr, used under 
a Creative Commons license
http://www.flickr.com/photos/l_bo/2747542827/