It didn’t take me long to figure out that being a good girl had very little to do with Christmas.
Good Enough? Jules Badger shares a personal reflection on Christmas in the 1980s and parallels her childlike view of Santa with the reality of her relationship with Jesus Christ. I grew up in the 1980s, which means my earliest and best memories of Christmas gifts include roller skates and Barbie dolls. Christmas 2023 is feeling a lot like the 1980s all over again, with the return of Barbie and the roller-skating renaissance of recent years. I’m certainly not averse to either—far from it. Barbie in the 1980s has since been elevated from the doll responsible for 22
December 2023
eating disorders to a larger-thanlife twenty-first century feminist icon—‘sleigh’ the patriarchy! And not only am I at an age where I don’t need extendable skates that allow for my growing feet anymore, but roller skates now come in leopard print. It’s like the 80s, only better! What I remember most about Christmas from my childhood, though,
is going to visit Santa. I’m not sure if that’s because of the photographic proof seared into my brain of my sisters and I trying to look cute but one of us inevitably crying, or actual memories. But I do remember it was a big deal. First, you had to decide what you would ask for (just one thing); second be brave enough to sit on Santa’s knee (stranger danger); and finally, have the courage to voice your request (without crying). The inevitable question from the big man in red, though, was always: ‘Have you been a good girl?’ I swear that question brought tears to my eyes, had I been a good girl? My young mind was tortured as I tried to review my behaviour. Had I been good enough, or was I too naughty to get the gift I had asked Santa for? And was being nice for the rest of December, at least, enough niceness? Enough goodness? Or had I left it all far too late? Thankfully, my parents took it upon themselves to be the ones who gave the gifts we most wanted. So while Santa filled our stockings with chocolate and trinkets, Mum and Dad got the credit for the big-ticket items we really wanted. It didn’t take me long to figure out that being a good girl had very little to do with Christmas. Mum and Dad already knew my capacity for naughtiness, and yet they still lavished gifts on me. Stereotypical Barbie made way for Tropical Barbie and my
