Oh, what a laugh it would have been
December 18, 2018 8:20 AM Subscribe
Is "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" about a kid too naive to recognize his dad in a Santa suit? Or is it about a mother having an affair who gets away with it because her paramour is dressed as Saint Nick? Or is it actually about a mom who gets a quick snog with Santa and her kid sees? I do not think this song is supposed to be ambiguous, but here I am. Please help.
I have always interpreted it as "Kid spies Mom and Dad smooching while Dad is dressed up as Santa, but is too young to understand that 'Santa' is just dad in a costume."
posted by sarcasticah at 8:21 AM on December 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
posted by sarcasticah at 8:21 AM on December 18, 2018 [30 favorites]
It only clicked for me about a month ago that this song was about the child not recognizing their father in a Santa suit.
I am 42
posted by Faff at 8:22 AM on December 18, 2018 [49 favorites]
I am 42
posted by Faff at 8:22 AM on December 18, 2018 [49 favorites]
A kid misreading "kissing daddy" as "kissing someone else" is funny, because one's acceptable and one isn't.
A kid misreading "kissing someone else*" as "kissing someone else**" is less funny, because they'd both be equally unacceptable.
____
* Namely, her boyfriend
** Namely, Santa
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:25 AM on December 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
A kid misreading "kissing someone else*" as "kissing someone else**" is less funny, because they'd both be equally unacceptable.
____
* Namely, her boyfriend
** Namely, Santa
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:25 AM on December 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
The ambiguity of it is the joke. In this song, because it's using the pronoun "I", it's asking you to remember when you were little and you didn't have all the information. Not having as much information as you have now as an adult made everything seem more magical, and magical stories seemed believable.
posted by bleep at 8:26 AM on December 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by bleep at 8:26 AM on December 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I think that it was probably intended to be about a kid not recognizing their father in a Santa suit, but I also don't think that authorial intent determines meaning so I think it's actually about an extremely conscribed case of consensual non-monogamy; I think that the real Santa Claus is literally there kissing the kid's mother but it's accepted within the marriage that it's not cheating to kiss Santa.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:27 AM on December 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:27 AM on December 18, 2018 [34 favorites]
I always assumed that dad was dressed as Santa, but then I always wondered: why would he do that if the kids were sleeping? Is he doing a side gig at the local mall? A paramour dressed up would attract even more attention.
In the end, though, a kid that thinks seeing his father catch his mother in flagrante delicto would be "a laugh" is so distractingly awful that the logical inconsistencies seem minor by comparison.
posted by tchemgrrl at 8:29 AM on December 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
In the end, though, a kid that thinks seeing his father catch his mother in flagrante delicto would be "a laugh" is so distractingly awful that the logical inconsistencies seem minor by comparison.
posted by tchemgrrl at 8:29 AM on December 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Been wondering this for years. Having worked in an environment where we listened to Christmas music on the radio, I'd like to think I've considered most of the potential arguments for both sides and yet I have no definitive answer. I am here to learn.
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:30 AM on December 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:30 AM on December 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
It is from a time when it was considered plausible for the dad to dress up as Santa Claus so if the kids woke up and saw someone putting presents, it would be Santa and not their father. It is definitely the dad in a Santa suit.
posted by corb at 8:31 AM on December 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by corb at 8:31 AM on December 18, 2018 [21 favorites]
I think the lyrics suggest that it is supposed to be the dad in the suit. For example, consider these lyrics:
Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night
Those are either a cute and funny misinterpretation of a child or something fairly depressing and dark. For a song like this (a Christmas song), I have to imagine the author intended something light and fun.
That said, I have a hard time with the logistics of this. The kid is sneaking down after everyone has gone to bed. Why is the dad still dressed up in a Santa suit?!
posted by Betelgeuse at 8:31 AM on December 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night
Those are either a cute and funny misinterpretation of a child or something fairly depressing and dark. For a song like this (a Christmas song), I have to imagine the author intended something light and fun.
That said, I have a hard time with the logistics of this. The kid is sneaking down after everyone has gone to bed. Why is the dad still dressed up in a Santa suit?!
posted by Betelgeuse at 8:31 AM on December 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Why is the dad still dressed up in a Santa suit?!
Don't kink shame.
posted by bondcliff at 8:36 AM on December 18, 2018 [131 favorites]
Don't kink shame.
posted by bondcliff at 8:36 AM on December 18, 2018 [131 favorites]
Did anyone else, after reading this post, JUST DISCOVERED THAT SANTA COULD HAVE BEEN THE DAD IN SUIT, AND NOT MUMMY HAVING A SNEAKY KISS ON THE SIDE?
Because I did. I'm in my mid-30s. What. So there's ambiguity for you.
posted by moiraine at 8:36 AM on December 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Because I did. I'm in my mid-30s. What. So there's ambiguity for you.
posted by moiraine at 8:36 AM on December 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Best answer: It's Dad in a Santa Suit, as the 13-year-old singer explained to the leaders of the Archdiocese of the Boston Roman Catholic Church, who had banned the song.
Columbia records was delighted but a bit baffled with the song's success. Jimmy Boyd became an international sensation, and the Archdiocese of the Boston Roman Catholic Church was outraged. The Boston Catholic Archdiocese banned the song on that grounds that the lyric inappropriately sexualized the Christmas holiday. Jimmy Boyd garnered international attention when he scheduled a meeting with the leaders of the church and explained that, in the song, Santa was actually the child's father dressed in a Santa suit. The church lifted the ban the following year.
posted by FencingGal at 8:44 AM on December 18, 2018 [87 favorites]
Columbia records was delighted but a bit baffled with the song's success. Jimmy Boyd became an international sensation, and the Archdiocese of the Boston Roman Catholic Church was outraged. The Boston Catholic Archdiocese banned the song on that grounds that the lyric inappropriately sexualized the Christmas holiday. Jimmy Boyd garnered international attention when he scheduled a meeting with the leaders of the church and explained that, in the song, Santa was actually the child's father dressed in a Santa suit. The church lifted the ban the following year.
posted by FencingGal at 8:44 AM on December 18, 2018 [87 favorites]
My mom was a kid in the 1950’s, and as someone very very familiar with the culture of that time, it was a trope of sorts in tv and movies for a father to dress up as Santa.
Wikipedia has an entry about the song, apparently the Roman Catholic Church wanted to ban it until there was some sort of meeting to discuss the meaning of the song. While the meaning is not discussed in the article, the Church decided not to call for a ban and I think it’s clear the Church relented because “Santa” must have been the dad.
posted by jbenben at 8:45 AM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wikipedia has an entry about the song, apparently the Roman Catholic Church wanted to ban it until there was some sort of meeting to discuss the meaning of the song. While the meaning is not discussed in the article, the Church decided not to call for a ban and I think it’s clear the Church relented because “Santa” must have been the dad.
posted by jbenben at 8:45 AM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Kip Addotta recorded a parody called "I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus." (Hooray, Dr. Demento of the 1980s!) The lyrics clearly state that Santa Claus, in this case, was his Mommy in disguise. It is for this reason only that I always assumed the parallel situation for the original.
I also think it captures, in a funny way, the mystery of Christmas: child is half asleep, it is late at night and dark, hard to see what's going on, and he's trying to make sense of the situation.
posted by Melismata at 8:46 AM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
I also think it captures, in a funny way, the mystery of Christmas: child is half asleep, it is late at night and dark, hard to see what's going on, and he's trying to make sense of the situation.
posted by Melismata at 8:46 AM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: FencingGal seems to have nailed this one down definitively. Thanks so much!
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:47 AM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:47 AM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah dads at one time dressed up to put presents in the rooms. A bit like the making fake foot prints from the fireplace trend now a days, it was done in case kids woke up they'd see santa putting out presents. Seems like Mum & Dad decided on a little roleplay fun after the event.
posted by wwax at 8:48 AM on December 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by wwax at 8:48 AM on December 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah dads at one time dressed up to put presents in the rooms.
I was born in the 1950s, and I've only seen this on TV. I doubt very much it was ever common.
posted by FencingGal at 9:04 AM on December 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
I was born in the 1950s, and I've only seen this on TV. I doubt very much it was ever common.
posted by FencingGal at 9:04 AM on December 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
Back in the 90s, a co-worker thought it would be funny to dress as Santa and make enough noise for his kid to wake up, thereby allowing the kid to catch of glimpse of the magical Santa Claus. Unfortunately, they didn't account for the fact that kids sometimes believe if they catch Santa in the act they won't get any presents, and that prank did not end well at all.
So at least one dad was doing it in the early 90s.
posted by COD at 9:37 AM on December 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
So at least one dad was doing it in the early 90s.
posted by COD at 9:37 AM on December 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
Someone - I am 40 and to this day I have no idea who - used to dress as santa and run around my parents house peeking in the windows on Christmas Eve during the big party. Every year. And we always tried to guess who it was, but everyone always seemed to be in the house when it happened. Apparently this tradition started with my grandpa who, in the 1940s and 1950s, dressed up and handed out gifts on christmas eve.
posted by dpx.mfx at 10:14 AM on December 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by dpx.mfx at 10:14 AM on December 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Before reading this and the answers, I never interpreted it as anything other than the dad. Now I feel super naïve.
posted by Fig at 10:44 AM on December 18, 2018
posted by Fig at 10:44 AM on December 18, 2018
In my family, none of us kids believed in Santa Claus, because on Christmas Eve all the relatives got together to celebrate. After we ate, we'd laughingly sing carols at the top of our lungs, while the dads decided which one was gonna go upstairs, put on the Santa suit, then come back down to the rumpus room and hand out the presents.
So we all knew Santa was just (one of) our dad(s). And as we got older and taller, we begged for our chance to wear The Suit and be Santa that year.
It was so much more fun than simply believing in a real Santa would've been.
posted by Lunaloon at 11:30 AM on December 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
So we all knew Santa was just (one of) our dad(s). And as we got older and taller, we begged for our chance to wear The Suit and be Santa that year.
It was so much more fun than simply believing in a real Santa would've been.
posted by Lunaloon at 11:30 AM on December 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
tchemgrrl: "I always assumed that dad was dressed as Santa, but then I always wondered: why would he do that if the kids were sleeping? "
They're (unnecessarily) worried that the kid will realize "Santa" is just Dad if he sees them smooching, thus ruining the Santa magic.
posted by capricorn at 11:45 AM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
They're (unnecessarily) worried that the kid will realize "Santa" is just Dad if he sees them smooching, thus ruining the Santa magic.
posted by capricorn at 11:45 AM on December 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
It’s the dad in a Santa suit as far as I know
posted by christiehawk at 11:50 AM on December 18, 2018
posted by christiehawk at 11:50 AM on December 18, 2018
in my head I always kind of got it mixed up with "Back Door Santa" and assumed it was a paramour
posted by rebent at 11:58 AM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rebent at 11:58 AM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
I hate to break it to you, but Santa does not actually exist, so option (c) is right out.
Option (b) is physically possible, but for mom's secret lover to dress up in a Santa suit in order to have a covert lip-mash on Christmas Eve unbeknownst to the other members of the household seems so convoluted and ill-advised (WHAT IF DAD WALKED IN AND NOT JUNIOR?!?! HOW'S THAT GONNA PLAY OUT, FAKE SANTA LOVERBOY?) that I think it can categorically be ruled out as well.
This leaves option (a) as the only plausible possibility.
posted by drlith at 12:50 PM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Option (b) is physically possible, but for mom's secret lover to dress up in a Santa suit in order to have a covert lip-mash on Christmas Eve unbeknownst to the other members of the household seems so convoluted and ill-advised (WHAT IF DAD WALKED IN AND NOT JUNIOR?!?! HOW'S THAT GONNA PLAY OUT, FAKE SANTA LOVERBOY?) that I think it can categorically be ruled out as well.
This leaves option (a) as the only plausible possibility.
posted by drlith at 12:50 PM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Why is the dad still dressed up in a Santa suit?!
Don't kink shame.
There's also this classic Dear Prudence.
posted by FencingGal at 1:48 PM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Don't kink shame.
There's also this classic Dear Prudence.
posted by FencingGal at 1:48 PM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's kind of a self-cleaning joke: it's only dirty if you have a dirty mind.
(We used to sing it substituting different sound effects for "kissing" and "tickle.")
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:52 PM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
(We used to sing it substituting different sound effects for "kissing" and "tickle.")
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:52 PM on December 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
My 5 y.o. and 3 y.o. laugh every time they hear this song. 3 y.o. has been singing it today and at one point sang: “I saw Mommy kissing Daddy Claus.” Perhaps precocity? . . . But then again this same person calls random people, both known and unknown, and irrespective of gender: Mr. Spatula Head.
posted by blairsyprofane at 7:00 PM on December 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by blairsyprofane at 7:00 PM on December 18, 2018 [12 favorites]
My mom used to dress up as Santa Claus for her best friend's grandkids when they visited on Christmas Eve.
Don't know about any snogging. Now I wish I could share this with her for a laugh!
posted by TrishaU at 4:12 AM on December 19, 2018
Don't know about any snogging. Now I wish I could share this with her for a laugh!
posted by TrishaU at 4:12 AM on December 19, 2018
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