Christmas as a little kid with diabetes wasn’t always fun for me. Well-meaning relatives would give me sugar-free candy. I’d maybe get a cookie if I was low. I’d have to come inside from playing in the snow to treat a low. It just wasn’t always that much fun. But my Mom and Dad always did their best to make it special for me too.
After I thanked my relatives for the sugar-free candy they’d take it and throw it in one of the cupboards we never opened and eventually, when it was hard as a rock, throw it away. They’d make cookies without frosting. They’d keep some sugar in the garage so I wouldn’t have to venture inside and take off all my snow clothes when I got low making a snow fort.
But, my favorite diabetes-related Christmas memory involved Santa. All my pre-school and then kindergarten classmates would help their moms bake cookies for Santa and his reindeer. They’d make chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar, etc…
But my Mom would take me down to the grocery store.
“You know, Kay, Santa doens’t even like cookies. Everyone just thinks he does. He can’t have a whole lot of cookies either. Just like you.”
“Really? Does Santa get the ones without frosting too?”
“I’m sure he does. But what he really likes are peanuts!”
“Peanuts?! I can eat peanuts too!”
“Let’s pick out the best peanuts in the grocery store and set them out for Santa. He’ll really like that.”
“OK!”
I was three the first time we did this. We did it for a couple more years after that. I’m at home right now and Mom and I went to the grocery store to get some groceries and we walked by the same peanut bins. I asked her about it and she doesn’t even remember picking out peanuts for Santa instead of making cookies. But I remember it and it will always be a special Christmas memory for me.
Anyway, that Santa guy would probably benefit from a few less cookies.



