It's not a surprise to most who know us well, but to some it maybe. We do not teach Santa in our house. The girls do have their moments of pretending to be Santa and his elves, but as parents we do not mention Santa unless the girls bring him up to us. Many people don't understand why we do this. They feel we are taking away a special childhood moment. We disagree.
Our focus at Christmas time is the reason this whole holiday started. Jesus' birth. We feel that Santa has taken over and commercialized the holiday. We do however talk about who Santa was. We talk to the girls about St. Nicholas and what he was all about. That he really wanted to spread the news about Jesus and loved who Jesus was. That he gave all of his money to be able to make children happy when they had nothing. That he spent some of his life imprisoned and persecuted for his faith in Jesus. How morphed Santa has become! I think he would be sad at who he has become today and how much attention he takes away from Jesus.
Now I grew up believing in Santa and I am just fine. That is not really our reason for doing this. Although I do disagree with the thought that believing in things like Santa, the easter bunny and the tooth fairy are what prepare you for believing in God. Wrong...believing in God is was prepare you for believing in God! Sometimes I think people think kids are too young to start learning about God and learning about faith in God. Let me assure you they are never too young!
Don't get me wrong here...we don't sit here and tell our kids that Santa is not real. But when the time comes and they ask if Santa is real we tell them the truth. It just so happens that The Inquisitor asked at a very young age. She is the kind of girl where things have to make sense. The day she came to us with this I will never forget. She said "Mom, Santa doesn't make sense! How can one man get to all the houses in one night...with lots of gifts." I asked her what she thought. Her answer "I don't think it's real. It's just a story. Mom is Santa real?" So I told her she was right. Santa doesn't make sense and he's not real. Honestly I don't think she's missing out at all.
Let me tell you though...I don't mind if you teach your kids that Santa is real. It's not a problem with me. I think every family has to make that choice for themselves. I just hope that people can start respecting our choice. I don't mind if you leave your comments about how you disagree with me...that's fine. Just know I won't change my mind.
Don't worry about what other people think. Worry about what you think about it yourself. I understand that there were some rude mothers last year when the Inquisitor outed the entire class where Santa is concerned. Your reasoning makes perfect sense. You handled it just about the way my mom, your grandmother, did when I came home asking if Santa was real. It was the beginning of a very special Christmas tradition for me. I got to be Santa. I remember getting to pick out a gift for my younger brother, Gumbee, wrapping it, hiding it, and waiting up until he was asleep and I putting it under the tree. Such joy I felt at getting to be Santa. That continues to be my favorite part of Christmas. Remembering what Jesus & God gave to us and giving to others. I love the local Angel tree and the chance to give to a child. I have a question about some people's logic however-believing in false creatures - Santa, easter bunny, etc, - make it more possible for children to believe in the real God?!!! What happens to their belief in God when their belief in these falsehoods is gone? As you mentioned we are OK for believing in Santa and your girls will be OK for not believing in Santa. It is all about what the children are taught is the meaning of Santa and Christmas.
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