Santa Explained...

This is just going to be a quick (I hope) explanation of why we don't do Santa. First, let me say, it is NOT because we are trying be over spiritual or because we think it is a sin to do so. We think that every family should choose what is right for their own family.

While we do not think it is wrong to incorporate Santa into Christmas, we don't find the need to. To begin, Bella has no idea who he is and has no reaction when we see pictures or figures of him. She hasn't even noticed him in one of her favorite movies, the Polar Express. Because she hasn't noticed and hasn't ever asked, we don't feel like we need to bring him at all at this point. If we did, it would feel like lying. We know children enjoy fantasy and that is why we will treat him like any other character that we come across including Disney princesses, Elmo and Dora. Those friends are fun to her and we watch them on TV but they don't come to our house and they don't have any magic abilities to affect our real lives. As she gets older we will tell her where the fantasy and stories came from and about Saint Nicholas.

As adults it is hard enough to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We find ourselves stressing out over gifts to give and getting the house decorated, cooking and making sure we can get to everyone's parties and celebrations. Personally, we are trying our best to keep things simple while still making a big deal out of celebrating the birth of our Savior. We want to make it even easier on our kids by taking the distraction of Santa out of the equation. We will make it clear that Christmas day is the day we celebrate Jesus's birthday! Yes, we give small gifts and yes we think it is a time to spend with family, but we don't want all the attention to be on "what we get." Whether she is "good or bad," or "naughty or nice," she will be loved and treasured by her mom and dad and will receive gifts regardless. We want our children to be thankful and appreciate gifts and where they really come from- rather than believe they are never-ending.

God is the one and only that is omniscient and omnipresent, the one who gives all things and the only one capable of miracles. Let us not confuse our children into believing any other has those kinds of abilities.

Again, this is not the answer for everyone and we think nothing less of the those that choose to use Santa. We have just felt this was the right decision for our family. Please don't feel sad that Bella's is "missing out" or anything like that. She loves to celebrate birthdays and is already excited about baking a cake for Jesus's birthday in just a few short days!

Here are a few other resources if you interesting in hearing someone else's perspective on the topic:

http://www.andybox.com/?page_id=76
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/thinking-about-santa