Today at ice skating a mom brought up Santa Claus wondering if we did it. Here are my thoughts on Santa Claus. I love the magic of Santa Claus. I love the wonder in my child's eyes when she believes something special in the crazy world we live in. I find that same wonder for Jesus in her eyes. I find no reason for not doing Santa for our family. I did it with my boys and they enjoyed the years of believing. They were never mad that I "lied" to them. In reality I never once told them Santa was real. If the question was asked I turned it back to them.
Here is the thing..... if you can keep the true meaning of Christmas alive in your house. If you can keep Santa where he belongs a very small part of Christmas. If you can teach your children to love Jesus and celebrate his birth. Then there is nothing wrong with Santa.
Now I know for each family the answer is different. What is right for my family is not always right for yours.
I do have a couple of friends who don't do Santa and their children don't care they still believe. Against it all they want to hang on to the wonder of it all. These are very Christian homes. So far one mom has embraced it and allows it all and the other is on the fence. It was funny last year as Samantha's friends from one family were excited to give Samantha Santa. One got a number for us to call Santa, they come up with ideas for the fun.
For our family its always been a celebration of Christ. That is the true meaning of the season. Santa is second. We have Santa bring 3 gifts to represent the 3 gifts Jesus received We also give her a couple of gifts from us. We keep it simple. We are doing a curriculum for this Christmas season called the Truth is in the Tinsel. I will do its own post another day. But here is what we do. I read a passage from the bible, we discuss it, she then makes an ornament for our tree that is based on that passage. Its been so much fun. We have made Mary, Joseph, decorated a cd to represent the song Mary sang worshiping God, a Star for Jesus the son and a few more so far.
We also learned what Hanukkah is about. She made a menorah with her handprints and each day she adds the flame to the next candle with her fingerprint.
1 comment:
I grew up in a super conservative home where Santa wasn't just against the rules...he was THE DEVIL!!!! Stealing the glory from Jesus.
But like you...I don't think it has to be that way. I view Santa just like I do Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and all the other fairy tales. It's fun to believe with them while they still do. My kids have never had an issue with worshiping Mickey over Jesus. They know that Jesus is number one.
But it's true too that at the end of the day...we're all accountable before the Lord with how we handled the family He gave us. And I have peace that He's okay with Santa in our home. But that's my peace...and I can't pass it on to anyone else.
...danielle
ps. Thinking about it now...I don't even want to know what my mom said!!!!!
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