Many have officially kicked off the holiday season this weekend. The parking lots for the mall and Christmas tree farms are all packed. Apple cider is warming on the stove and cookies are in the oven. But what about all things related to Santa? How does that work in your family?
DID YOUR KIDS BELIEVE IN SANTA OR DO THEY KNOW WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON?
Blurry photo from my phone of the girls with Santa.
Growing up as a kid, Santa was not a part of the picture for Tamara. Her parents let her and her sisters know right away that Santa was someone that other child may believe to be a real person but that he was in fact not real. She was also warned that she needed to respect other kids and to simply not say a thing. For Jason, it was different. He grew up getting a gift from Santa and later on learned the truth. He did, however, continue to go along with things because he has a younger brother and didn’t want to wreck it for him.
With our own girls, we decided to let them know the truth. We’re thankful we chose to do this. With how emotional both of our girls are, we feel that not doing so may have been very hard on them if they were to learn the truth later, once they were older.To our girls, Santa is just a fun character who is a part of some Christmas fun and movies. Nothing more. With Evie being in kindergarten we’ve been making sure that she continues to respect that other kids may not know the truth about Santa and so far she’s been very good about this. We do go and take a photo with Santa for family that has specifically requested to receive one. Doing this hasn’t taken away anything away from Christmas for them.
IS SANTA A PART OF CHRISTMAS IN YOUR HOME?
I grew up with doing Santa. It wasn’t a big deal like people make it now. It was something simple.
We don’t do Santa in our house. Christmas for us is about celebrating Jesus’s birth. Our kids do know that some families have a Santa tradition and that they shouldn’t say anything.
This is such a personal thing! I appreciate that you respect other’s continuing this tradition. 😊
My husband and I never really grew up with Santa – we knew of him like a character in a story, so it was still fun to go to the “North Pole” and “Santa’s House” etc. I don’t think we missed out on anything at all in our childhoods! We’re planning to do the same for our kids. Definitely something worth thinking about; it’s funny how it’s become an almost controversial topic.
Santa is a thing in our home, but I already have a big plan on explaining that Santa is the spirit of giving. Besides, we focus more on the Christian meaning of Christmas than Santa as a whole. I have a friend, though, that is planning on no Santa in their home. So this isn’t a foreign idea to me.
Love your thoughts here…Santa comes to our home but we celebrate Jesus as the reason for the season!
This is a great topic! It’s one we’ve been discussing in a private Facebook group that I’m in. Some of my kids believe in Santa and some don’t. We keep the magic alive for the ones who choose to believe but we don’t go all out or over the top with it. I think this year I’m going to change some of our traditions regarding Christmas and Santa though. Great thoughts here for me to ponder.