Anyone besides me have trouble with the santa thing?

I'm conflicted as well. Not just "creating" this fictional character when we really want the emphasis to be on Jesus' birth. I also feel conflicted about teaching my kids to be careful around strangers, but then encourage them to sit on an old man's lap and tell him your heart's desire.

So we don't go to the mall to see Santa. But we do watch Norad's Santa watcher to see where he might be in the world. My oldest (9) knows we give the gifts but my youngest doesn't.

 

Dude... can I be one of your kids

 

My oldest is Miss Skeptical, always analytical and asking why. She figured all this out pretty early. I remember very specifically the question as to why the Santa gifts were wrapped in the same paper as all the other presents. I told her that Santa didn't have time to wrap them, he was just so busy flying everywhere and left that for the mommies to do. She said okay, but I think that was the beginning of the end for her. She played along a couple of years for her younger brother, though.

I can't really remember what age it was. I do remember not wanting to actually lie if asked straight out. Now I wonder if she'll ever do it with her own kids. Just asked my son, he said he'll do it with his own kids until they figure it out so it didn't scar him for life...

 

We've already decided that we're not going to do the Santa thing with Isaac. We both think it sends some really mixed messages about what Christmas is really about. That being said. I still may hide some of Isaac's presents and fill his stocking after he goes to bed when he's old enough to know what Christmas is. The surprise was always fun. Heck, we may make reindeer food and cookies for Santa, too but I'm going to be pretty up front with him about it all.

 

We're not religious in the least. When the kids were little they'd get a present or two (maybe three) from Santa, but the rest would be from me, their dad, or brother/sister or someone else. The fantasy of Santa and the whole Santaverse at the North Pole, the reindeer, the elves, Heat and Cold Miser, it's all a part of the season for us. But my daughter in particular would start asking me questions about Christmas and Santa, and I'd tell her that Santa wasn't "real" in the sense he's a real person, but that he's an expression of the joy of giving, and compassion.

 

These are my feeling too. We don't do huge, outlandish gifts from Santa. We typically do a stocking and then 1-2 gifts from him. My 4 year old is so into the magic of Santa and the whole Christmas season this year and I, personally, cannot imagine it any other way. It brings back memories of my childhood when I watch her wonder and awe at it all.

 

Yep I'm with you, too. We've never done santa at our house. We tell our kiddos about St. Nicholas, and we talk about how it's important not to tell other kids that santa isn't real in the commercialized sense (because I don't want to hurt feelings or have any angry parent phone calls from that...), but yeah, for the same reasons as you said. 1) We want to keep our focus on Jesus and God's gift and 2) I also felt like it was lying to them. You're definitely not the only one! Though most everyone I know says my husband and I are "mean" for not doing the santa thing...haha

 

Nope. I'm with ya. We don't do Santa. Ours boys know that he's not real, but that it's okay to pretend...pretending is fun...I pretend I'm a rock star in my car. lol. It became a bit of an issue this year with B in pre-K. He's told a few kids there's no Santa. We had a long discussion about it and I told him that some children DO truly believe in Santa and even though he knows he's not real, he shouldn't argue with other kids about it, that we should respect what others believe. To which he responded, "Great. Thanks, Mommy. You've ruined my holidays. I have to tell them that there's no Santa, or I would be lying. And I can't lie, Mommy!". lol. At least we're raising honest kids. I just told him to say that we pretend there's a Santa and that wouldn't be a lie. He was satisfied. It's not that we want to upset another child, but like you, we want to keep the focus on the real reason for Christmas, the birth of our Savior and focus more on giving than receiving.

 

We had decided not to do Santa, but Jack picked up on it from other kids when we were in the States. We had told him before that it was just pretend but that it's fun to pretend, but honestly he just thinks it's so much fun that I'm pretty sure he doesn't care if it's pretend or not. We just tend to avoid the topic and wink when it comes up. It's kind of my approach to life in general.

 

love that.

 

We grey up without santa... But with sinterklaas (saint nicolas) and believed in that, yes! We did celebrated christmas with family diners & visits...we did got a small gift now & then, but that's about it! After we stopped believing in saint nic... We did gifts around christmas time and we bought our parents a little gift too

 

We explained to our children that modern day Santa is the make-believe embodiment of the Christmas Spirit and we all have Santa within us. We do observe St. Nicholas' Day (which is today). St. Nicholas was a real person, a bishop, he gave gifts to children. More info here and here. My children will receive a coloring book and some crayons today.

Yes, I am Catholic, so my links are slanted that direction.

 

My mom said that Santa only brings presents to those who believe. So I'm 32 and I still believe in Santa and he brings me presents every year. ;-)

Seriously, though, Santa and Christmas are hard for me. They were the biggest thing I had to give up when I converted to Judaism (when I got married 6 years ago). No decorations at home, but we do celebrate at my parents' house. Growing up, Santa was one of my favorite family traditions. But we didn't just get presents from Santa. Some were from Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, etc. And as we got older, celebrities got in on the action too. Now we still do this, such that the gift giver is a clue to what's inside. For example, an Apple product could be "from Steve" (ie Steve Jobs), or a Snow White ornament is "from Snow White", etc. I think I love it even more now that I'm grown up and get to participate in the gift-giving magic.

The topic of Santa is going to be a tough one when my husband and I have kids. I know my parents are going to want to play Santa with their grandchildren. And like many of you, I feel like the magic of believing is one of the wonderful, special parts of childhood. But my husband firmly believes that part of growing up Jewish is knowing that Santa isn't real, and he would want to tell our kids. I find the thought of spoiling it to be really sad and upsetting...

 

I do it and I enjoy it. We also base Christmas on Jesus though. My kids know exactly what Christmas is about and why we celebrate. I see no reason there can't be both. I remember loving it as a child and was not scarred when I found out he wasn't real. I think it is really to each their own.

 

kelley, for the same reasons as you, we don't put a focus on santa. i really want my kids to understand that we celebrate christmas because of jesus, not because of mass quantities of presents. also, i don't feel like it's right to lie to our kids, especially about something they invest so much hope in when we tell them it's true. (we're the same for the tooth fairy, too... i just pay my kids $1 to go throw their tooth in the trash...lol)

here's how we handle santa: when they ask if santa is real, i tell them that there WAS a real man named saint nicholas who did good for the world and gave to those who were in need. based on him, we embrace the spirit of generosity and giving, which lines up perfectly with God's generosity & giving in sending Jesus. so, the idea of santa is very real. as for the guy in the red suit, not so much.

it hasn't seemed to upset their world in any way. and it's easier for them to understand where the gifts come from, and to have an appreciation for those who did the giving, and for the sacrifice that was made by REAL people in their lives who love them and who give gifts out of that love.