What's A Mom To Do About Santa?

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I love baking lots of yummy delicious goodies and filling the house with the smells of so many wonderful foods. I love getting together with family and friends, going to look at lights, decorating the house and just enjoying time spent celebrating the birth of our Savior. 

From the time our boys were very young my husband and I felt strongly that we should not lead them to believe in the Santa of today.  You know the one - he's the plump jolly man wearing a red suit with a long white beard.  The man that visits the houses of good little boys and good little girls all over the world in one single night all on his own.  The Santa that lives at the North Pole with all the Elves that work in his toy factory.  (That whole thing is a bit creepy if you think about it, lol). 

We have taught them about the real St. Nicholas.  The real life man that lived long ago.  The man that even though he is gone, his story of love and selfless deeds live on.  Each year we read the same book a few days before Christmas telling of this man, this real life man that helped people in need. 

No, we have never encouraged the thought "Santa Clause ". Why, you may ask? It's simple.  He doesn't exist and he has nothing to do with my children getting or not getting gifts under the tree at Christmas.  Instead we have always taught our boys that every good gift we receive comes to us from God and Jesus.  That's the truth.  It's in the Bible.  James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Now, let me explain our reasoning.  We are doing our best to fulfill Proverbs 22:6 that says to train our children in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from these teachings.  We are teaching them about Jesus and His Heavenly Father God (who we can not see with our physical eye).  We have to use our faith to believe what the Bible says and that they are real.  Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

At the same time if we were teaching them that Santa (who we can see with our physical eye) is real but then one day down the road, when they get a little older they find out that we were not being truthful with them and that Santa isn't really the one that brought them all those gifts through out the years (and they will find out Santa is not real) then wouldn't it stand to reason that they would then have a reason to also believe that Jesus isn't real as well. 

I mean if we teach our children from a young age that two different people are real and then one day we admit that no, mommy and daddy told you a lie and one of those people isn't real what do you imagine it does to them.  Allowing our children to believe in the Santa of today may be harmless but for my children I never wanted to give them a reason not to believe in God and His Son Jesus.  And I never wanted to lie (that's what it is after all) to my kids either.

This is the choice we have made for our family and I in no way judge you for how you may have chosen to go about the whole "Santa" thing.  I still have a few decorations or ornaments that have Santa on them but we have always made sure that the focus is on Jesus (He is the Reason for the Season) and that my children know where our blessings come from.

What about you?  How does your family handle the whole Santa part of Christmas?