The Big Santa "Elephant"

The past week I've enjoyed reading all of the discussions on Christian families choosing not to let their children believe in Santa. I get it. I really do. However, my opinion is a little different. I've said before in one of my previous posts, that I have a very childlike heart and sense of humor. To this day, I wish I still believed in Santa Claus. Does that make me less of a Christian?

Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ. And I'm 100 percent about that. I just don't see anything wrong with my child also believing in Santa Claus. Just like nobody sees anything wrong with taking their children trick-or-treating on Halloween. Here's my reasons...

First, let's clarify the age range. I'm talking about kids between 1 and 8, maybe 9. Usually this is when they start to figure it out for themselves, or kids at school start spilling the beans.

It's the one month out of the year that children get the chance to experience some magic. I feel like if you tell your children that all the fictional characters they believe in at the time aren't real, you're taking away a piece of their childhood and forcing them to grow up faster than they have to. I don't want to be the parent that takes away the magic that comes along with my son getting to experience all the joys of Christmas. We were all children once, does it really matter that we believed in Santa Claus? Did it ruin our lives and taint our belief in God? No. 

For me, believing in Santa was a privilege. Even though it was short lived, I cherished it. I didn't think of him as a second God, I never thought he really watched me while I slept. Even as a child, I knew there was a difference between God and Santa. And all the while I still loved celebrating the birth of baby Jesus, going to church for the candle light service, and watching the nativity show. Until you're more spiritually mature, you never really understand the magic that comes along with being a Christian. After all, there was a real St. Nicholas that gave to the poor, and loved and worshiped God. I'm looking forward to incorporating that in our seasonal readings.

Believing in Santa only takes away however much you as the parent allows it to take away from Jesus. As a child, my family didn't talk about Santa all year round. We weren't tortured about whether or not we were good enough for Santa to bring us presents.

Personally, I don't remember every single question I asked my mom about Jesus or Santa when I was little. I don't think any of us do. We all figure it out for ourselves in the end anyway. I'm not the type of parent that wants to sit down and discuss logic with my child, he's a child, let them have an imagination. I will have plenty of time to sit down with my son and discuss logic when he's a teenager. Jesus is the reason for the season, and for some that's it.

As for our family, we're looking forward to all of the visits from Santa to come! And celebrating the birth of Christ all in one!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! 
xoxo