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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Should Santa be Retired?

For the last few years, Santa has not been as fun as I thought. Cade asked quite awhile back about Santa and we told him the truth. I told Jeff I wasn't feeling Santa anymore and he was so relieved. He agrees with me in thinking Santa should retire.

I only know one person who doesn't "do" Santa and I know it has been difficult for her because her children know the truth and it's not the popular choice. So what happens when a child is confronted with "Santa" and they don't do the "Santa" fantasy? Children are honest and certainly speak their minds! So, I've read that some people teach their children that "Santa" is a fantasy, like the "toothfairy, Easter Bunny, etc" and that their family chooses not to "do" the fantasy, but that a lot of families choose to "do" the fantasy.

I am perfectly comfortable with retiring "Santa" from our house, but it is not the popular choice. I'm wondering if there are others out there who don't do the "Santa" game and if so, how do you blend that with your family and friends who do.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree retiring "Santa" I think real small children its ok but as they get older I feel it is Our Responsibility to tell our children Exactly what Christmas is actually about.
"Jesus"

Unknown said...

Our youngest asked us pretty early on, but then wanted to understand how if Santa was a "story" and we read about Jesus in a book...how is Jesus real and Santa not? That made for a fun, in-depth conversation for such a little one! I can't remember the exact wording, but thankfully he got it. Whew!

Best of luck!!! :)

Carrie said...

We are totally disinterested in Santa at our house so we don't have plans to pretend he is real. He will be just another character. The kids are too young to really get it one way or the other right not, but we are not going to do Santa.

Liz said...

Tee hee...I know which friend you're referring to who doesn't do Santa! :) Or at least I think I do! She happens to be the children's director at your church. Am I right? :)

Anyway, at our house, we introduced Santa when the kids were babies & didn't think much about it. It was the "thing to do". Several years later, we had second thoughts but hated to tear that little piece of childhood away from them, so we kept it going hoping that they'd just outgrow it & we could stop.

When our oldest was 8, she asked me for the truth & I told her. She was surprised, but very mature about & she helped us with keeping the secret from her little siblings.

When our son was 8 or 9, he too asked for the truth & we told him. He too has helped to keep the secret from his little sis.

Now that little sis is 9 (she'll be 10 in February) and still believes (as of right now), I'm realizing that maybe it's not such a big deal. I suspect this will be our last year before she figures it all out, too.

You see, we've never done the Easter bunny, tooth fairy, etc. Santa's the only one we've ever done....and even with him, we've never made a huge thing about of it. We've NEVER told them to make a list for Santa (or anyone else for that matter) as Christmastime draws near. We've NEVER made a big stink out of saying "You better be good--Santa's watching" or anything like that. And on top of all the things we have NOT done regarding Santa, we've got a heapload of stuff we DO do to reinforce that Christmas is about JESUS!

You can ask any of my three kids about Christmas at our house & they will tell you, first & foremost, that Christmas is about Jesus's birthday. All the rest is just for fun & family time. And I like it that way! I'm THRILLED that they all get excited about having a birthday party on Christmas morning BEFORE they even go into the living room where the presents are. I LOVE that they prefer to hear songs about Jesus than "Rudolph" & "the 12 days of Christmas", etc.

I think it can be done with balance so that they don't lose sight of what's important.

Liz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roan said...

Great conversation starter!
We "do" Santa, but don't make a big deal out of it. My children receive one gift each from Santa, and the rest of the presents are from Mama and Daddy.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I love visitors!

I'll be checking back to follow this thread.....

Liz said...

Well, I had to come back & update this.

This morning, Sarah (my youngest) came in & asked me if I had ever lied to her. I said no. Then she asked "...so then how do you know Santa's phone number?". I just smiled & said "Well, because it is MY phone number." She looked a little puzzled so I said "Honey, Santa Claus is just like the Easter bunny & the Tooth Fairy." (we've never "done" those characters in our house) She just giggled & said "oh, ok!" and seemed perfectly fine with that answer.

Then she asked "So should I not tell Savannah & Samuel?" (her older sibs) I had to giggle & tell her that her 10 & 14 yr old siblings had known about Santa for a few years & they had been playing along for her sake. :)

So now the cat is out of the bag at my house!