I was determined to find real, lasting Christmas joy for myself and my family. The post called “Solutions for Santa” is where I solidified our family goals on how to celebrate Christmas, which included two key commitments. 1- Put Christ at the center and give Santa the back seat. 2- Tell our children from Day One the truth–that Santa is just a game of pretend.
I’ll admit that I was not completely sure how long it would take for my kids to understand the true joy of Christmas, but I had faith it wouldn’t take long. Sure enough, the following year, and every year since then, we have experienced more joy and magic than even I thought was possible. This most recent year was no exception, and I wanted to share a magical experience that really stuck out to me.
Christmas Eve was winding down. We had finished our special dinner, talked about how exciting tomorrow would be, and announced it was time for bed. Tanner asked if he could put out a plate of cookies for Santa all by himself. (Remember, we haven’t completely boycotted Santa. We still pretend he comes to our house, and the kids are in on the game). We were glad he wanted to do it alone because Dallin had a fever needed our attention. I hinted to Tanner that this year “Mrs. Clause AND Santa Clause will be delivering the gifts, so keep that in mind with the treats.” He didn’t miss a beat and quickly got to work.
We could hear Tanner working like a busy bee. A few times I needed to walk into the kitchen. I found him beaming from ear to ear to get the plate ready. He hustled all around the kitchen, singing little tunes and thinking out loud while getting things ready… “Hmm, Dad should like these cookies. But what will mom like? Oh, she’ll like eggnog!” Then he hollered to us, “Hey mom, can I put eggnog for the drink instead of milk? Mrs. Clause will like that, right?!”
He didn’t do this because he thought some magical dude with a beard would eat it and decide to put him on the “nice” list. He didn’t do this in hopes that his gifts would be bigger or better. He didn’t even do this to help “play along” for a younger kid, because Dallin knows the truth about Santa, too.
Needless to say, with all the nay-sayers over the years, it was a very vindicating evening for me.
To that, I would share a conversation my boys had with me last year. They were talking about wanting to tell their friends that Christmas is about Jesus, not Santa. They asked me why parents don’t just tell their children the truth. My answer was recorded in This Post , which says:
Tanner wisely answered, “Christmas is fun and special without Santa being real! Because it’s about Jesus. It’s His birthday!”
Tanner’s comments and so many other experiences with him and Dallin are convincing evidence to me that children REALY DO enjoy and understand Christmas without believing in Santa.
The magic didn’t end there for us this year! During the month of December, I realized how magical my approach with Santa is because it has given our family a precious gift:
We have found that in our home, the truth has set us FREE. Our holidays are still busy, but we don’t have to deal with any pressure to keep up gimmics and expectations with Santa. Our down-time to talk about things like Christ’s birth is still limited, but I find it is easier to make conversation about him with my kids because talking about Santa simply is not important to them. Unlike me as a child, my kids don’t wonder how Santa’s reindeer fly or how he gets through chimneys. Instead, they want to understand how Jesus slept in a manger and how the star appeared in the sky.
Instead of constantly thinking what Santa will bring them, my kids are thinking about what to put in their brother’s stocking and what realistic presents they can ask mom and dad to give them. They of course get giddy like any other child to see their surprises on Christmas morning, yet their trust grows in us– not in something ficticious- when they discover that we gave them the things they wanted and needed. Having these freedoms has been so magical for our family!