We taught our kids that Santa isn’t a guy in a big red suit who goes down chimney’s and gives all the kids presents all around the world. Before we had kids we agreed we wouldn’t lie to our kids. And this applies to telling our kids to be good or Santa won’t give them any gifts. So here is how we deal with Santa as a Christian family.
Related: What We’ve Gifted Our Kids For Christmas
Saint Nick
Our kids know Saint Nick was a real person. They know the story of the man who gave gifts to poor children and some ended up landing in socks drying over the fireplace. But we don’t celebrate him. We don’t want to be worshiping a nice guy. The only person to worship is God.
Movies
We allow our kids to watch movies about Santa. Our kids have seen Elf, the Santa Clause and Klaus. But we’ve also shown them videos of Saint Nicholas and the veggie tales story of Saint Nick. It’s okay to see these movies as “fun” or “magical” but they know that a fat guy isn’t coming down the chimney.
Gifts From “Santa”
We don’t give gifts from “Santa”. We don’t want to be lying to our kids so we won’t tell them that gifts are from someone they aren’t from. They know gifts we give are from us. We also aren’t having our kids go sit on a stranger and ask for gifts. In my opinion its kind of creepy and creating a culture of greed.
Spoiling It For Other Kids
I think since we haven’t hurt them by letting them believe this lie, my kids aren’t likely to try to tell everyone that Santa isn’t real. If someone talks to them about Santa, my kids may tell them he’s not real, but they probably won’t go around trying to hurt other kids since they haven’t been hurt by a lie.
The Reason For The Season
My children know that Jesus’ birth is why we celebrate Christmas. We don’t take the Christ out of Christmas. Our Christmas may look different from other’s, but that’s okay. We keep Christ at the center and keep our lives simple.
