I've been dreading this moment. Peyton is getting older and smarter. She has a ton of friends are they are all talking about going to see Santa. This is an issue for me because I want Peyton to celebrate the birth of Jesus and I don't want to lie to her. There is a big Santa in someone yard in our neighborhood and she asked what it was. I just told her it was a Christmas character and brushed it off. We don't mention Santa. I figure she would not think Santa was a big deal if I didn't make it a big deal about it. But now her classmates are telling each other they saw Santa or are going to see Santa. I'm so torn!
I may be able to half way get away with by passing Santa this year since Christmas is next week but what about the years ahead? Should I just give up, let her believe in Santa? Then break her heart later and feel guilty? Any non-Santa families out there? What do you do? Thoughts please.
Here is my little shepherd performing at her school Christmas program this week. Yes, shepherds wear pearls.
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Explain the real reason for the season. Don't be torn about this world. Bring your child up how you want. Jubi knows it's Jesus birthday & Santa is a character. Santa didn't buy them gifts. Lol
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tasha! Christmas is Jesus Birthday and Santa should not be the reason why we celebrate Christmas although the world we live in has children believing otherwise. Do what you feel is right :) She looks adorable in this photo! Happy Holidays!!
ReplyDeleteWith Love,
Ashley
AsassyWoman.Com
You don't have to explain Santa to her for her to learn about it. I didn't tell Jas a thing about Santa but she knows and now I HAVE to play along or she'll ruin it for other kids because that's just what kids do. I don't recall my heart being broken when I knew there wasn't a santa. . . maybe because I found out by default but I think kids take it well. They just grow up and out of Santa.
ReplyDeleteI didn't tell Pookah about Santa. He found out from school and from Disney jr. I just play along. But I'm fine with it. He also knows and will tell you in a minute" Jesus is the reason for the season, but Santa brings the gifts.". I didn't feel upset or angry when I found out about santa. My parents didn't tell me, I found out on my own. I was sad, but not upset at all. She'll be fine!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe avoid it for this season, as long as you can..... and in the future you can just vaguely state something along the lines of "Many children believe that Santa brings toys to them on Christmas." Perhaps you can get away with not confirming or denying whether or not this is indeed true, by just stating that this is what they "believe." Does she believe in the Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy (oh wait, probably too early for the Tooth Fairy, right?) Well anyway, if you all do the Easter Bunny you can liken it to that (if she persists in knowing whether or not he really exists). But it seems to me those types of more in-depth conversations won't happen until she is older, like 7 or so. That's usually around the time kids at school starting ruining it for others. Hopefully until then you can just be general with her.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if she asks if Santa brings HER toys, you can be honest and say "No, mommy and daddy and grandma and grandpa brings your toys...." Something like that? I mean, Chase and Bryce believe that their toys come from Santa AND Mommy and Daddy and Auntie and Grandpa, etc. Santa is just one more person who gives toys. So I don't think Peyton would be sad to know that her gifts come from her family that loves her, rather than a character she doesnt know.
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Thanks Y! That is the route I want to try and take!
DeleteUr exactly right by explaining Santa is a Christmas character. We all grew up believing in Santa, which was fun. It gave us something to believe in but isn't the belief in Jesus enough. I think the world would be less crazy had we all grown up with the belief in Christ. Truth be told it's idolatry. Santa ain't Neva saved a soul so no we will not glorify him.
ReplyDeleteBTW...A friend suggested a new tradition to me which I am starting this year. It is the giving of only 3 gifts. It's symbolic of the 3 wise men which started the tradition of gift giving at the birth of Christ. So kids can have whatever they want but only 3 things!! My son is 3. He was crazy about 2 things he saw on t.v. So he got those plus I got him a Kindle, don't judge:) It made shopping easy. I Love It!! Doing it from here on out.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why you're worried that belief in Santa and belief in Christ are exclusive of each other? What do you believe is lost by celebrating both?
ReplyDeleteWhen I eventually discovered that Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny etc were not real, I was not heartbroken nor did I feel lied to; I thought it was something fun for little kids and felt "grown up" for knowing the truth.
I honestly think in a few years you'll look back on this preoccupation and laugh that you wasted time worrying about it.
I want to add, my response is under the assumption that you think the idea of Santa is fun but just want to make Jesus the focus of the season and don't want that lost... If you're saying you're thinking about it purely because her peers "do" Santa and you really don't want to; that's different. You stick to what you want for your family!
DeleteI just don't want to lie to her. I don't want her to lean on Santa for Christmas like a lot of kids do. I will make sure she knows the real meaning. Thanks for your suggestions!
DeleteThat's a good one! I will work on that for next year. Don't worry about the kindle, P has an Ipad Mini!
ReplyDeleteP looks adorable!! I love the pearls!
ReplyDeleteI was never taught Santa was real. I watched Santa cartoons and thought it was a nice story but there was nothing about him that I believed was actually true. It was a fairy tale, just like Cinderella. I wouldn't tell my child that Santa was real, I would tell the truth: it's a character like Mickey Mouse. As my cousin said. "I worked hard to make the money for those gifts, not Santa."
ReplyDeleteHi Trina!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a struggle that a lot of parents have. My family and I are Christians and with our 3 girls we let them believe in Santa. My oldest now 10 knows the truth about Santa and when she found out she wasn't torn. My youngest is 3 and we are church going, bible reading, And a Jesus loving family who have made it known to our girls the real reason. We also don't want to take away from our kids imagination so my husband and I decided we would let them believe and enjoy themselves until they get old enough to really want to know. Many people say they don't want to give "Santa" credit for what they have done but for us, once they learn the truth they will be old enough to understand the sacrifices we make as parents. In the meantime my girls enjoy Christmas. With Santa Claus and we also have a blast with Benny the tooth fairy. We do dress our girls up for Halloween and we try to let them enjoy things while they are small and innocent. I know to each is own but if your concern is that you will break her heart, if you wait for the right time when she asks & you know she will understand I hi I you'll be fine. Merry Christmas to you and your family doll! ;)
Santa is not real but he is not also just a character. Although his job might be simple and among the oldest job in all of us but it is powerful to a point that making a child believe in something that they can't touch and see. Santa is based on Saint Nicholas. I don't say that it is all Santa on Christmas but I just don't think that we just totally brushed him off. In our case we told my son that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and the reason to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteXo
Sam