We don't "do" Santa

We don't "do" Santa", and what that means is that we don't teach our children that Santa is real. He doesn't come to our house on Christms Eve and deliver presents. To some that is a surprise, they think we are "radical" and some even say we are mean. So let me explain why we choose this and see what you think.

We choose not to belive in Santa at our house, and instead we choose to totally make Christmas about Jesus. We celebrate Christmas because it's the day that Christians have set aside to remember Jesus birth. We bring gifts to each other because the wise men brought gifts to Jesus. We make a cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve, his birthday cake. And we even sing happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas day.

I guess my thinking is that it's his special day, it's birthday, why not give him all the glory at this time of year. I personally don't really remember beliving in Santa so it's not that big of a deal to me. I don't understand why we take our kids to see movies and tell them it's pretend so that they won't be scared, but yet will tell them that a big fat man comes into their house at night....that's just me. :)

We also talk a lot about giving to others at this time of year. God gave us his son, and we can set aside money, toys, and food to give to those who don't have any. God thought of us when he sent his one and only son, and it's important to focus on how we can help others instead of just focusing on what we "want".

We still teach about St. Nicholas, and as the girls get older we will talk about how other countries celebrate during this time of year. But everything will be centered around Jesus' birth. That's the most important thing that I want my kids to remember at this time of year. Plus I get credit for all out gifts. :)

We still do stockings (like St. Nicholas), we still watch Christmas movies about Santa, and read books about Santa, we decorate our house with "Father Christmas" figures, and sing Santa songs. It's just all pretend and fun. But each night before bed we hang an ornament on our advent calendar, and read a story out of an advent book reminding us about God's love and the wonderful gift he gave to us. And that is the trume meaning of Christmas at our house.

Decorating for Christmas

Here are some pictures of us decorating our Christmas tree. I didn't put out a lot of Christmas decorations this year since we are in the rental, but we still made it look festive. The girls had fun hanging the ornaments.