Santa is a controversial subject in mom circles. Those who LOVE Santa and go all out. Those who hate Santa and think you are going to hell for mentioning his name. And those of us who are neutral...
When we had children we made the decision to not have "Santa" bring our children gifts for 2 reasons that are very important to us.
1. This is the same reason we don't focus on the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy- We want our children to know when we tell them something is real, it actually is.We have taught them Jesus is real, and is our only Savior. He died on the cross for our sins, and is the reason we have eternal salvation. I don't want my children questioning if Jesus is real, when they find out the others characters are not. Truth and zero confusion is my goal.
2. We want our children to know and understand Christmas is a season of love, thankfulness and giving. They understand that we give a few nice gifts out of love to those we care about. And we work hard for the money to pay for those gifts. There is a HUGE sense of self indulgence , selfishness, and entitlement in our culture that we constantly try to fight against.
Our kiddos have an elf on the shelf that we play with and move daily. The see pretend Santa at the mall. Attend Christmas events. Get a dollar under their pillows for lost teeth, Get a nice Easter basket. We take great care in giving our children fun and memorable traditions., with the understanding that we do them as a family. They understand the difference between pretend and real, and are not confused when the truth is spoken.
Click here to read about 30 life skills I think every child should develop.
Here's the great thing- we all parent differently. And there is no judgement if Santa delivers gifts to your home. We can all raise our children in the way we feel pleases God. For our family, this was best for us.
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