Santa Is Fun, But…

I never really thought about Santa Claus much when I was growing up. I did enjoy the holiday season, but Christmas Day at our house was a little messed up.

Becoming a parent eventually forced me to take an honest look at the whole Santa thang. I wanted to be a truthful, reliable Mom — someone my children could believe. And it’s hard to believe a person who intentionally lies to you.

But the Santa stuff is so FUN! And my husband is such a delightful giver himself, how could we not go there? Reindeer footprints on the carpet, cookies and milk for the man in red, we even had a fireplace! Our kids would become completely absorbed in the magical land of the imagination.

Then, there would come a day when each would deflate with disillusionment. Somehow, they would find out. They would find out that I had lied to them.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t risk them then wondering if Jesus was real, or just someone else I fibbed about to get them to behave better, or have a false hope of a forever life with a God who loves them. Not worth it.

The other thing I could not do was deprive my husband of the joy of being Santa’s helper, leaving out (and eating) those cookies and milk, etc.

So, we did the Santa stuff. But we always told our three that it was just pretend, something we did for fun. We also made it clear to them that it was not their job to tell other kids that Santa wasn’t real — that was something their own parents would deal with. Amazingly, they honored that.

Our children are now in their late teens and twenties. They have always loved Christmas. They know Jesus, personally, and the story of His birth. None has ever confused that with presents and Santa. And in a couple of weeks, our 22 year old will be up by 6 a.m., wake his sisters, and sit and look at the tree, stockings, or whatever it is they do until they can’t stand it anymore and wake us up. They are amazingly generous in their gift giving, especially with each other. It is always a fun day.

One of the greatest gifts I have received through all this, is that all three believe that I speak truth to them, as best I can. To me, that is priceless.