To Santa Or Not To Santa. That Is The Question.

Growing up, I believed in Santa Claus. I believed that my letters got to the North Pole every year. I have spent many of Christmas nights trying to stay up to catch him. Only to fall asleep and wake up to an empty cup and a plate of half eaten cookies. I was always so confused about how Santa was able to get all of my toys into my living room, and all without a chimney to slide down in.

One day, while riding back from the store, my mom was making jokes about my dad eating Santa cookies. She said he was eating them like he was the cookie monster while she was putting together my toys. We laughed so hard that we were in tears. Then, all of a sudden through the tears of laughter, it dawned on me that she just told me that my dad was eating the cookies that I had left for Santa. I had to ask her why he would be doing that, because to me, that wasn’t not what he was supposed to do. He knew they weren’t for him. So why eat them?

That, my dear friends, is when she got quiet. She asked me if I actually still believed that there was a Santa. I told her yes that I did. I heard nothing but silence again from her. Then she proceeded to tell me that there was never a Santa. I was thirteen at the time. 13!! At the age of eleven both of my parents told me that Santa would stop coming because I was getting older. That was what I believed. They never came out and told me the truth, that is….. until this fateful day.

To tell you the truth, I was devastated when I found out. I understand the ‘magic behind it’ and I believe kids should have that magic and imagination in their childhood. But I also remember feeling some sort of way about being lied to my whole life about him being real. I’ve been picked on, had a few fights, and stood my ground for something that wasn’t real. I was hurt for being lied to, after being told that it’s not good to lie. I was also embarrassed over the battles I had for the Jolly O Saint Nick.

I’m glad that I can look back and laugh about it now. A great story to tell the kids and grandkids some day (Not anytime soon though 😉 )

Now that I’m a parent, I struggled with the choice when my oldest was a baby. My Mom is very being on Santa so we did play the role with our the boys until they were about 4 and 6 years old. Hubby was raised to not believe or celebrate Santa in their home. His dad felt that he didn’t want to give some random person all the credit for his hard work and money that went into the toys. I understood that and I respected it. Hubby feels the same way. He is a logical thinker and to him it doesn’t make sense to believe in something that is not real. He doesn’t see the point in the “lie”.

So here we are, with 4 kids, and had to come to a compromise as far as Santa goes in our home. First and foremost, I teach my kids that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. This is why we celebrate this day. I read The Christmas Story from a book we have called My Treasury of Christmas Stories. It’s a great story Of the birth of Jesus Christ with beautifully illustrated pictures.

We also like a read a book called Saint Nicholas, The Real Story Of The Christmas Legend. The story is about the life of Saint Nicholas. A Godly man who touched lives and had a generous heart. He showed God’s love to others. I love how his book connects the story of God’s love to Santa Claus.

Check out this article over at Psychology Today that I came across in the search of Santa. They talk about the possible benefits of believing in Santa. Learning Good values, The belief can be valuable in their cognitive and social development, and it aids in helping children’s imagination grow.

Reading these books, watching the old Calymation movies, drinking hot chocolate, all in our new Christmas eve pajamas is a family tradition that we made our own. No matter what we believe as far a Santa goes, It’s important to us to just be together as a family and make our own unforgettable memories.

How do you celebrate Christmas? Does Santa come to your house? Why or Why not? Do you have any favorite family traditions?