in years past we have told kaden about santa, gone to visit him, left out cookies & milk for him, he received one BIG gift from him on christmas morning. this year, though, i'm really questioning if that is something i want to continue.
i want my boys to know the REAL reason for christmas(and my oldest does) but is ok to have just a little fun with the story & gifts???
i am trying to figure out if telling this pretend story of santa is ok to tell my boys.
everybody else is doing it, right?
or should i tell them the truth - the real story of st. nick instead of the made-up world's view of santa???
they are both young, its clean fun, right???
what do you do with your children?
i know there is no right or wrong answer to this but i would like your opinion... PLEASE.
santa claus or not???
5 comments:
I have heard arguments for both sides.
I think the importance lies in just what you said, not so much the focus (or un-focus) of Santa but the main focus of Jesus.
(BTW mine is only 2 so maybe I'm not the best person to answer.)
We have decided we're not going to make a big deal out of Santa. We know she'll hear about it at school. We know some of the grandparents will bring it up. We've just resolved to keep our focus on Jesus.
And again, we'll see how this pans out in a few years. :)
Good luck!
Maybe it's just me but what exactly is wrong with Santa or Saint Nick. It is the giving and recieving of presents in the spirit of the gifts God and Jesus gave to us. If your focus is Christ and Santa is just fun then I say go ahead and have fun. If the focus is all about the presents, (and it doesn't sound like it is) then drop the Santa and refocus on Jesus.
If your going to drop Santa because the focus isn't Christian then remember there was no christmas tree, pretty lights, wreaths, poinsettias, or any of the other secular things we use to celebrate.
I personally think there is room for it all. Teach the giving of Jesus by adopting an Angel from the Angle tree that is Kadens age and have him select and give to those in the spirit of Christ.
I don't know. Just one person's ideas. For what they are worth.
Connie
That is the same thing we decided. We have explained the story of St Nick and that "Santa" was real and how the whole gift giving thing came about (starting back with the wise men). But we dont give the gifts from Santa. Partly because I dont want Santa getting credit for the gifts that I picked out!! JK (kind of..ha)
Actually, there are some really good kids books on this subject at the Christian book store. Your Mom got us one several years back...I found those really awesome for explaining it to kids at their level without ruining the whole excitement of Santa. Another thing we have run into is explaining that their friends may believe in Santa and we dont want to ruin that for them or be the ones to tell them "Santa isnt real!" They have handled it well. I have always found it best to be honest with the kids but I do want them to still feel the MAGIC of Christmas! Just in a different way.
Again, I recommend the books!
We do Santa because it's fun. My kids KNOW what Christmas is all about and Santa is not in the spotlight at all times. He definitely takes a back seat to the baby Jesus. Santa is fun for the kids and I see no harm in it. Children love make believe and they love presents. Tonight my daughter prayed that Santa would believe in Jesus.
I'm sure you'll know what's right for you and your family.
We don't celebrate Santa, but we do have a LOT of fun with St. Nicholas. Rather than take up your comment box with my thoughts, if you're interested, I just posted about it here: http://thesakeofthecall.blogspot.com/2008/12/st-nicholas-day.html
Grace and Peace,
Angel
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