Christmas really is a magical time of year. The glowing lights, the suspense of wrapped gifts, and the anticipation of December 25th create the perfect storm of excitement and wonder. Not to mention the idea of this jolly man in a red suit somehow entering your home via a chimney or front door with a special key without anyone hearing or seeing him, ever. The mystery of the reindeer and the logistics of Santa visiting every house in the world in 24 hours perplex every young mind.
I recently overheard a mother telling a story of how her elementary aged child frankly told another student that Santa, in fact, did not exist. See, they celebrate the season strictly on religious traditions and beliefs. This mother held her head high and smiled at the thought of her child sharing this huge piece of information.
Before you light me on fire, know that I absolutely respect the Christian traditions and beliefs of the Christmas season. I was raised in the Catholic church and Christmas is just a little bit of a big deal in the church. But, guess what? I still loved the heck out of that mystery man in the red suit.
Here’s where I come asking for a HUGE favor. To those who don’t believe in Santa, who don’t participate in Santa traditions: PLEASE DON’T RUIN IT FOR THOSE WHO DO.
Just as I absolutely respect your holy beliefs and celebrations, please respect that Santa provides that extra dose of magic in our house. My daughter is five and I know that our days of excitement and making lists and crossing fingers and toes that he brings her favorite items are limited already. She will too soon realize all the plot holes that the Santa ideal brings, she may find the special Santa wrapping paper, or she may catch a glimpse of this blog {so sorry if this is how you find out, girl}.
But, please, don’t let your child ruin the magic for my family.
I have heard parents say, “I just can’t lie to my child.” First: I believed in Santa, and even when I realized that Santa had the same handwriting as my mom and dad, I still tried to believe in him. This has not caused me any long-term trauma. Second: If lying to our kids is wrong, then put me on the naughty list. The number of times that Wendy’s has run out of chocolate Frostys puts McDonald’s ice cream conundrum to shame.
It’s not about lying; it’s about having fun. My kids will too soon realize how “not fun” the world is, so please let my kids enjoy the season the way they wish. Even though we believe in Santa, we still have opportunities to teach them all the valuable lessons that come with this wonderful season.
So, please, I beg you and your family: please don’t ruin Santa for us. We choose to believe.
{Also, can I add the Elf to this as well? As bizarre as this whole Elf thing is, for some reason my daughter LOVES it.}
I totally agree. I too was raised Catholic but we also believed in Santa in our house. I continued that tradition with my kids and now with my grandkids. And yes Elf is a big part of our Christmas season. PLEASE dont ruin Christmas for my grandbabies. Thank you
Yes! Teaching my kiddos this! Compassion. But also Santa playing parents maybe teach your kiddos not everyone believes in Santa. It’s a two way street.
Your kids can believe something others don’t. I would just make sure your kids know some kids don’t believe so they aren’t shocked by it.
My mom was over the top and trimmed carrots to look like reindeer ate them…we did everything Christmas…this was in 80s before elf on the shelf but she may as well have invented it. She was a 14 decorated xmas trees in house kinda a mom.
When you stand your ground as an 8 yr old for something you believe in (Santa) and endure weeks of torments for your belief and THEN find out it was never true (after teachers conferenced parents due to the situation). It really zapped all the Xmas joy out of me from then on. It also made it very hard to trust my mom in future when she was willing to go to to such lengths to get me to continue believing in something she had fabricated proof for. This last point is why we don’t teach our kids to believe in Santa as it happenned with me personally.
So, I tell my kids it is okay to tell someone that they themselves don’t believe but that it is okay if someone else does believe. Plenty of people out there tell others they don’t believe in something. It doesn’t make something untrue. We watch Christmas movies with Santa too for fun.