I grew up in a no Santa and Easter Bunny household, and you know what? I don’t feel as if our holidays were any less special or magical. We weren’t completely Santa free, we watched him in movies, heard about him in music, celebrated St. Nicholas day, and decorated with him some but he was never the center of our Christmas. Our kids being at an age of understanding more have made me look back on my childhood and evaluate what traditions I want to keep or throw out. I don’t remember ever having the “Santa isn’t real talk” because I think by my parents not making a big deal about him we naturally knew he wasn’t real. I’m hoping we can get away with the same with our kids but time will tell.
Honestly, I have no desire to include any of these holiday figures into our family traditions and here is why:
- We are a faith based family and for us Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth and Easter is the celebration of His defeat of death and resurrection from the tomb. I don’t want to mar that with added distractions.
- I have no desire to add more stress to the holidays than it already naturally brings. I’ve seen the screaming photoshoots and parents running themselves ragged because they have to move the elves around. I remember listening to my aunt and uncle talk about forgetting to move the elves at night and trying to figure out what they were going to do next. I remember thinking, “Well, you brought it on yourself.” Then there’s the extra mile parents go to, to make it seem like Santa came by half eating cookies or leaving shoe prints. Why add more stress to an already full season.
- There are other ways to teach them your children about generosity and kindness than with a jolly man with a red suit. As parents we can model these characteristics year-round by thinking of others first, being kind to our neighbors, giving a gift without expecting something in return, and carrying the spirit of generosity and kindness all year. Teach them about real people who modeled these characteristics such as the real Saint Nicholas.
- The magic of Christmas isn’t just in Santa; it’s what you make it. There’s magic in creating cookies just because or to give to friends and neighbors. There’s warmth in snuggling up with hot chocolate and reading Christmas stories. There’s amazement in Christmas lights, decorating the tree, and watching the snow fall. My kids were so excited to decorate our little two foot tree this year and if the lights aren’t on in the morning when my son wakes up he asks for them to be turned on so he can just sit and look at them. We’ve made a few new ornaments for our tree this year and have painted some to include in gifts to others. My husband and his cousins used to each get a day with Mamaw where they would bake, craft, and spend quality time with a loved one. They still talk about those beloved times today.
Our oldest has started to pick up on things particular to the season and going to school has opened her to new beliefs. She has mentioned Santa once or twice this year but has not asked to see him, write him a letter, or acted like he is the focus of the season. She still talks about how we will be celebrating Jesus’ birthday this month. We don’t completely do away with Santa just like when I was little, but I’m not going to extra lengths to convince my kids that Santa is real. Not including a holiday figure in your celebrations won’t take away from the season. It might just add to it. You might come to enjoy the time more than the dread we feel as the holidays approach.
