My Love/Hate Relationship with Santa Claus

So I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with Santa right now. I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this tension in the past, so I'm just going to put it out there and see what others think.

We'll start with the hate, naturally.

Erik and I are both products of Santa-less homes. He was never part of our Christmas traditions, and we didn't know any different. So when we began our own traditions with our kids, we had no category for Santa. In fact, when our daughter was 2, she somehow morphed Santa and Noah into one jolly, animal-saving being. I remember pushing her in a shopping cart around Lowe's and, upon seeing a life-sized Santa figure, hearing her shout, "Noah says 'Ho, Ho, Ho!'" Naturally, I did nothing to correct this. (Incidentally, I may have also allowed my young son to believe the bear says "wuah ha ha" for far too long...parents just do this when their kids say cute stuff...I'm banking on no permanent damage being done).

So we've never really been Santa people, and it's never been much of an issue. But this year my daughter is in kindergarten, where Santa reigns supreme. By the end of September she had already told a classmate Santa wasn't real. So we had many talks about how it's not her job to tell other kids that, and we need to respect the traditions of their families, etc. And I believe that, really. I hoped we could all just get through Christmas peaceably.

But then she came home one day telling me how Santa is real after all. She's seen his workshop, and his good kid/bad kid list. She only hopes she can get her name on the good list. Of course, I then asked her how many bad things she's allowed to do and still be on the good kid list.(For example, would not believing her mom be enough to put her on the bad list? She did not appreciate this question).

This post isn't a rant about my daughter not believing me, nor is it about our society perpetuating a lie. I mean, I'm not exactly thrilled about the whole setup, but that's not really the issue.

It's not even really about Santa. We've taught our kids about the real Saint Nicholas and we'll continue to reiterate the truth within the legend. This is a good, valuable message.

But the naughty/nice thing is just the worst. It's the worst because it's just like us to crave a list like this. And it's super convenient for having a peaceful December. The fear of coal-filled stockings is a real thing, friends. I've seen small children reduced to tears at just the thought.

So this is where the love part of the love/hate thing comes in. Part of me really loves Santa because I've never had an easier way to share the gospel with my kids as well as other parents/friends/teachers.

A couple of days after we decorated our home for Christmas, I put the kids' wrapped presents under the tree. I'm not always (read: never) on top of things like this, but this year I'm so thankful for the miraculous gift of preparedness because it has come in incredibly handy with our kids. When the discussion of Santa and his lists came up, I was able to point my daughter to the presents under the tree. I'm so thankful for the wisdom of God allowing me to tell her this:

"Do you see those presents under the tree? They are from your dad and me. They will be there every day until Christmas morning. It doesn't matter how good you are, or how bad you are. You will not lose those presents. You cannot earn them--they are a gift from us because we love you. With Santa, you have to be good to earn gifts. But you and I both know we can never be good enough on our own. And that's why Jesus is so much greater than Santa. God knew we could never be good enough on our own, so He sent Jesus. Jesus was good in our place, and when we trust in His goodness and His love, instead of our own, then we get His sinless record before God. We get to know God! So Santa really isn't so great after all."

So I know this isn't the end, and we will probably have this discussion every Christmas for years to come. And while part of me hates the thought of forcing my kids to choose whom to believe, part of me loves that inherent in this discussion is a clear gospel presentation. I pray for opportunities to declare the freedom of gospel grace in place of the karma of Santa Claus.

Note: This is in no way meant to condemn anyone who does Santa with their kids. I know lots of people who do it for fun without the naughty/nice lists and have a great time with their kids, not taking away from the true message of Christmas. So please don't read it as judgment.

But I am wondering how other parents tackle this topic with their kids. If you have thoughts or ideas, I would really love to hear them!