Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I have been so neglectful of this here blog. Several times a day, I make a mental note to blog about something cute that was said, or something deep that occurred to me. And yet, the days pass, bloglessly.

Around this time of year, I begin to think about the holiday season, and what I want my children to believe about it, what I want them to know is important, where I want emphasis placed. I'm not sure we always get it right, but Ben and I made a decision when Jude came along, one that has proven to be unpopular among many people. We decided right from the start to tell our children the truth about Santa. So, in our home, Santa is pretend, a character.

Many children are told by their parents that Santa is real, and if they are good, they will get whatever toy they want. Many children come to a point where they are suspicious that their parents are not telling them the truth. We tell Jude that Santa is pretend, and he is suspicious that we are not telling him the truth, and that Santa does actually exist.

We want the emphasis placed on Jesus, even though it's hard in our society to downplay the material aspects that have become associated with Christmas. We want to emphasize giving to others, helping those who need it, loving those around us. I hope we can get these things across, although honestly sometimes I feel like we're failing.

And yet, by the reaction of some, you'd think we were sacrilegious. Ben was admonished by a disgusted co-worker when he told her of our stance. She told him we're the parents that other parents hate. That may be true, and certainly we'll have to talk to our children about what they say to other children, but we have to respect our decision, instead of lying just to fit in. I'm not judging other parents about their decisions, but we feel we need to be congruent with our beliefs.

And so, I've been thinking about how we are perceived by others because of this decision, feeling a little judged, a little outcast-ish. I was at the mall, watching my kids play at the playground, near the Santa station, when another family that was there was approached by a newscaster about being interviewed about the "reason for the season." First of all, whew, am I glad she didn't approach me, but as I listened in on the interview, I realized we're not alone. These parents talked about Jesus coming to earth, and that they also teach their children that Santa is pretend. I felt it was a little confirmation that we're not pariahs, that it's okay to be different, and that we're not alone.

So, we'll keep trying to convince our kids that Santa is not real, even though I can understand their suspicion. I mean Santa is everywhere you turn in December. But, there's nothing we can do about that... or is there? (*maniacal gleam in eye)