• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest

Do you have a Santa dilemma in your house? Where you want to enjoy some of the Christmas magic but don’t want to pull away from the true meaning of the season? Here is what we do in my family when it comes to good old St. Nick!

This is a topic that is widely debated in Christian circles. I’ll confess I’m on the fence about it. I grew up in a “non-Santa” household. I don’t think my parents blatantly said Santa wasn’t real, but he was never talked about and we just didn’t believe in him.

This also meant I was the 7-year-old breaking my friend’s hearts by telling them there was no Santa. I wasn’t trying to be mean, I honestly didn’t know what other people believed!

I remember trying to understand the concept of Santa and how people could believe in him (yes I know, my little 7-year-old empathetic heart had some deep thoughts).

I liked the idea of Santa but the issue I had was how everyone would get such vastly different presents. Oddly enough, that was the part that was the most unbelievable for me. Not the flying reindeer or delivering presents around the world in one night. It was that people believed in a man who would bring small gifts to one person and big gifts to another, for no apparent reason. To me, it seemed entirely unfair!

That being said, now that I’m a parent (and an adult) I completely understand my parents’ position on the Santa dilemma. It is sort of like lying to your kids, and it can pull away from the true meaning of Christmas. Santa has become very commercial and has strayed away from the original story of St. Nicholas.

My Santa Dilemma

However, E loves Santa. When he was younger he had a little Santa hat that he loved to wear (B now wears it) and he still gets so excited when he sees Santa or reindeer. It’s cute and it did help with his language development (he was able to identify and say “reindeer”).

I don’t want him to lose that Christmas magic. There’s a little bit of sparkle in the idea of Santa, and that’s part of the fun for kids. How can I take that away?

But I wish we thought of Santa in terms of the original story of St. Nick, who was an actual person, and less as the jolly old elf.

Who Was St. Nick?

In case you’re wondering, St. Nicholas was a Saint who lived around 200 BC. He worked mainly to help the poor and sick.

The story that inspired Santa says that for several nights in a row, St. Nicholas threw bags of money into the window of a poor man’s house to pay the dowries for the poor man’s daughters. The story explains that the poor man was at the point of having to sell his daughters into servitude because he was so destitute. So St. Nicholas gave the gift anonymously, and in a unique way, to help someone in need.

The Santa Claus we think of today gives gifts based on behaviour (naughty or nice) not necessarily need, which to me seems unfair. We know that sometimes kids can’t control their emotions and have bad days. How can we honestly tell them that because they are tired and having a meltdown that they won’t get presents?

And in reality, some parents can’t give expensive gifts from Santa because of life situations and that makes it look like Santa plays favourites. Talk about a real Santa dilemma!

Gifts Shouldn’t Be Used As a Reward for Good Behaviour

I want E & B to know that their gifts were bought, wrapped and given to them by the people who love them. It has no bearing on if they were good but simply the fact that they are loved!

Of course, I want my boys to be good and honest and help people, but these are things I want them to learn how to do without the enticement of a reward sitting under the tree.

Christmas is about love. Gifts are given out of love, not because we earned them but because someone loved us enough to give them (literally the Christmas story summed up in one sentence!)

My Plan for the Santa Dilemma In Our Home

All this being said, I have concluded that in our house, we will believe in Santa. I like the magic and excitement it brings, a sort of childhood innocence that I didn’t have (and sometimes wish I did). But I also plan to keep the real story a part of it. This way E and B can see that Santa is based on more than just a man in a red suit, he was someone who cared about people who needed help.

This also allows my boys to have that childhood belief that so many kids enjoy while considering those who need extra help.

So how will I make this work? I plan to have Santa bring the stockings. It will still be a surprise and exciting but the “big” gifts will come from Nana & Papa, Grandma & Grandpa, Mommy & Daddy and so on, because they love us. And that’s the main element I want E & B to understand about Christmas, love. But the smaller things in the stockings, that “appear” on Christmas morning will come from Santa.

I don’t know if this is a perfect solution but I’ll try it. The Santa dilemma is a muddy one, and I don’t think there is a clear answer without going one way or the other. E and B can make their own decisions when they’re older but for now I’ll let them keep the magic and the cute hat.

So Santa or no Santa, I hope you are ready to make memories this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!

If you’re needing a way to explain Santa to your kids, check out this video “When Santa Learned the Gospel”👇

---