Mike and I are trying to decide if we should do the whole Santa thing with our kids. On one hand, we think it would be fun for our kids, but on the other hand, we don't want to lie to them and make them believe in something that doesn't exist. Does Santa divert too much attention away from the real meaning of Christmas, or is the idea of Santa fun and harmless? I'd love to get your votes and comments on why we should or why we shouldn't have Santa Clause be a Christmas tradition.
***Update---The poll is now closed and 6 of you voted YES, that Santa should be a part of children's lives, and 1 of you voted NO. I wish the "NO" person would've commented on why because the whole point of this little poll was to get ideas on both sides. Anyway, thanks for all your comments and votes!
5 comments:
I think kids should have Santa in their lives. For me it always made Christmas so exciting. My sisters and I would always have a plan to stay up all night and catch him, but we'd always fall asleep too soon. And as an older kid, I enjoyed playing Santa, helping my mom set all the presents out for the younger kids.
Santa doesn't have to detract from the real meaning of Christmas. For us, Christmas Eve was always about reading the Christmas story out of the Bible and talking about Jesus' importance in our lives.
I don't recall feeling betrayed when I found out about Santa. I think I saw it as sort of a rite of passage, part of growing up. It helped that I transitioned into helping set out Santa's gifts.
I grew up believing in Santa, and I pretty much feel the same way as Chris. I didn't get upset about discovering Santa wasn't real. Even though, we didn't really do a lot of gift giving or receiving in my family once I found out because I was the last one to know. I think it was Mom's reward for being Santa for six kids for so long.
It didn't detract from the meaning of Christmas in my family either. I don't really remember what our traditions were when I was little, but Santa wasn't ever the focus. Mom never used Santa as a tool to make us behave either. I don't think I will either. "You better eat your peas or Santa might not come to visit you." That just seems wrong. Probably tempting, but wrong.
I guess that I like Santa mostly because I relate him to wonderful memories of excitement and togetherness with my family. It doesn't have to take a fat guy in red to do that, but that's how it worked in my family. I just associate him with happy feelings. I didn't feel hurt or lied to when I learned the truth--I thought it was fun and wanted to continue to make it magical for my younger sister who still believed.
I think that, for me, I've decided that we will do Santa in my family when we have little ones, but I don't want to make it into a huge deal. I think I'll just stick to the minimum, like, "Yeah, Santa's coming, so be good!" but not making it into a huge deal (like getting Dave to dress up for the kids to see or whatever). It's just a fun tradition, and I don't THINK it horribly disturbs kids to find out about him.
On the other hand, I completely understand why you wouldn't want to do the Santa thing for your kids. It does seem a bit deceitful and it certainly can take away from the real meaning of the holiday. But I guess I feel that if you don't overdo it, it will be okay.
Santa is the symbol of the Christmas Spirit - just as Jesus Christ is the symbol of Christmas itself.
I personally never felt my children were threatened by believing in Santa - it was the magic of Christmas they believed in after all... and as they grew I discovered that they really knew that Santa was just the symbol, not a real person, and that the fun and excitement he generated in anticipation of Christmas morning was wonderful!
We need symbols in our lives, we use them everywhere, not just in the Temple or the church or school or work, but really everywhere - That is because symbols touch us on such a deep level, much more than words (no matter how many words) could. That's one thing I love about the Temple - it has so many symbols, and many (if not all) have been around pretty much forever - since symbols were instituted with Adam and Eve and passed along since then.
so anyway - You can for sure let him believe in Santa - as the symbol of Christmas - Kids have a right to be kids....
now - I have a whole different viewpoint on the Easter Bunny - that's just someone's ploy to make a buck and I do NOT think we should make light of the most important event in the history of the world... what about you?
I think every kid should be allowed to believe in the mystery of santa. Its up to us as the parents to give them the meaning of christmas so that its not all about presents give me give me. I sometimes feel like people are trying to make there children mature and grow up to fast. I had such a great childhood and believing in santa claus and all the rest of them was a big part of that. plus dont make your kid into that one kid at school that feels the need to share the truth with those that still believe.
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