Santa isn't and won't be coming to our house. My husband and I are in agreement that there will be no fictious characters (no Santa, no Easter bunny, no Tooth Fairy, etc) visiting our house in the middle of the night.
I LOVE Christmas. I love having lights outside. I love seeing presents underneath the tree. I love looking at the ornaments on the tree (each one tells a story), I love having Christmas music playing, I love shopping for my kids and picking out their presents, etc. I'm far from Scrooge, but we don't make a big deal out of presents. There are presents under our tree, but they are from Mom & Dad, Grandma & Papa, Grandma & Grandma, etc . . .
That being said, we are very determined that we want to focus on Jesus' birthday more than the commercialism of Christmas. Our son is 4, and attends preschool 2 days a week. Because of the decorations in our home and the discussions he's had at school and church he knows Christmas is coming, but he doesn't know/realize that he's supposed to want things at Christmas! He has never asked me for a birthday or Christmas present, because while he gets them, that has never been the focus of either holiday. Christmas morning is over quickly because so far Mom and Dad give each kid just one present! Because of the age of our kids we've been able to get off fairly inexpensively, too (less than $40 for each kid). We're also fortunate that neither of our parents buy tons of gifts for our kids,
Jesus is pretty clear in Matthew 25 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me' . . . The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "
Service and giving are two values that are extremely important to my husband and I and they are ones we want to instill in our kids.
What does all this have to do with Santa? Last December my friend C. Beth (who writes this blog) linked this. I thought it was the most incredible way I'd ever heard of to merge the cultural tradition of Santa with the spirit of giving that I'm so passionate about. I love how Eternal Lizdom is teaching her daughter about giving in a practical way and that others are going to benefit from this mom's wisdom. I shared it on my facebook page then and am going to again, but I had so much to say about the subject that I had to write a whole blog :)
While I don't follow the same practice of removing Santa and the other fictitious characters from E's life, I absolutely see your point and commend you for it. I do want to take E shopping (and start a tradition of it) for a toy or something for someone who really needs it. Because giving is something that's really important to encourage all the time, but especially at this time of year.
ReplyDeletei agree with allison above--i respect and commend you & steve for the way you're raising your kids... :) i love christmas too, but we still have santa around, and santa comes to visit the little kids on christmas eve, but he's never really the emphasis. i remember the year i came back from chile, after spending most of my year there, i arrived back here 3 days before christmas. that year i got sick watching my youngest cousin dig into this mountain of presents, toys and stuff she didn't need, mixed with clothes and stuff she did need, and still was looking for more after it was all done. i may spoil my nieces, but it's useful stuff... :)
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