I always knew I would teach my kids a certain way about Christmas, Easter, and the deciduous teeth (ask your dentist). My mom used the Santa Claus to be mean to me and my cousin got his heart broken on the playground by the other kids when he was 10 (-ish).
So then God in His Infinite Humor...
The girls have always done the opposite of what I expected, with my BS in Family Relations and Child Development and personal study of same with emphasis in Home Education. We thought in our "We-aren't-parents-yet-but- we- know" thing that Santa took attention away from Jesus, created a spirit of greed in the holiday, and risked that your kids will think you are a liar generally. Before you get mad...keep reading.
We always told them the guy in the red suit was named Santa Claus is a character we all pretend about... Shoot, I can't even remember how we worded it. At any rate, the Christmas they were three, they pointed to all the images of St Nick and called him..."the snowman."
Fast forward about 3 years. We are coming home LATE Christmas Eve from a party at the pastor's house. Acorss town. 45 minutes from home. The girls watched the lights going out in the grocery stores and gas stations. They began to be worried about where their lame mom and dad were going to get the presents. Mickey assured them that he would run down to the Texaco and get Christmas tree air fresheners and paper funnels and snicker bars. Panic ensued as the girls realized Christmas was in jeopardy. They didn't want THAT for Christmas and if they did, the gas stations were all closed.
The next morning, imagine their surprise to see bicycles and new coats and watches and goodies and...
Fast forward several months, I overhear from the backseat.
Type A: Of course, there is a Santa.
Sister: No, Mom and Dad said. They know.
Type A: There is too; think about it.
Sister: No, There isn't. Mom and Dad wouldn't lie.
Type A: On Christmas Night when we were coming home, everything was closed. Then, in the morning, all that stuff was there. That did not come from the gas station. And mom never went anywhere. There has to be a Santa. They couldn't have pulled it off.
Sister: Hmm.
The kids are back in school. Before you know it, stores will begin slipping in the Christmas stuff around the edges of the Halloween stuff. Keep the magic alive. Don't make your kids manufacture their own.
~I am Sharing My Awesome @Momma Made It Look Easy
