Why do some not "do" Santa

[Anne_G]

I also buy Christian products for my children. My teenagers think I am silly, and that they won’t want what I give them. I started this last year and I mainly brought books, videos, board games, computer games etc, and they actually enjoyed the books, and the majority of the other things. My 3 year old was happy with what she got, Vegie tales make a lot of products suitable for Christmas. toys, colouring books, books, videos etc. They get the presents they would prefer for their Birthday.
I purely do this for God and Jesus. I think only faithful Christians will teach their children the true meaning of Christmas, and I am not going to go along with the majority to fit in with them. Santa is only really become big in the last 50-60 years, prior to that they knew that is was about Jesus. If we promote Santa then eventually the true meaning of Christmas will disappear.

 

[Jay2]

Both my wife & I had “Santa” in our childhoods. Looking back through adult eyes at childhood I’ll admit it was just another venue to get more “stuff”…and I’ll also think that most youngsters just can’t understand the meaning behind giving gifts at this time of year.

We had a very hard time controlling (what we dubbed “Christmas Carnage”) what the grandparents/relatives did for gifts. We’re both from small families, and the producers of the ONLY grandchildren. The 1st few years the dang tree didn’t need a stand… the gift boxes held it off the floor! Watching the kids just rip through box after box just made us sick.

They’ve now abided by our wishes and seriously cut back on the frivolous stuff, and are making just a few gifts of things the kids need. The “fringe” items, or the single/large “I really wish I could have” thing (within reason) is a Santa present… Only 1 per kid.

One of the (hopefully) traditions we’ve started with our kids is that when we’re out shopping for gifts, they have to set aside at least $5 (of their hard-earned allowance/babysitting/tooth fairy, etc. money) to get a few small gifts. These gifts are then taken to the “Toys for Tots” drop-station sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps.

I don’t know… Santa’s not such a bad thing… his core ideals are true, it’s just the ad agencies and commercialism/marketing that’s destroyed the truth.

 

[saramichelle6]

I grew up with Santa and loved it. My cousins and I are very close, and as each of us got older, we kept the Santa tradition alive for the younger ones who didn’t understand yet. Now that we’re all older, we still give presents to eachother from “Santa”. It’s just fun.

My oldest cousin now has two little boys. Her oldest son just turned three. He gets only three presents from Santa because Jesus got three gifts (from the wise men). After opening the “Santa” presents we all say a prayer being thankful for the birth of our Lord. All of his other presents are from family members.

I had never thought about this before, but am considering doing it once I have a family of my own. It’s a nice way to keep Jesus in the minds of the little ones on the special day amidst all the fun of opening presents.

 

[whatevergirl]

Alright, so I don’t hijack the other thread, how come some people don’t “do” the Santa thing? I grew up with my parents telling me Santa was coming - it was great fun to have this little fairy-tale thing. When you’re a kid reality doesn’t really matter, so things like Santa are fun! Couldn’t imagine Christmas without Santa, so what are the reasons for not doing Santa? Thanks.

Santa creates a warmth around Christmas. My kids (now 11 and 14) don’t ‘believe’ anymore, but there’s still somthing magical when they see Santa dressed up at the mall…or whatever.
This is going to sound horrible, but here goes. My husband and I are glad that we get the ‘credit’ for the gifts now…LOL

I’m sorry, but just being honest. It bugged me that I ran around the stores…wrapping til all hours of the night…stuffing stockings…to give the credit to an imaginary man in a red suit. But, somehow I do miss those innocent days when my kids ‘believed.’ I never told them either–they must have found out from their friends.

 

[cathyt]

Thanks a lot for this post.DH and I have long talked about not doing Santa for our little ones(and the first is on the way!!) I really likethe ideaofmaking Advent really special and also celebrating St.Nicholas Day. Ithink ourkids will have plenty of fun celebrating the joy and magic of the season by being with family and friends and celebrating Jesus at Christmas!!!

Thanks for ther discussion!

 

[wjp984]

Since my uncle is an atheist, when he told my cousin that there was no Santa Claus he also said God was like Santa Claus and that there is no God. So as others have mentioned, it probably only becomes a problem when the family does not have faith.

 

[whatevergirl]

i remember thinking that all poor kids were bad because santa brought gifts to good kids so why did we need to donate toys to the poor…
something to think about

i hated hated hated the fact that my parents lied to me about santa but then again i was lied to about a lot and had a rough childhood so my reaction makes sense there

we’re still working out details but it will be downplayed…only one present max…and def. not the most exciting present…i want the birthday cake for JEsus to be a much bigger deal

that is a very poignant comment…i thought that too. Oprah once said on one of her past shows that she thought she was ‘bad’ growing up because Santa rarely came to her house. I don’t think Santa thoughts are bad, but not everyone grows up having presents under the tree…so true spacecadet. (I like your username by the way) ha

 

[deb1]

believe it or not, one of my fondest memories is of my stepfather telling me that there was no Santa. I was around nine or ten and I told him that I didn’t think Santa was real.

he sat me on the edge of the bed and explained that he wanted to have a ‘grownup’ conversation with me. We talked about growing up and the silly things that kids can believe. he told me that Santa was real and that he lived in us when we did kind things for others without their knowledge. He then explained that parents love their children so much that they want them to be happy, but don’t need to be thanked.

His speech made a profound impression on me.

With each of my children, when they were too old for Santa, they became his helpers. They each really enjoyed helping to pick out the gifts for the younger children. And I always expressed how nice it was to do kind things for others and not get any credit.

I think that the worst thing a parent can do, if they do have Santa, is let a child discover for him self that Santa doesn’t exists. That has always struck me as cruel.