Do You Believe In Santa?
Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. It has always been a holiday filled with family and tradition – both things that I adore. I look forward to finding the perfect gifts for people. I love baking and making Christmas goodies (like mulled cider). I love crafts and have some years even made my own cards and wrapping paper. Each year, I treasure the traditions of decking the tree, of wrapping presents and of watching Christmas movies. Part of that tradition, for me, is Santa. But… what do we tell Aiden?
Although this isn’t a discussion pertinent to this year, it is something we’ve discussed this year and in years past. Neither of us are religious people, so this is one of the only holiday-related discussions that’s been left unresolved. Do we tell Aiden there is a Santa?
Ianiv is of the opinion that honesty is better. That we should always be up-front about the reality of the situation, though he’s ok with us explaining the origins of Santa and talking about the traditions. But… this kind of makes me sad. I loved believing in Santa, even if finding out he wasn’t real was kind of sad.
As a parent, I am drawn to telling Aiden there is a Santa because it could inspire him. There is innocent joy in the belief. Together we will, of course, watch Christmas movies. And I kind of like the idea of him believing they are real. If asked, I know we’d be honest… but… should we go along with it? Should Santa come to our home?
What is your take on the Santa situation?
Good question! I personally came from a christian family, and we still believed in Santa (we even received presents that said ‘From: Santa’). I loved believing in Santa too – that’s my vote (and what we’ll do with our son).
Good points. I think I’d still have presents from Santa, no matter what. Just explained differently. We have stockings too. I do think, either way, it’ll be my policy to have stocking stuffers and 1 present from Santa, the rest being from Mom & Dad. That way, if there “is” a Santa, Aiden knows that the majority of his gifts come from Mom & Dad. I think that’s more important than just “magic” gifts. :)
In Mexico, gifts are exchanged but we don’t have Santa Claus (though some people call it ‘Santa Clós’, in a Mexicanized way). We do have the 3 Magician Kings (the ones who bring gifts to children), I suppose the equivalente of Santa Claus. I felt SO bad when I told my nieces that there were no 3 Kings. So, I suppose there’s a place for giving him the benefit of having a magic being who brings him gifts. I don’t know. Wrong person to ask :)
I still believe! Santa is magical, and beautiful things happen at Christmas time. I hope Melanie learns to love him as much as I do!
As a kid it must be cool to believe in Santa and that if you do good and behave and be a good kid all year long, Santa gets you gifts. However most kids grow out of that stage by the time they turn 10-11. And that’s natural. I come from a Hindu family in Asia and hence Santa wasn’t that big of a deal, even if I saw people dressed in his costume all the time. It might be an easy option to instill some good behaviour in your kids although fooling them isn’t very nice.
THAT is a keeper ;)
I totally support Ianiv position, as I’ve been there. For whatever reason today I feel there is far to little magic, and too much video entertainment. Also, when my 2.5 yr old son lights up talking about Santa, it’s irresistible.
Arieanna, I’d love to hear about some of your Christmas traditions.
I think that calls for another post! :)
I see Ianiv’s point. It’s hard not to see Santa as a kind of lying, but Santa Claus, like many Christmas traditions, has a basis in fact so it’s not a complete lie. Watching Christmas movies, reading Santa stories or singing carols is no worse than taking your kids to a Disney movie or reading fairy tales. They aren’t real, but kids believe in the magic anyway. It’s not going to do irreparable damage to let them believe in the magic of Christmas along with the magic of fairy godmothers.
At a more age appropriate time, you can explain the origins of the story, but very young kids don’t get the symbolism or the history involved because they can’t grasp those abstract concepts. But they are observant enough to pick up on the Santa saturation associated with the holiday, so you need to tell them something. Besides going along with the Santa story also means you won’t have to be the parent of the kid who ruins the magic for someone else (or everyone else) at daycare.
P.S. It creeps me out that the 2009 Santa has long straight hair that doesn’t match his beard. I don’t know why. He looks like a freaky Tom Petty/ZZ Top hybrid Santa.
[...] are some Christmas traditions we’ve already begun as a family. Inspired by Lloyd’s question on my last Christmas post, here are some of our family Christmas [...]
I, for one, want Sophie to experience all of the traditions of Christmas, including believing in Santa Clause! We are going to leave cookies and milk out for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, and then the next morning we will see the crumbs left behind. This is part of the fun!! And if parents tell their kids that Santa does not exist, hopefully they won’t spoil it for other kids too soon. We’re going to have fun with the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy too. I grew up believing in these things and I don’t feel as though my parents “lied” to me – it just made my childhood more fun and magical. Children have such a creative mind when they are young and by high school their imagination is almost gone – what a pity!
[...] less about whether he buys into this particular mythology or not (and yet I’m sensitive about Santa?), but instead focused on making the day [...]