So what does your family do about Santa Claus?

It’s a question I have often wondered about. For my own family– what we’re going to do about Santa for our kids, but also for other families and how they think about the jolly old guy.

So I asked a few of my Christian mama friends for their opinions, and I learned a lot. Each of these women, I respect greatly and have really appreciated their willingness to share what their families are doing about Santa Claus (even if some of their own ideas are still in process). So here’s what 5 Godly women are doing about St. Nicholas with their littles this year:

“Raising a young child in today’s culture… it is inevitable that the topic of Santa will come up. Instead of having the conversation of whether Santa is “real” or “not real”, we will simply talk about it like we would any other story we read from a children’s book. The story of Santa reminds us of how special it is to think of others and share our talents and gifts. It also reminds us and points to the best gift of all- Jesus coming to earth to rescue us so that he can be with us. I think that Santa will be a part of our Christmas tradition but in our home we will try to not let it take over the true reason why we celebrate. If/when our child asks if Santa is real then we will explain who St. Nicholas was and how some people still believe he exists today.” — Macy, mama of a 21 month old

“I treat Santa just like I do unicorns or dragons. They are fun objects of imagination that my kids will sometime bring up, or that we might find in a book or on display in a store. I don’t make a big deal about it or feel like I need to explain it away. But if my 4 year old asks, then I will tell him that, “Santa is in our imagination”. I don’t say that gifts are from Santa (his presents are clearly from his dad and I) or leave out cookies the night before. Even with this lack of effort, my 4 year old still insists that Santa is real, so I just go with it. I love seeing him use his imagination!” — Chelsea, mama of a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a 1 year old

“In our household, we try and emphasize the true meaning of Christmas with the boys in every day conversations, music, and books – lots and lots of books (including children’s Bibles). However, the concept of Santa was always around. Tradition is very important to my husband and so, with tradition, the boys were first introduced to Santa when we visited their grandparents in Pennsylvania. Every year, we would take a train ride around town and it would end with a Santa visit in our caboose. Naturally, observations were made (for example, “he must love the color red because he’s always wearing it!,” “he has an itchy beard – is Daddy going to have one when he grows up?,” and “there are lots of songs about Santa!”) and questions arose (for example, “is Santa nocturnal if he works all night to deliver presents?,” “how can he fly if he’s human and reindeers don’t have wings?,” “does he have a cherry nose because he’s cold? Why doesn’t he just move to a warmer place?”). In short, we haven’t necessarily encouraged or discouraged Santa belief in our household – but Santa Claus is hard to ignore. Right now, at their current developmental stage (they are 4, 2, and 1), the boys LOVE stories and pretend play. We want to continue fostering that, so we try to balance it by sharing stories, but also getting to the reason for the season. Yes, Santa brings gifts to boys and girls, but Jesus is the greatest gift of all!” — Joanna, mama of a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a 1 year old

“My thoughts on Santa have changed over the years, but here’s where we are now. When our oldest was really little, it felt too complicated to try to introduce celebrating Jesus’ birth at Christmas, AND teaching her about Santa. I decided then that I’d do my best to “keep the main thing, the main thing” (Stephen Covey). Jesus is the main reason we celebrate Christmas, so for that reason I didn’t worry about any Santa talk at all. As our kids got older, they were introduced to Santa through books, school, and TV. We treat him like any other imaginary character my kids love. If they ask if he’s real and if he really is going to come into our house at night and bring presents, we lightheartedly remind them that he’s just pretend! Mommy and Daddy get to “be” Santa, and it’s so fun for us. Ultimately, we do our best to use this season to teach our kids about Jesus. I’m happy for them to enjoy the story of Santa, but he’s not our main thing.” — Melanie, mama of a 5 year old, a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a 10 month old

“My daughter is 3 years old and I’m also a stay at home mother so her primary influences are her father and I. Because of that, she doesn’t understand the story behind Santa (and probably couldn’t pick him from a line up) but mainly knows Christmas as being about Jesus’ birthday celebration. I don’t bash Santa but rather indirectly discourage belief in that story. It would eat me up inside to see her get so excited about a false tale selling magic, reindeer and lights as being essential keys to the Santa and ultimately Christmas story (as presented by American culture). Sharing the Truth and in particular this piece of the gospel message (Jesus birth) at an early age is key, in my opinion, in setting a solid spiritual/Christ following foundation. My daughter is also encouraged by me to be a leader among her peers and having the right tools, like an understanding and belief in the gospel over Santa, to lead is necessary especially as she gets older. I know she’ll eventually learn about Santa from school and friends which is fine but as her mother I want to help set a truthful foundation for her that I can stand behind.” — Sydney, mama of a 3 year old + baby on the way

What does your family do about Santa Claus? Any of the stories above resonate with you and your family’s traditions?