“Look, there he is! The man dressed up like Santa!”
“Oh, how exciting buddy! What do you want to tell him you want for Christmas?”
“Hmm… I want a red Santa suit and black boots!”
This conversation might not seem that strange to you. My children, like many young children all over the world, get very excited to see that jolly man in a red suit. They like to go see him and talk to him and get their little candy cane… they love movies about Santa and books about Santa and songs about Santa. However, you might have noticed that my children refer to him as the man dressed up like Santa, rather than just Santa.
That’s right. All my children, from my six year old down to my youngest, know about Santa Claus.
It wasn’t something that I necessarily planned to do. I always thought I’d be one of those parents who nibbled on Christmas Eve cookies and carrots and made Santa footprints by the fireplace. Teaching our children the truth about St. Nicholas was just something that came about naturally. Our first Christmas as parents our son was only seven months old, too young to care about Santa pictures or leaving out milk and cookies.
Maybe it happened because our first Christmas spent together as a married couple my husband expressed opinions that less was more when it came to Christmas presents. The mounds of presents we remembered growing up turned into a couple of gifts for each of us. And, lo and behold, we still had wonderful Christmases.
Maybe it happened because I wanted to be sure to keep the emphasis of the season on Christ and putting so much effort into emphasizing Santa seemed to send the wrong message (to me). As I saw adorable images on Facebook and Pinterest I started thinking about a slippery slope of Santa cookies, Reindeer treats, Elves on Shelves… all because of the notion that these things would somehow make my children’s Christmas experience more magical or memorable.
Or maybe it happened because we celebrate St. Nicks Day, a nod to my family’s European roots. Every year on December sixth we take the opportunity to talk to our kids about who Saint Nicholas was and how Santa Claus is based on him. That’s right. I’ve never told my children that Santa Claus isn’t real or that he’s just make believe, because he technically wasn’t. So when I say that my children all know the truth about Santa Claus, all I mean is that we’ve told them about the real man. We don’t do cookies and milk, we don’t do letters, we don’t do Elf on the shelf. And not doing those things have not only helped us simplify our holiday season, but it has also let us focus more on the real reason for the season in the first place–Christ.
Now, I feel like I have to take a brief pause here and say that if your holiday isn’t complete without those magical things, that’s fine, great even. I’m not saying our way is the right way, I’m just saying it’s what works for our family. I love seeing your creative Elf shenanigans pop up in my Instagram feed. I love hearing about your children writing sweet letters to Santa. We still take our children to take pictures with the man dressed up like Santa every year, and we even do stockings and one family “Santa” gift… although we’re pretty open about who those things are from. Our children are still excited about Christmas and Santa and all of that so I don’t think they’re having deprived childhoods at all. I’m also not trying to insinuate that if your family puts an emphasis on all those magical touches then you’re not focusing on the real reason for the season. Again, this is just what works for our family.
Here are some ways that we keep our focus on our Savior, Jesus Christ, during the holidays:
(Some links contain affiliates, all opinions are completely my own.)
- We try to visit a live Nativity or a Nativity display every year. There are a lot in my area and I’m sure you could do a quick search in your local community and find some too!
- This year when we decorated our tree we talked about the importance of the star on top and what it symbolizes. This was actually a spur-of-the-moment idea that turned out really great and I think we’ll make it a yearly discussion.
- We watch videos about the Savior’s birth and life. You can do a quick search on this website and find a lot of short little videos that your whole family will love!
- Each year every person in our family gets three presents; we receive something joyful, something needful, and something meaningful to represent the three gifts that the Wise Men brought to Jesus. We got this idea several years ago from Emily Belle Freeman’s book, A Christ-Centered Christmas (which I highly recommend). This has also helped our gift giving be more thoughtful (and less voluminous).
- We set aside certain nights and talk about each figure of the Nativity. We have songs and scriptures to go along with each figure as we talk about Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Wise Men, etc. This is also something you can find a lot of information about in A Christ-Centered Christmas (again, order that book!).
- We read the Christmas story from the book of Luke on Christmas morning before we open presents or have our big Christmas breakfast.
Don’t forget to use #SimplifyingTheSeason and tag me (@littledove.justine) on Instagram, I want to see how you’re choosing to focus on the important things this season! Feel free to grab a button, and be sure to link up next week for our Simplifying the Season linkup party! I’ll be choosing some of my favorite posts to send a small gift to!
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