Another holiday season is upon us and it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos that comes with Christmas. Every year I try to think to myself–how can I simplify this season? That doesn’t mean I’m necessarily trying to have a minimalist Christmas (although there’s nothing wrong with that!), just that I’m trying to reprioritize our family’s holiday celebrations. Today for my Simplifying the Season series I wanted to share how we focus on the Savior at Christmas. After all, he is the reason for the season.
how we focus on the Savior during the season
“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 oldest to my youngest, know about Santa Claus.
why we don’t “do Santa” in our household
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.
using Saint Nick’s Day to focus on the Savior
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. We’ve never told our 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.
simplify the season in whatever way works best for you
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:
- 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!
- When we decorate our tree we talk about the importance of the star on top and what it symbolizes.
- 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.
How do you focus on Jesus Christ during the holidays? What are some ways that you balance Santa and the Savior?
You may also like these blog posts in my Simplifying the Season series:
Simplifying the Season: What it Means to Me
What a Christmas Tree Taught me about Simplifying the Season
19 comments
I really like the 3-gift idea, and the meaning behind them. We tried the 4 gifts one year, but that was still too many gifts. I’m going to check out that book. Our daughter believes in Santa (this is the first year she’s actually understood it), and it’s such a fine balancing act to teach her the true meaning while also having fun with Santa. We’ll see how long it lasts; I’m okay with it for now since I know I grew up believing in both. Thanks for not harping and pushing on how your way is the best way! I know there’s a lot out there about how there can only be one way to do Christmas.
Yes yes yes, I absolutely agree with you. Thank you for sharing.
I just love this! I can remember my mom doing some of those same things when we were kids. Great post – thank you for sharing!
LOVE this. We definitely teach our boys the REAL reason for the season.
Great post! I am from the Netherlands and we celebrate Saint Nicolas much more than Christmas. So for the kids the 5th of december is a much bigger day. Love your approach!
Thanks for this perspective! Look forward to learning more.
It’s definitely important to take time to pause over Christmas. It can all be so manic we forget why we’re doing it!
I love this Justine! I’ve been trying to figure out how we’ll handle Christmas as my kids get older. Oh, and we celebrate St. Nick’s Day too!
This is such an interesting concept to me. My parents are super religious. They don’t drink and we weren’t raised to believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny. We had Easter egg hunts and got presents for Christmas but Jesus was always the reason for the season. I remember being in the hall and “Waiting for Santa Claus” at school and kids getting mad at me because I told them Santa wasn’t real. I was a kid I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything you know little kids are just honest.
I think this has been a tricky topic over the years depending on your faith. Glad you’ve pointed your kids in the direction that works for your family. Merry Christmas!
Justine, This is so beautifully written. I had actually considered celebrating St. Nicholas Day to segregate the day of the Savior’s birth from the notion of Santa Claus, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do it. I think I’m going to try that approach starting next year. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and sweet comment!
It’s always so interesting to me to hear about what each family does for Christmas! My family and I like to do the whole Christmas magic thing with Santa and reindeer, but we also put a HUGE emphasis on Christ with most of the rest of our traditions: the 25 days of Christ ornaments is one of our favorites! We are really careful about gifts from Santa (we only do one) and we don’t do stockings.