Our Stand on Santa

I've been thinking about how exactly to word this particular blog entry. Mainly because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or give off a 'holier than thou' sorta vibe. To be clear we are NOT anti Santa. We have, however, been putting alot of thought and conversation into our stand on the matter. Tessa is old enough now to wonder...who is he and what does he do?

Hmm...who is he and what does he do? That's a tough one.

The world probably knows that we are Christian and very active in our church. Tessa also goes to a Christian preschool and is always coming home telling me a new bible story, which I love.

There are some matters in which dedicating your lives to Christ means dedicating yourself against what the world is trying to push down your throat. It seems there is a constant tug of war battle in parenting, pushing against the commercials on TV that tell your kids what to buy and pulling your household ever closer to God. I know this sounds deep but it IS deep, it is very deep...all the way to the core.

I'm not saying we are in a tug of war battle against Santa. This is not Santa vs. Jesus in a boxing ring. What I am saying is that we are in battle to explore the TRUE meaning of Christmas with our children.

So, to sum it up I'll make some bullet points about our thoughts on Christmas. I'm just putting this out there for family and friends to know how we believe, NOT to push you to believe the same way or 'walk on eggshells' around us. Mom, please wear your Santa sweater with pride. Mamaw, please keep giving us our annual Santa figurine. They're all over our house!

-- Christmas will be mainly focused on the birth of Christ. When our kids ask what Christmas is, that's our answer plain and simple.

--If Tessa (and eventually Charley) want to know about Santa, we will tell them about St. Nicolas who has become an icon for Christmas. Btw, the Veggie Tales St. Nicolas movie is PERFECT for learning about him, especially at a young age.

--Santa doesn't come down our chimney or know your every thought and deed. I think this is the biggest sticking point for us. Santa is not watching you (nor an elf on a shelf) for good behavior, but the Lord always is. God is way more powerful than some imaginary elf.

--We probably will just do gifts from us and other family members and not Santa.

--We'll continue to push the idea of giving at Christmas more than receiving. Yay for Tessa who filled her first Operation Christmas Child box this year and I failed to get a picture. Definitely more of that kind of thing in the future.

--There is nothing wrong with families who choose to do Santa. Everyone has to make these kind of decisions for their kids and this is the decision that we're standing by.