What role does Santa play in your family's Christmas traditions?

[mmeblue]

The official position in our house is "isn't it fun to pretend?"

 

Three years ago, when DD#1 was about to turn 2, we hadn't really decided what we wanted to do about Santa.  She was in daycare at the time, so Santa was all over, and we just kind of went with it.  Christmas Eve, the kid practically had a breakdown thinking someone (Santa) was going to come into our house while we were asleep.  That was when we opted for "isn't it fun to pretend."  The kids get one unwrapped gift from Santa that appears under the tree Christmas morning, plus candy in their stockings; we go and see Santa at the mall; my dad dresses up as Santa and hands one gift to each child when we get together with my side of the family.  We make sure to tell the kids that some kids don't know it's just pretend, and they may NOT tell other children that it's pretend.  

[DawnM]

We have some Santa ornaments and decorations.  I am not against it or anything, we are just very realistic and the kids know there isn't really a magical man who brings them anything.

[emzhengjiu]

We've never incorporated Santa into our Christmas observance.  To me, Christmas is a holy day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  We have never included the Easter bunny at Easter for the same reason.  I have no problem with fantasy and pretend, but want nothing to overshadow the holiness of these days.  But my daughters know not to tell children that Santa isn't real. 

[Chris in VA]

We were pretty anti-Santa, pro-St. Nicholas (real person, who lived and died). 

 

One day at our co-operative preschool, where I worked as a teacher and Ds came with me, Ds mixed up the two stories (Santa and St. Nicholas) and told a child that Santa was dead. 

 

Well. 

 

That didn't go over well. 

[mlbuchina]

 

That is sweet!  Good for him and good for whomever gave him a Santa gift!

 

 

Thank you!  I'm 37 years old, been married for 17 years, and Santa still fills my stocking at my parents' house.  I don't ever say I don't believe in Santa.  LOL

 

The boys are so adorable!  Love the pic!

[Rose in BC]

We celebrate St Nicks day, which is tomorrow. The kids put their boots out tonight and they are filled with treats. We don't do stockings at Christmas nor is Santa really a big deal. My dh and I are both of German heritage. (And our big celebration is Christmas Eve not day...although the party carries on :).

[Murphy101]

Santa comes Christmas Eve/morning to bring one gift each and puts some little stuff in their stocking. That's it. Rather anticlimactic to be honest.

[Word Nerd]

If you stop believing in Santa, he stops bringing you presents. 

 

I don't get this view (why it's fun, I mean), but that also wasn't my experience as a kid even after my sisters and I found out the truth. You don't have to believe in Santa to play the Santa game and pretend and be silly.

[littlebug42]

We do Santa.  My kids have always believed although I suspect they know now that he isn't real but won't speak up in fear of losing out on a gift.   :laugh:   We put out cookies and egg nog on the mantle.  I have never done any of the letters to Santa, etc.  At our house, Santa doesn't wrap gifts.  All are wrapped except the Santa gift and it sits out with their stockings, also full.  

[mlbuchina]

I don't get this view (why it's fun, I mean), but that also wasn't my experience as a kid even after my sisters and I found out the truth. You don't have to believe in Santa to play the Santa game and pretend and be silly.

Of course you don't have to believe in Santa to play the Santa game. This is just the tradition of our family, and when my Papaw would tell us this, he was always mock serious, or would have a knowing smile and a twinkle in his eye. When my brothers and I knew the truth, it didn't stop my parents from still setting out Santa presents. I think my mom did start wrapping them by the time I got married, though. I can't remember. LOL. However, even though most of us in the family know the secret behind the fun, we all still say we believe in Santa. You know, 'cause if you stop believing, you won't get any presents from Santa. ;)

 

There are all kinds of traditions, and they are all important to the families that have them. I think they are a special way a family strengthens the bond, says this is us; we belong together.

 

I'm really enjoying this thread. I love learning about all kinds of family traditions. I know about St. Nicholas, but had no idea there were special things people did to celebrate. How wonderful!

[JessReplanted]

I love Santa, but we don't put a lot of emphasis on him. We want the real wonder of Christmas to be in knowing that God's immense love drove Him to earth to seek after our hearts.

 

Santa brings a movie or two - we don't give him any credit for the good stuff.

When my oldest was 8, he kept asking me if Santa was real, so I finally told him that it was Mom and Dad celebrating the 'spirit' of St. Nick.

This year, my 6 year old has declared that she doesn't think Santa is real, but my 7 year old seems like she still really wants to believe. Neither of them has cornered me yet demanding the truth. ;)

 

We have the Veggie Tales movie that tells the story of St. Nick, and I think that has really made them connect the dots about the story of Santa.

 

 

[Mom in High Heels]

We celebrate St. Nicholas Day too, since it's such a big deal in Europe and we lived there for so long.  We have a special St. Nick stocking, since I'd never let Indy eat any candy that had been in his shoes (boy shoes are gross!).  They get small trinkets and candies left from St. Nicholas.  Back when Indy believed in Santa (LAST YEAR!!!  WHAAAAAA!), he would put his letter to Santa in his stocking and St. Nicholas would take it and hand deliver it to Santa.

We spend the day doing good deeds and helping others.  We pick an Angel or 2 off the Angle Tree and shop for them, help others by opening doors, carrying packages (we've been out several times and helped people loaded down with bags and boxes), etc.  We go out to dinner and pick one random family and pay for their meal, just to be nice.  Indy likes to pick out the family and spends a lot of time observing people to see who he thinks we should pick.  We put up our tree and James Bond and Indy decorate a gingerbread house.  We have loads of fun.

 

We are not religious people, but we can certainly appreciate the message of kindness and helping others that Nicholas taught.

[twoxcell]

 

We have a special St. Nick stocking, since I'd never let Indy eat any candy that had been in his shoes (boy shoes are gross!).

I buy those mini stockings, put the candy in them, and then put them in the shoe. :)

[Mom in High Heels]

I buy those mini stockings, put the candy in them, and then put them in the shoe. :)

 

Now that's smart!  When we first started, we used his Wellies (rain boots), because he didn't wear them very often and they were't quite so gross.  When he got older, I just couldn't let him eat anything that had been in those.  Ack!  I decided to use a stocking, but didn't want to use his Christmas stocking, so I bought a smaller one.  I never thought to use a mini and put that in his shoe!

[mlbuchina]

We celebrate St. Nicholas Day too, since it's such a big deal in Europe and we lived there for so long.  We have a special St. Nick stocking, since I'd never let Indy eat any candy that had been in his shoes (boy shoes are gross!).  They get small trinkets and candies left from St. Nicholas.  Back when Indy believed in Santa (LAST YEAR!!!  WHAAAAAA!), he would put his letter to Santa in his stocking and St. Nicholas would take it and hand deliver it to Santa.

We spend the day doing good deeds and helping others.  We pick an Angel or 2 off the Angle Tree and shop for them, help others by opening doors, carrying packages (we've been out several times and helped people loaded down with bags and boxes), etc.  We go out to dinner and pick one random family and pay for their meal, just to be nice.  Indy likes to pick out the family and spends a lot of time observing people to see who he thinks we should pick.  We put up our tree and James Bond and Indy decorate a gingerbread house.  We have loads of fun.

 

We are not religious people, but we can certainly appreciate the message of kindness and helping others that Nicholas taught.

 

These are beautiful traditions, Mom in High Heels.  Thanks for sharing!

[SKL]

Our fun tradition is that Santa brings wrapped gifts and delivers them to our tree / stockings when everyone is asleep.  Kids can write to Santa if they want to, but it's not necessary.  The "facts" change as the kids get older, e.g., the "Santa" they saw at the mall / Christmas party (who, they noticed, looked different from the one they saw last week) is really Santa's helper, etc.

 

My kids didn't understand Santa until they were at least three.  From three to six, it was easy to do the Santa thing because the kids were good sleepers and not suspicious.  Funny thing, our Christmas tree is in the family room, into which my kids' bedroom door opens.  They would have to go through there to go to the bathroom at night etc.  But so far, they have always slept through until Mom was ready to take photos.  (I sleep in the family room that night, just to make sure.)  We did the Santa cookies once or twice.

 

My kids are about 7 now and finally figured out that Santa is Mom.  I was glad, and had even started dropping little hints.  I did not want to get to the point where I'm doing a series of elaborate tricks to fake them out.  I think I was 7 when I figured it out, too, so that feels about right to me.

[BarbecueMom]

I was never going to push the Santa thing, but they are gung-ho pro-Santa and won't.shut.up.about.it. I'm pretty sure if I told DS5 if Santa wasn't real, he would be all, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF HOW REAL SANTA IS!"

 

He's currently sitting next to me singing as many choruses of Jingle Bells as he can without taking a breath. I wonder if Santa could use a new elf...

[Saddlemomma]

None.  DD 11 has grown up with Jesus only.  Recently she told us she was glad we never did Santa because we would have been lying to her. That's just her view, and I actually never thought of that aspect of it (since her older sister was brought up with Santa prior to me becoming a Christian).

 

We usually do a nativity advent calender, and this year we are doing an advent book (Jotham's Journey) as well.  On Christmas Eve we watch "The Nativity Story" and open one gift each.  After DD goes to bed we fill her stocking and put the gifts under the tree.  On Christmas morning we read about the birth of Jesus in the Bible and do stockings.  After stockings, we all sit down for breakfast together (usually large homemade cinnamon rolls with milk) before opening gifts.  One of us will be chosen to pass out gifts, one at a time.  We try to extend Christmas as long as we can.  Then DD plays with her gifts or we'll all play a game together (there is usually one family game in the gifts).  After dinner, we celebrate by having a birthday cake for Jesus (although we know it's not really his true birth date), light candles, and sing "Happy Birthday to Him".

[Wheres Toto]

I voted other because we are kind of between the first two options.  Santa is part of our traditions and the kids believe in him but we don't go to any lengths to keep them believing but we also don't do things that will give it away either.

 

Santa brings the presents when they are asleep Christmas Eve.  We watch all the fun movies.  We don't make a big deal of having to behave to get presents (my oldest, one year after opening a huge pile of presents thanks to "only child/grandchild/niece syndrome" declared "I guess Santa thought I behaved well!!" - NOT a thought process I want to encourage in my son :lol: ). 

 

We don't visit Santa for pictures or send in a list or letter.   My son is very literally and loves to argue so I figured the first time he sees a Santa with a fake beard or something he'll start questioning the guy in minute detail.    We don't leave out cookies and milk, no footprints or hoof prints.

[Kathryn]

We don't say Santa brings presents, but they know about Santa seeing him on Christmas shows and we talk about how he was modeled on St. Nicholas and evolved from there. They are always at a loss for what to say when people ask them if they've written their letters to Santa or of Santa brought them what they wanted.

[mytwomonkeys]

None.  DD 11 has grown up with Jesus only.  Recently she told us she was glad we never did Santa because we would have been lying to her. That's just her view, and I actually never thought of that aspect of it (since her older sister was brought up with Santa prior to me becoming a Christian).

 

We usually do a nativity advent calender, and this year we are doing an advent book (Jotham's Journey) as well.  On Christmas Eve we watch "The Nativity Story" and open one gift each.  After DD goes to bed we fill her stocking and put the gifts under the tree.  On Christmas morning we read about the birth of Jesus in the Bible and do stockings.  After stockings, we all sit down for breakfast together (usually large homemade cinnamon rolls with milk) before opening gifts.  One of us will be chosen to pass out gifts, one at a time.  We try to extend Christmas as long as we can.  Then DD plays with her gifts or we'll all play a game together (there is usually one family game in the gifts).  After dinner, we celebrate by having a birthday cake for Jesus (although we know it's not really his true birth date), light candles, and sing "Happy Birthday to Him".

 

 

I love Jesus too with all of my being and we celebrate Santa. We also do stockings, a tree, Christmas lights, baking cookies, gifts, Christmas music, Christmas ham, Christmas parties, and even a Christmas parade.  They are all part of the season & most have nothing to do with Jesus, but they are wonderfully fun.  Santa is no longer believed here, but he always brought one gift. Not because you were naughty or nice, just because he was nice. It was always small but magical.  My kids loved leaving cookies and milk and tracking the sleigh.

 

Not that you were implying anything in your post & I totally don't feel you or anyone else should incorporate Santa by any means.   

 

I just wanted to mention it because you can love Jesus and celebrate Christmas with some of the mainstream commercialism that takes place this time of year. I had a woman at our co-op in Charlotte belittle me for telling my children Santa was real and putting up a pagan tree in our home. I guess I just wanted to say the words I never got to say to her, lol.

[8circles]

We do pretend Santa.  It's fun & magical even though all the kids know it isn't real.  We also celebrate on Dec 6 as I did as a child.  So we talk about the real St Nicholas.

 

I always told my kids to keep up the pretense about Santa to other people & to never tell other kids he isn't real.  When my oldest was in pre-K there was another child who told the other kids about Santa not being real & he was punished by the teachers (time-out, very stern talking to, not home to parents, etc) & the teacher told all the kids that if you didn't believe in Santa you wouldn't get any presents.  My son was pretty anxious about that.  I have nothing against Santa being real for some families - we just didn't because it wasn't part of my family tradition so it didn't happen.  I had no idea it would be such a controversial subject & make Santa-believers so angry with us.  Seriously, some of our friends purposely & admittedly avoid us around Christmas because of this.  It really chaps my hide.  All the Santa-believers need to have an explanation to their kids about families that don't believe just as much as no-Santa families need to coach their kids to not spoil it for the believers.  It really should go both ways & I think that'd eliminate much of the angst about kids "finding out".   

[Mom in High Heels]

 and putting up a pagan tree in our home. 

 

That's my favorite part!  I love my pagan tree covered in sparkly ornaments.  This year, I might even dance around it chanting random things in her honor for being so rude to you.  I might even do it naked!

[Freckles]

I checked other.

 

We have always said that Santa came from a poem and turned commercial. However, we all celebrate St Nicholas, who was real. On St Nicholas Day. he fills dc's wooden shoes with candy and small gifts for good children; his horse tracks in leaves and whatnot.. Btw, 'good' means morally good, as opposed to deep down 100% mean; things that moms get upset about don't register for St Nick.

 

For Christmas we follow Santa on NORAD and dc get stockings. They were always fine with the idea that St Nicholas turned himself into a sort of spirit of Santa, so as not to disappoint children whose parents knew about Santa, but not about St Nicholas. It sounds crazy when I write this, but it has always worked fine in practice.

 

We got a lot of info here:

 

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/home/

 

:iagree: This is what we do. My kids have turned out fine.

 

[applethyme]

Santa is very important in our house.  He brings one (or two) big gifts that are unwrapped and can be played with while the grownups wake up.  Santa also fills all of our stockings with fun stuff. 

 

I love watching the childrens eyes light up when they see their special "Santa gifts."  They are usually things that we would not normally buy.