Santa or Not

Well, before we gave birth to 3 wonderful kids, we "knew everything about parenting"; so we decided that we would not celebrate Halloween or do Santa. Okay, so 8 years later.........we trick or treat and allow our kids to leave cookies for Santa and sprinkle oatmeal/glitter on the lawn for the 8 tiny reindeer. Do we celebrate Santa? No, not really. Do we believe he is from the devil? No, not really. It's been interesting to see our opinions and customs evolve over the last 8 years. In fact, Lincoln LOVES to go see "Ho Ho". He calls Santa the "Ho-Ho" and it's pretty stinking cute. However, this year Linc seemed to be a bit disappointed with Santa; and because he has my sense of smell, he picked up on some beef and cheese whiffs. After he leaped down from Santa's lap, he said "Mom, Santa Sinks!!" which means, Santa Stinks! I guess he smelled like beef and cheese, as in the movie Elf!
Our kids have always been told the truth. Christmas is about the birth of Christ and Santa does not exist. Do I regret omitting Santa from Dec. 25th??? Sometimes. Whether you celebrate Santa or not, the important thing is that the kids walk away appreciating the birth of Christ, not just knowing that it happened. Santa can be fun, like anything else that is magical and/or pretend. It's just a matter of balance and moderation. As parents we get caught up in the minor details and can become distracted in any event, whether it's Christmas, bdays, Easter, or just plain old life! The birth of Christ can be celebrated every day of the year, not just Dec.25. We love the Jesus Story Bible cause it is always pointing the reader back to the coming of Christ. Everything we do with our kids including cooking, riding bikes, arguments, bdays, shopping, funerals, cleaning rooms..........whatever it is..........there is always time to talk about Christ and what He is doing in our lives today. So Santa or not? Does it matter? This year we want to take time to appreciate the birth and the resurrection in all we do and in all we have.