So my Dad commented that he didn't quite know what I was talking about when I wrote on the topic of Santa and my support of him.
Basically, I've found three parental approaches to Santa. There are many staunch Christians who think Santa takes away from the spirit of Christ, so they cancel Christmas and/or never teach their kids about Santa to begin with. I've heard some of these parents argue that having Santa come into Christian homes is a sin -- breaking the "thou shalt not bear false witness" commandment. And of course, there are others in this first group who think Santa is a pagan abomination, which just isn't true (and might be the point that confused my dad earlier). There is another group of no-Santa parents who don't base their reasons in Christianity. I'm not exactly sure what all their reasons for not having Santa are, perhaps they just don't want to play along with the legend, or, and I've heard this several times, they want their kids to know who really gives them presents on Christmas morning. I'm sure there are other reasons, but this group seems smaller and less vocal than the first, so I'm just making educated guesses. The third group is where I (and the majority seem to) set up camp: people who play along with the legend of Santa.
But even within this last group there are all sorts of variations. I've had several facebook friends share a little "status" that encourages parents to only give their children one small gift from Santa. The argument makes sense: how do you explain the hundreds of dollars of toys your kid gets when their friend at school gets necessities like a winter coat and new shoes? But even with this totally valid argument placed in front of me, I just can't agree to go along with it. Which is why I really enjoyed this piece shared in the Huffington Post. I just love the magic of Christmas morning, and I want my kids to love it too. I don't think we are going over board by indulging them one day out of 365. My kids will each have three presents which total less than $100. I feel like that is reasonable.
Now, this post has kind of been all over the place and probably didn't clear up a thing, but I do have one more comment I'd like to share. I had a friend ask, via facebook, how she should handle her 5-year-old's questions about Santa and Chuanaka and one response was just brilliant. It was that Santa doesn't bring any gifts or do any thing parents don't approve of. So if families who celebrate Chuanaka don't want Santa to come, he won't come. If you ask for something outrageous, you won't get it. This is such a simple explanation, yet so brilliant. It even covers topics I mentioned earlier, like the Elf on the Shelf. It puts all the "blame" back on the parents. You didn't get the dog you asked for? That's because Dad doesn't want it. All your friends have an elf but you don't? That's because your mom didn't want it. Santa doesn't give your buddy presents? That's because his parents don't want him to. Simple, simple.
Basically, I've found three parental approaches to Santa. There are many staunch Christians who think Santa takes away from the spirit of Christ, so they cancel Christmas and/or never teach their kids about Santa to begin with. I've heard some of these parents argue that having Santa come into Christian homes is a sin -- breaking the "thou shalt not bear false witness" commandment. And of course, there are others in this first group who think Santa is a pagan abomination, which just isn't true (and might be the point that confused my dad earlier). There is another group of no-Santa parents who don't base their reasons in Christianity. I'm not exactly sure what all their reasons for not having Santa are, perhaps they just don't want to play along with the legend, or, and I've heard this several times, they want their kids to know who really gives them presents on Christmas morning. I'm sure there are other reasons, but this group seems smaller and less vocal than the first, so I'm just making educated guesses. The third group is where I (and the majority seem to) set up camp: people who play along with the legend of Santa.
But even within this last group there are all sorts of variations. I've had several facebook friends share a little "status" that encourages parents to only give their children one small gift from Santa. The argument makes sense: how do you explain the hundreds of dollars of toys your kid gets when their friend at school gets necessities like a winter coat and new shoes? But even with this totally valid argument placed in front of me, I just can't agree to go along with it. Which is why I really enjoyed this piece shared in the Huffington Post. I just love the magic of Christmas morning, and I want my kids to love it too. I don't think we are going over board by indulging them one day out of 365. My kids will each have three presents which total less than $100. I feel like that is reasonable.
Now, this post has kind of been all over the place and probably didn't clear up a thing, but I do have one more comment I'd like to share. I had a friend ask, via facebook, how she should handle her 5-year-old's questions about Santa and Chuanaka and one response was just brilliant. It was that Santa doesn't bring any gifts or do any thing parents don't approve of. So if families who celebrate Chuanaka don't want Santa to come, he won't come. If you ask for something outrageous, you won't get it. This is such a simple explanation, yet so brilliant. It even covers topics I mentioned earlier, like the Elf on the Shelf. It puts all the "blame" back on the parents. You didn't get the dog you asked for? That's because Dad doesn't want it. All your friends have an elf but you don't? That's because your mom didn't want it. Santa doesn't give your buddy presents? That's because his parents don't want him to. Simple, simple.
No comments:
Post a Comment