Santa

Morgan and I have been thinking quite a lot about the jolly good fella in his festive red suit. We have come to a decision that we will not be doing Santa in our home. That simply means that no Christmas presents will be coming from Mr. Claus throughout the years. Don't get me wrong, we are not threatened by him nor do we care that he is seen everywhere (unless you're a hermit and never turn on your TV). After all, Santa is a symbol that Christmas is near. In fact, Morgan and I both grew up believing in old St. Nick and we turned out just fine. It's not that. It's just that we want our kids to understand the real purpose of Christmas, starting at an early age. With the help of our advent calendar and time spent around our family bible each night, Faith and Grace have been eagerly counting down the days to Jesus' birthday. Boy, are we happy that we started advent this year! The girls are well aware of how it all works and each night, they ask to do it with excitement.

The last thing we want our kids to think is that Christmas is all about them. We already live in such a self-absorbed, "Me, Me, Me" kind of world anyway. Taking Santa out of the equation at Christmas, not only helps us focus on Jesus and others, but it also relieves us of the financial pressure to represent Santa- the guy who seems to have an endless supply of cash every year. Instead, our plan is to focus more on giving gifts, helping others, and remembering that through Jesus' birth, we have been given the greatest gift of all. That being said, we have never purchased any gifts for our kids at Christmas, nor do we exchange gifts ourselves. Morgan and I have always been more about the experience of something rather than having a material object anyway.

At some point, we may buy our kids a gift but if we do, it will be a humble gift. Believe me, they receive plenty of presents from their loved ones anyway. Plus, they do have a special day each year that is all about them... it's called their birthday.

Right now, the girls think that Santa is a nice old guy who gives them candy canes. Over time, they will figure out that just like Mickey Mouse, Elmo and the Easter Bunny, Santa is a fictional character. Funny, if you would have asked us 5 years ago if we were going to let our kids believe in Santa and the fact that he comes down a chimney and brings good little girls presents, our answer would have probably been, "Of course!"

A friend of mine once asked me, "Are you and Morgan going to teach your kids to be Christians and believe the same thing you do?" I guess the short answer to that question is yes but more than that, I think our kids will learn what we are, far more than what we teach. In other words, they will learn more from our daily examples and way of life, rather than what we try to preach to them. Do we want our kids to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and eventually realize that they need Him to save them from their sins and gain truth, love, and eternal life? Absolutely. There is no greater prayer for our children. But we also realize that no matter how much we talk about the Son of God and His purpose for walking this earth and dying on the cross, each one of us must take our own personal journey towards finding God. Hence, the concept of free will. As parents, we do what we can, lead by example, pray fervently, and leave the rest up to God. Morgan and I are navigating our way through parenthood as best as we see fit for our children. As we continue to grow as parents, we realize that sometimes, there are no perfect answers, just a perfect God.