We Don't Worship Santa

People think Justin and I are crazy because we don't "do" Santa in our house. We even have family members who can't seem to accept this and ask our kids what they want Santa to bring them over and over again. Now that my daughter is old enough recognize Santa (because she sees him everywhere this time of year), we tell her some families focus on Santa at Christmas, but we focus on Jesus. We remind her that it's Jesus' birthday, and that all of our presents come from Him. You are probably wondering why we chose this unusual tradition for our children. There are four main reasons.

As parents, Justin and I don't like lying to our children. It's a sin to lie. The Bible is pretty clear on that one. We don't want the day we reveal the truth about Santa to become a day of defending everything else we taught them. One of my cousin's children, when learning the truth about Santa, immediately asked, "So is Jesus real, too?"

Secondly, we don't want our kids showing affection and gratitude to Santa that Jesus deserves. After all, He is the giver of all things, not jolly ole Saint Nick.

Next, we want Christmas to be a time of genuine worship, not idol worship. That's why we don't worship Santa in our house in any way. There's no Elf on the Shelf here. If there's a Christmas movie about Santa on the television, I remind my kids that he's not real, which is the same thing I say about most other movies they watch.

Finally and most importantly, we don't want our kids to believe that our gift giving depends on their behavior. We want them to know that we love unconditionally, and our gifts are a representation of that love, not of works on their part. We do this to mirror God's free gifts of grace and mercy in our own lives. The very birth of Jesus is a picture of those gifts.

So far, our Christmas mornings have been a time of abundant joy, gift giving, and love. Since our kids are a bit older this year, I pray we can incorporate even more family worship during that happy time by reading the Christmas story and singing worship songs about our Savior's birth. Will our Christmases be as good as yours? You betcha. They might even be better, Lord willing. Santa is not the author of happiness at Christmas. Jesus is.