Right after they left we gathered up the troops and went to visit Santa. It was the most pleasant Santa trip I've ever had. Santa visited our neighborhood clubhouse. No traveling, no traffic, and no lines. Excellent.
Carson was so excited he ran and jumped on Santa's lap immediately. Erik was reluctant and wouldn't go near him at first. Finally, we convinced him to stand next to him for a picture (after letting him warm up to the idea for 10 minutes). Once Erik was ready, Carson didn't want back on his lap. Oh well.
This whole Santa thing perplexes me. We had told the kids in the past that Santa is pretend but a fun character just like Cinderella, Snow White, etc. We did this to take some of the Santa hype away from Christmas, focusing more on the birth of Jesus which is really what Christmas is all about (or at least at one point it was). I was fine with that and so was Erik (he has always been very practical). Well, now Lainey and Carson enter the picture. They both dive easily and excitedly into the world of fairies and Santa, etc. So this year I've just let them think he is real because, unlike Erik, they will be devastated to think that he is pretend.
Adding to the Santa dilemma is this Elf on the Shelf game. This is when an Elf is supposed to visit your house and then report to the north pole every night. He/She comes back before you wake, but is in a different place everyday. Kind of a fun game but certainly distracts from religious ideas. For some reason I am feeling like I need to give into peer pressure as "everyone" else has an elf in their house and I don't want them to feel left out. Truly it would be fun and is fairly harmless but again distracts you from the true meaning of Christmas which I don't want. (I have an elf but it is still in hiding until I decide what to do.)
So what to do? I am not sure! What approach do you take towards Santa/elves/Jesus in your house?!
Here are our photos of the day...
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2 comments:
I have felt the dilemma too. I don't think we have ever made a big deal about Santa but the kids have all participated in the fairy tale in some way. We told Ben Santa is not real a while ago and he seemed fine with it- he has not shared his new knowledge with the girls since. They understand the true meaning of Christmas, we spend a lot of time at church and although we do not emphasize Santa, even at church, the Pastor will refer to Santa in his sermon as if he is real (for the children)... the kids have friends who never believed in Santa and have told them Santa isn't real, 4 yr old Lorelai has asked me if he is real since her 9 yr old friend told her he was not.... I just asked "What do you think?" and eventually we were talking about something else entirely. I don't know. I was concerned when we told Ben he was not real he would inform his peers who still believed and it would upset their parents. I am not aware of him ever doing this and by now I am guessing most of his peers already know.... As far as Elf on the Shelf, I never bought one, I did not even know what it was until about 2 years ago and it seemed like a lot of families were doing it and having fun with it but it just wasn't a tradition we chose to adopt.
Yes, I've struggled with this for eight years, myself. I've decided to let them believe in Santa, and when the time comes, I'll tell them about the original St. Nicklaus, who did things in the name of Jesus. And I pack Advent with a lot of activities focussing on building up to the remembrance of the birth of Jesus. (Advent calendar with Bible verses, Advent wreath, and charity work.)
I love the pictures, and I love your new picture for the blog. Adorable!
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