Finally, I can breathe. After a hectic week of parties, projects, and the usual pre-Christmas panic, I can now relax. That is, until I finish buying a few things for some people for our traditional Christmas eve gift-giving.
What is foremost in my mind right now is whether or not I should tell my 2 kids that Santa Claus does not exist. Hubby thinks it's cruel for me to reveal this and told me that I should just let nature take its course. Eventually, he said, the kids will find out for themselves. Hmm.. why would I feed my children lies? Can I just tell them that the gifts they will receive this Christmas are from Mom and Dad and from people who love them? Why would I tell them that some judgmental, fat, bearded guy wearing a red suit gave them the gifts because they've been nice instead of naughty? Besides, we don't have a chimney, just a kitchen vent.
I'm torn. I need your help, Oh learned people.
What is foremost in my mind right now is whether or not I should tell my 2 kids that Santa Claus does not exist. Hubby thinks it's cruel for me to reveal this and told me that I should just let nature take its course. Eventually, he said, the kids will find out for themselves. Hmm.. why would I feed my children lies? Can I just tell them that the gifts they will receive this Christmas are from Mom and Dad and from people who love them? Why would I tell them that some judgmental, fat, bearded guy wearing a red suit gave them the gifts because they've been nice instead of naughty? Besides, we don't have a chimney, just a kitchen vent.
I'm torn. I need your help, Oh learned people.
1 comment:
Oh, I feel you, Girl. Efrain & I just told Adrianna a couple of weeks ago. She was being teased mercilessly at school coz she was the only one who still believed in Santa. We wanted her to able to respond intelligently to ignorant children's taunts.This is what we did:
1. We asked her if she REALLY believed that the Santa in the red suit who lives in the North Pole was real. Her response was, "No. I know that's just the fairy tale TV version of Santa. But I belive that there's a REAL REAL Santa."
2. We supported her faith in a REAL REAL Santa by telling her that we believe in him too. YES, Santa is real, but not in the way that Mom & Dad are real. Santa is real in the way that angels are real. The way that we know there's a heaven & hell. He's not tangible but, YES, HE IS MOST DEFINITELY REAL! She's already familiar with the story of St. Nicholas so we just refreshed that for her. St. Nick is Santa. A real person who did a lot of good things for poor children. The tradition of parents secretly giving presents in Santa's name is to keep St. Nick's spirit of generosity alive. To honor him & to carry on his work os spreading joy. Santa is the spirit of GIVING. He's supposed to serve as a reminder that we should embrace the spirit of giving this holliday season.
3. Did we LIE about Santa? Lie is a strong word. Mom & Dad wanted you to experience MAGIC. The idea that some benevolent being chose to bestow gifts upon you brought you such exitement & joy & wonder. Magic & fantasy should be part of every child's life. Santa, Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, that's how Mom & Dad brought magic & fantasy into your life.
4. We told her that telling other kids that Santa wasn't real would be the cruelest thing she could do. Those kids who teased her were cruel. They took away a certain amount of innocence from her. Santa is real. He's a real part of all of us who still believe in the goodness of humanity.
5. The day is called CHRISTmas for a reason. It is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Santa is NOT Christmas. Although we should keep Santa's giving spirit with us all year.
I advise you to hold off on telling Zaki this year. Lay the foundation first. Cushion the blow, so to speak. Start talking to him about the real meaning of Christmas. Tell him about St. Nicholas. Tell him the fat dude in the red velvet suit is bogus. There's no elven sweat shop in the North Pole, but there is a REAL Santa. He's just not the way he's portrayed in stories and movies. And after you've laid the groundwork, tell him next Christmas. Tell him to be a good big brother & keep the magic alive for Ripley for a couple more years. You can start telling her about St. Nick now & also that the TV Santa isn't the real Santa, but I wouldn't tell the whole truth just yet. Let the little ones have their magic & fantasy. The real world will weasel its way in far too soon anyway. The longer we can insulate them & keep them carefree & innocent, the better.
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