For Santa or Against Santa... or neutral

There are so many people writing blogs and such about their feelings about Christmas.  Should our family or should we not use Santa?  Is it lying to our kids?  How do we keep Christ in Christmas?  These are all questions that parents ask themselves around this time of year.  This is what our family has decided to do, but your children may be a lot different than mine so follow the Holy Spirit's leading in what you are to do with your own family. 

When we'd ask Samara, our middle child, what the difference between Santa and Jesus Samara would say "Jesus has power!"  Love kids...

Last year was the worst Christmas year with whining and asking for stuff.  The girls wanted a million things and "Santa" just couldn't make them all in that short period of time (he didn't have enough money either).  Finally we decided, after Christmas to let our girls know that Sanata was fiction not fact.  We just want their focus to be on Jesus and we really just wanted them to understand that we Santa wasn't giving somebody else more expensive things and them less expensive things just because they were more naughty.

Since we have told them that Santa isn't real (we have explained to them about St. Nicholas) they have been less demanding and I believe MORE happy.  We still DO Santa.  Their hge saying now is that Santa is real... it's Mommy and Daddy.  We still have a Christmas tree and Santa decorations with elves and the like.  BUT we are FOCUSING our attention more and more every year on Jesus.  This year we are going to make a manger, minus the hay.  In the manger we are each going to write 3 things that we are going to try harder to give to Jesus throughout the year.  We're changing a few other things too.

I don't believe that you have to DO Christmas a certain way to be doing it RIGHT.  There is no correct way.  I DO believe however that whatever convictions your family has that you should live those out.  This is what our family is doing... what is it that the Holy Spirit is leading YOURS to do? 

In closing I do think that everyone should raise the level of talk and display of Jesus in their lives.  This isn't just something that I think but it's Biblical.  This season is a great reminder of what He came to do for us but He did so much more than we could think about before and after His birth.  Thanks for listening to me blab.  I've read so many blogs on this topic I guess I just wanted to throw in my two cents.