Being Honest About Santa

Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Jolly Ole Saint Nick!  Whether or not you include Santa in your Christmas traditions – there is no avoiding him.  That dude is everywhere! 

I decided a long time ago that I was not going to “do” the whole Santa thing.  Presents would come from us.  No stories about how Santa was watching, so you better be good!  No tracking Santa’s sleigh.  No Elf on the Shelf (I would definitely forget that more than once).

But as my kids gets older, I’m finding this more and more difficult.  In an ironic twist, every time I tell my 5 year old that Santa is not real – he tells me “yes he is!”  His little imagination is trying to work out why this guy would bother dressing up so much and why everyone else is so obsessed with him! 

So despite my best efforts – I cannot have a Santa free Christmas.  And I guess that’s okay.

I am sticking to my story that Santa is not real, despite the arguments from my kids.   But even telling them that he’s not real doesn’t stop them from enjoying the magic that Santa brings to Christmas.

I feel like I get the best of both worlds.  I get to be honest and they get to use their imaginations to enjoy everything Christmas has to offer.  (And I get to take credit for the presents.  Because, let’s be real — I put a lot of thought into those!)

In an effort to not ruin Santa for anyone else — I did explain to my kids that even though Santa is not real, we don’t talk about him being pretend because we don’t want to hurt his feelings.  And since all my son does is tell me “Santa IS real” we haven’t had any problems yet!  (WHEW)

So if you are still debating what to do about Santa — maybe this is your solution!  You don’t have to be as brutally honest.  But since kids love to play pretend and love magic – they might just pretend even without your help!

How do you handle Santa in your house?   I’d love to know!