The Tale of Two Santas

Everyone is allowed to teach their kids whatever they want and that's fine, I'm not judging. I have heard a lot this year about people not teaching their kids to believe in Santa. They have good reasons and they have strong points as to why not, but I just wanted to share a little about why I choose to still teach about Santa. I don't believe that my kids are more fragile than I was and I don't worry that I will scar them for life if I tell them a few fibs. I loved my childhood and never felt betrayed when I came upon the truth. I feel it is fine for my kids to have one foot in fantasy while they are still young and innocent. I do believe in putting the focus mainly on Christ, but Santa represents the things that Jesus wants us to be: charitable, selfless, giving, kind, loving. It is a tradition passed on for so long teaching us to give without recognition and teaching our children to believe in something before they are ready to believe in the bigger things. And when my kids figure out the truth and are let in on the magic, if they question anything else, I will use that time as a teaching moment about praying for faith in Jesus to build their testimonies and know for themselves of what is true. So, because I love Santa, we went and saw him at Walmart. Lilly was so excited to go. But as we rounded the corner to his spot in the garden center, Lilly froze and wouldn't sit on his lap. We convinced her to sit and tell him what she wanted and she warmed up to him. But later, as I was getting her down for a nap, she asked me a really serious question. She wanted to know if he was just someone in a costume like at Halloween. I asked her why she thought that and she said it was because he didn't have a beard. So, I let her in on the big secret. I told her that Santa is too busy to go to all the stores and malls and that he only sometimes is at the places. But that he trains helper Santas and they are his friends and will tell him what you say. I told her we would go see the one at Tuacahn and she could decide if he was the real Santa or just another helper. After we saw that one, she was pretty certain he was the real thing. And she felt pretty important being let in on something the babies didn't know. Bella, on the other hand, didn't like either one and Tristan only liked the candy canes.