The Santa Issue

I'm not sure how keen I am on blogging, but I'm feeling some pressure so I'll give it a go. Tim was talking about Santa the other day and mentioned us, so I thought I would explain our position. The crux of it is that we have a Jesus, rather than a Santa, focus. I think that's fair enough, as we are Christians. We're not comfortable teaching our kids about Jesus who came to earth as a man, to live and die for us - giving us the ultimate present of a right relationship with God, and also about Santa, who knows what children are up to and will give them a toy if they are good, only to have them find out later that Santa was a lie. I think one hero at Christmas is enough, and Jesus wins, no contest.

We haven't really had to deal with the consequences of our decision yet. Toby is too young and Joss seems perfectly content having Santa give her a present at pre-school and a balloon at the shopping centre. At the shops people do ask her what Santa is going to bring her, and she tends to either look blank, or say she doesn't know. We're happy to enjoy Santa as fantasy - a nice story that goes with Christmas, but we won't go to great lengths to get our children to believe in what isn't true. We will establish our own family traditions that make Christmas special. As for the impact this will have on other children, there is always going to be some kid with older siblings to break the news, plus Jewish or Muslim kids who don't celebrate Christmas.

Anyway, Christmas will be over soon and we can get down to some Return of the King action. Expect some venting after I see it.