Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Fa La La La!

Okay. I have tried and tried to type a succinct post about Christmas and how I'm trying to celebrate it. I've written and deleted, edited and re-edited, and finally I gave up and now a botched post is sitting idly in my saved drafts.

Then a blog post from a blogger named Jen started floating around Facebook, so I read it and took a sigh. A-ha! This witty blogger put into words what I was feeling, and then some.

This past summer, my sister-in-law shared an idea her family was doing for Christmas when it came to purchasing gifts for their kiddos:

1) Something they want
2) Something they need
3) Something to give to others

I loved the idea and my husband and I agreed to follow those rules for our own kids this year. If people are pepper-spraying each other for X-Boxes on Black Friday, surely we can help reign things in a bit.

Christmastime always presents a bit of an issue for me because of the balance we try to strike with making it "all about Jesus" and also buying lots of gifts and writing letters to Santa, the guy who doesn't actually exist. I've tried to figure out how I could do both. I didn't grow up doing the "Santa thing", so I'm really just terrible at it, but a lot of people I know do it and seem to have no issue with it, so I've given it a fair amount of thought and I've still managed to come up empty. The only ideas I can drum up are to add more nativities, talk about Jesus a lot, light lots of Advent wreaths, go to a lot of Christmas Eve services, read the Christmas story a million times before Christmas Day ... and then I can do the other stuff, too, right? Because I've done a good job of telling my kids what Christmas is "really" about, right?

And then I realized that all I'm doing is a lot of works, basically, and missing the point entirely.

So, no Santa for us. (If you love Santa and love doing Santa, I am in no way saying you are wrong or horrible or whatever. It's just that I can't do it. But that doesn't mean you can't!)

Read this post and tell me what you think. Really, read it before you comment. She says a lot of what I can't seem to articulate.

Have a lovely day.

14 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post and another way to look at Christmas. You have given me a lot to think about

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  2. I just sent a link of that to my husband, to explain better than I ever could, why I'm not a fan of doing Santa. But, it also pointed out that it's not just about NOT giving the honor to Santa, but to make sure the honor and glory is going to Jesus. Very convicting. Thank you!

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  3. What a great post! Our family has decided not to participate in gifts and Santa this year (although we are all too old to still believe in the jolly old man) but it feels good to know there are others out there that feel the same way.

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  4. Great post! Though we don't have kids yet, I've wondered how I would balance out telling kids that Santa was real while also telling them about Christ, and then later "telling the truth" about Santa without undermining the story of Christ. I think Jen's post swayed me to the firmly "Santa is a nice story, but it's not the truth and distracts from who God is" side. :)

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  5. I agree, and I disagree. I was raised in a family that did a fabulous job of celebrating the truth behind Christmas but also did the Santa thing. I received mountains of presents every year (probably too many and not all from my family), but also went shopping with my parents to give presents to the less fortunate. I'm not sure exactly how my parents struck the balance, but I know they did. I do think that Christmas is out of hand in a lot of ways, but I also enjoy giving to my son. We are cutting back some this year because we have so much family that it becomes ridiculous. Not only does my son have grandparents, but he also has great-grandparents. And while I've seen people tell their families the "can't buy gifts" for their child, I can't bring myself to do that to my grandmothers. Santa only brings one gift to our house. We emphasize the reason that we celebrate Christmas is because of Jesus's birth, and we give gifts to celebrate His birthday. In doing this, my son has developed an intense interest in Jesus, and Santa kind of naturally fades to the background. I'm not saying the post is wrong. I think that each family must decide for themselves what is best. My own husband didn't do the whole Santa thing growing up, but we've decided to do it ourselves. So I guess that's my rambling answer that may or may not make sense.

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  6. I also read that post yesterday, and it was a very well-written case. I didn't grow up doing Santa, and I never missed it. I felt like my parents did a great job at not judging those who did and just not making a big deal out of it. For me, I don't see how I could - it would feel really disingenuous to be telling the girls something that really isn't true. We are also on the very limited gift train - also how I grew up, which I am so grateful for now. Bravo to you - now I am trying to figure out how to simplify even more, which is hard, but necessary.

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  7. Courtney, you bring up a great point. We also do not limit extended family on what they may or may not buy for our kids. There is joy in giving and I totally get that, so they can give what they'd like. I think it's more important as parents to teach our kids to be good stewards of what they get, rather than axing everyone else's gift-giving! And I think that's the approach we take with everything we do under our roof--these are choices that we make as a family, with no judgement at all towards families who do things differently. In the end, we're all trying to be good parents, all trying to do the right thing, and that will look differently for everyone.

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  8. *judgment. I can't spell, sorry. :)

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  9. Eli visited Santa for the fifth time this month. Whee! :) We like Santa. BUT, I don't plan on creating a story about Santa, or having him ask Santa for anything...mostly, I just love seeing Eli with Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc. Disney-like characters, if you will. I like the idea of the need, want, give gifts your SIL had for family giving. I grew up doing the whole Santa shebang. Look at how normal and well-adjusted I am. ;) Seriously, though, I have happy memories. My family did a good job with the Santa balancing act. To each his own. :)

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  10. Glad you posted this. Not only to refocus on Jedus, but I LOVE the emphasis the article places on buying. I am actively involved in an anti human trafficking group here in Tulsa on it is such a big issue; for our state as well as the world. Being aware of the supply chain of products is so crucial, especially at timeslije this where we are buying. I strongly encourage you to download the free2work app and scan some of the things you buy. That with the state departments angel report and the UN labour organization it is shocking to see (and become aware) of who uses Kidd apped children and slave labor to produce our e Dryden products! I.e. Fisher Price, Carters, etc..... Being an aware consumer is so important. Ok rant over. Oh, we don't really do the Santa thing either. :)

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  11. Wow! Apologies for all the typos! That should read Jesus, state department annual report (not angel) and kidnapped children. Sorry!

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  12. Oh and everyday instead of Dryden! So sorry!

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  13. We dodge the 'Santa' bullet by virtue of being Catholic :). We've decided to focus on the historical St Nicholas, who was renowned for his charity and works of mercy. Our son is only 19 months old, but we're laying down the tradition for him to talk about/write a 'soul report' with the good things he's done lately on St Nick's feast day (Dec 6). It will help that, starting next Advent, we're planning to have our little prepare a comfy bed for Baby Jesus by placing a piece of yarn in the manger for every 'good work' he does. We also make a family donation to a charitable cause on St Nicholas' Day (this year it's to Aid to the Church in Need). Then St Nick brings ONE present for each of us for Christmas, just as he used to give presents to children during his lifetime. We've decided that it won't be the most expensive/desired of the presents, either, so there's little link between virtue and material recompense! My husband is Italian and grew up with Baby Jesus as the one who brought the presents at Christmas - how about having that one to untangle for a small child! Sorry for the novel!

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  14. I always love Jen Hatmaker's writing, but that post in particular moved me. She put into words what I've been feeling about Christmas the last few years. I hope every Christian I know reads it, and even if it changes nothing about the way they celebrate Christmas or what they teach their children about Santa, I hope it speaks to them in some way.

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