Our First Year Without Santa

Shawn and I have always said if the girls ask outright, we’d tell them the truth.

Twylla asked when she was about 6 years old. I asked her if she really wanted to know the answer, and when she said she did, I explained how Santa works. She took it well, and asked if she could still pretend. I told her that of course she could, and that her Elf would still come and that we’d keep doing all the Santa things for Elli.

This year, Elli, at age 5 asked me. She is a bit more sensitive and struggles a bit more with real and make believe, so I was a little worried at first. But I went through the same spiel with a little addition. She took it well.

Essentially, what I told the girls was this:

Santa Claus is a not a real person who flies all through the world delivering gifts, but more of an idea. There was a real man name Saint Nicholas who gave gifts to the children in his country, but the Santa that comes to our house is really mommy and daddy. So, now that YOU know, you get to be Santa, too. Santa is responsible for spreading good cheer and gifts to others; it’s not about getting anymore but giving. Today, there are also other Santa’s like daddy who deliver gifts to peoples houses all the way up to Christmas. UPS drivers, post office workers, even FedEx driviers get to play Santa during the Christmas season. So you’re a lucky girl because you DO have a REAL Santa at home!

I was surprised how much she loved the idea of Daddy being the real Santa as a UPS Driver, but she totally embraced that one. She seemed to enjoy Christmas a little more this year.

It was funny watching the girls both look at me when people would bring up Santa to them this season, like, “Mom, should I tell them I know?” Twylla had always just played along since she was keeping it alive for Elli. But this year, she embraced him being just a Character.

It has been really nice not having the pressure of Santa. We still visited Santa, but knowing he was just a character seemed to help Elli not be frightened of him.

But here’s the kicker for me. The pressure was off worth some of the baking and Christmas Eve tasks. We didn’t have time to make sugar cookies—I promised them New Year’s Eve cookies this year because I just couldn’t get to them and I forgot the food coloring without dyes and the sprinkles they can actually eat. We didn’t have to dig out the Christmas plate, write letters to Santa, or leave carrots for the reindeer. We didn’t have to wait to be SURE they were asleep before putting Christmas out. I could tell them honestly that I wanted to go to bed and that they needed to stay in their room so I could set Christmas up quickly.

Quite frankly, I needed that.

Plus, it puts the focus back on Jesus, something we have always tried to do—even our Elf was more missionary than mischievous, sharing about Jesus and the reason for the season.

It’s a new corner for us. We won’t be doing Santa with the babies. He’ll be a character, of course, but more like the Grinch is. Our tenure as a Santa family has ended. And I’m so excited.