Explaining to young children why their homes and/or lives are different from other kids their age can be a challenge… and sometimes a simple explanation is best. In our situation (with a two and three year old this Christmas), we haven’t gotten questions from our kids, but from relatives, to which we simply state “Santa doesn’t come to our house”.
This is the same simple explanation my parents taught us to tell people who asked, and the explanation I plan to have my kids give when questioned about Santa.
Now, the focus behind this article is more on the WHY than the explanation itself, but the explanation (how to answer others, especially those who believe in a jolly red-suited man) seemed important, too.
When you are worried about your kids being different, don’t forget that there are all kinds of things that make our families different and unique (like the choice to Say NO to Sugar!), and that isn’t always a bad thing!
Santa Doesn’t Come to Our House (the WHY)
First and foremost, Santa doesn’t come to our house because we feel it’s important not to upstage the reason for the season, the person for whom Christmas is celebrated at all: Jesus.
No shade intended if your convictions are different, but in our house we want to stay focused on Jesus – year round, but especially in a celebration that revolves around Him!
.There are many Christians who celebrate both – Jesus and Santa – so here’s a few more reasons Santa doesn’t come to our house.
- When Santa gives one kid nice presents but not another kid, the kid who received the “lesser” present could feel slighted or hurt – over a fictitious person who didn’t truly gift them anything. Easily preventable (in a few ways), we simply chose the avoid option
- Trust issues *could* be created if the deception goes on too long or goes too far – we’d rather not be even accused of lying to our children
- Santa is an unnecessary (to our family) part of Christmas that *could* create more work (think Elf on a Shelf)
- Christmas is still magical without Santa. We still celebrate and have lots of fun.
Dealing with the Well-Meaning
Well-meaning friends and family may comment on Santa to your kids, or your kids may hear about Santa from friends or movies.
We find that this is best dealt with using honesty – tell your kids the truth about Santa, but teach them a POLITE way to respond to friends and family who push the issue. We have discovered that the phrase, “Santa doesn’t come to our house” works great.
It can be kind of confusing for kids when this mysterious entity comes to their friends houses (or neighbors) and not theirs, which is why honesty is usually the best line of defense.
A simple answer often works great – even if you choose a different one than I suggest above – and is nice because it works on young kids along with well-meaning friends and relatives.
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
Leave a Reply