If you look through my blog, you will find a picture missing over the years, and that's the one of my kids with Santa. Don't get me wrong, it isn't without me trying. Avery has just never wanted to get close to Santa, much less sit in his lap. Jordan has always seemed too "mature" to do such childish things and I finally got Sophia to do it this year (if I did too). I have never pushed Avery to do it either, and I would hate taking her picture with Santa where she was bawling her eyes out. I just never wanted her to have a picture with Santa that bad (athough, I do think crying Santa pictures are awesome).
Well, Santa came to Avery's school this year and she finally got up the nerve to actually talk to him! Not at first....
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...but she came around.
I haven't really addressed this formally on my blog, but since I have seen a lot of people lately jumping off the Santa bandwagon, I will go ahead and tell you that, yes, we believe in Santa in my house. Santa brings the kids presents and will continue to do so as long as they believe in him. I still get Santa gifts and I am thirty-something. I think I used to get really territorial over the idea of Santa and think that kids were robbed of a piece of their childhood who didn't get gifts from him and whose households didn't believe in him. I think it's because I look back on my childhood and Christmas morning with such fondness that I couldn't have imagined Santa not being a part of it. As I've been around as a parent and watch other families who haven't had Santa come to their house, I really don't get territorial over the idea anymore. If you do, you do. If you don't, you don't. I don't even get upset if someone mentions Santa not being real - I have had the kids ask me questions and we've always said, "If you believe in Santa he will bring you presents." (We probably would still have Santa gifts one way or the other). We haven't had a formal conversation to tell them either way and if they ask me if he's real, I just wink and give them the above answer and they probably realize the truth but wouldn't dare say it to me out loud. Jordan knows, but we've never had a formal conversation. It's just one of those things he will love to do for his kids one day and that will be that. And he will remember how silly he felt justifying asking Santa for a $400 toy that "mom and dad couldn't afford, but Santa doesn't need money, so he can bring it to me!"
We don't use Santa in our house as a discipline tool. And I had to stop saying stuff like "Santa's watching you!" because Avery started getting freaked out that he would come in her room at night and could he see-me-right-now-and-not-in-a-magical-way-but-a-creepy-way kind of thing?
I know a lot of parents feel like they don't like lying to their kids but once I really found out about Santa, I never felt lied to. I actually felt a lot of appreciation that my parents went to that much trouble to make Christmas that special for me, then realized the astronomical number they've probably spent on Christmas for me and my sisters up to that point and then REALLY appreciated it. I know some people didn't have that same experience, but I did. I also never questioned Jesus because Jesus gave me eternal life and died for my sins. I didn't pray to Santa and ask Santa for forgiveness or for protection of my family or peace on Earth or to bless my food. I talked to Santa once a year and all I asked from him was a Cabbage Patch and maybe a trampoline. So, there was a huge difference for me. Just my experience, not other people's.
With all that said, we don't have an Elf on the Shelf and we won't ever have one. Once again, great if you and your family do. Not for us. I made a Christmas countdown ring-thing for Avery out of construction paper. On Saturday, we tore off a ring. Have we torn another one off yet? Nope. You think I could honestly remember to move that thing around every night? Nope. Nor would I want to. Because I have a certain level of laziness I aspire to and as much as I do for my family, I draw the line at moving around a stuffed elf 30 nights in a row. And why should I feel lazy for not wanting to do extra? I feel normal. I hate when people say they are lazy for not doing Elf on the Shelf. For me, it's just good sense. I also have difficulty deciding a one birthday party theme a year, you think I have enough creativity to come up with 30 different things for that elf to do? Nope. So as Amy Poehler says, "Good for you. Not for me."
Well, I am off to watch another couple episodes of Scandal. Season 2 is SO good. Have a good night!

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