Explaining Santa Claus to Your Kids

11/19/2019

"A long, long time ago there was a man named Nicholas. He gave food and presents to orphans because he loved Jesus so very, very much—like we do, sweety. That's why people dress up in red Santa suits today, so we can remember what Nicholas did."

Have you tried to explain Santa Claus to your kids, and failed? Maybe you said something like what's written above, and maybe you felt like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

Honestly, we never told our kids anything about Santa Claus that I can remember. We didn't say he was real, and we didn't say he wasn't.

I guess my thinking was that they would just figure it out on their own, like I did when I was a child. Looking back, I'm not sure that was the best decision; and sometimes the Santa deal can become a very big deal in the mind of a child.

Maybe you even remember a traumatizing moment in your own childhood when someone told you that Santa Claus wasn't real. When that happens, our mistake may have come from allowing others to form our children's view of Santa Claus. Maybe your parents had honorable intentions with their promotion of him, and you've even watched movies or TV shows that fed this fantasy in the mind of your child. By letting others teach our children about Santa Claus, we ultimately allow them to form our children's view of not only Santa Claus but also the true meaning of Christmas.

So, how do we instill faith into our children about Christ when they've been deceived that Christmas is all about Santa Claus?

Decide Early on How You Will Handle the Subject of, "Is Santa Claus real?"

Many families, Christian or not, are comfortable promoting the fanciful figure of Santa Claus as reality. After all, there's only a brief period in a child's life when he or she is able to believe the unbelievable with complete abandon, right?

But what happens when they discover the truth? I was never afraid that my children would no longer believe in Santa Claus. I was afraid that they wouldn't believe the unbelievable—the true meaning of Christmas.

Start with the True Meaning of Christmas

It's important that we build up the faith foundation of our children. They need to know that the true meaning of Christmas is more important than the presents under the tree. So, before we open any presents, let's gather around the Christmas tree and read about the true meaning of Christmas from these passages:

Genesis 3:1-19
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 2:1-20
Matthew 2:1-12
John 3:16

It is vital that we take every opportunity to reinforce our children's understanding of God's love and the reason for Jesus' birth.

Don't Confuse Santa Claus with Saint Nicholas

Santa Claus is a fictional character—no different from, let's say, Big Bird, Mickey Mouse or Forky. So, let's not confuse the fictional Santa Claus with the factual Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas was born into a family of modest wealth and taught the importance of helping people less fortunate than himself. Very noble, and something we all need to teach our own kiddos! Orphaned as a young teen, Nicholas found comfort in his faith and religious studies. He was ordained as a priest at the young age of 19, and became Bishop of Myra shortly thereafter.

Nicholas was imprisoned from 303 A.D. to 308 A.D. because he wouldn't worship the Roman Emperor Diocletian as a god. There in prison, he encouraged his fellow prisoners to remain steadfast in their faith as well. However, the then Bishop (later Saint) Nicholas was primarily known for his kindness, generosity, and wisdom, much like the fictional Santa Claus.

Explaining Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas

The modern-day Santa Claus is a mix of facts and legend about Saint Nicholas, religious traditions from around the world, and the imaginations of writers and advertisers alike—mostly advertisers.

Just one example of this is that some people believe the red robes Bishop Nicholas wore inspired Santa's jolly red suit.

Though Santa Claus is a fictional character, he has actually contributed a great deal to our Christian heritage. Look at the bell-ringers that stand outside department stores, many times dressed in red, collecting money during the Christmas season for those in need. Also, way back in 1870, Christmas was officially adopted into Protestant churches as part of their Sunday School curriculum when teachers dressed up as Santa Claus and gave out presents as an outreach to children who did not attend Sunday School regularly.

Although Saint Nicholas certainly is not the reason for the season, the celebration of his memory plays a key role in many of our Christmas traditions. Communities around the world celebrate his memory every December 6 on the anniversary of his death.

In the 16th century, when Martin Luther urged believers to refrain from honoring the saints, many Catholics, Lutherans and Episcopalians perpetuated his memory by including Saint Nicholas festivities in their Christmas traditions.

It's interesting to see how the fictional Santa Claus and the factual Saint Nicholas are intertwined and have infiltrated the story of Christmas.

Sharing with Those in Need

Historians credit Saint Nicholas for turning Christmas into a gift-giving season. I'm sure today, retailers appreciate his lifestyle of generosity for reasons other than just being generous to our fellow man. In many cases, it has become their great fortune.

On December 6, people all over the world will celebrate the memory of Saint Nicholas by re-enacting tales attributed to him. One such re-enactment includes hanging stockings over the fireplace and filling them with gifts in remembrance of the time Nicholas saved a widower from selling his daughters into slavery. Legend tells us that he snuck into their home and filled the stockings that hung over the fireplace with gold coins. (I'd appreciate some gold coins in my stocking this Christmas!)

Entire communities, if not the entire world, participate in festivities during the holiday season honoring Saint Nicholas by filling stockings and giving gifts to one another.

Sharing with those in need during the Christmas season is one positive we can come away with from both the fictional Santa Claus and the factual Saint Nicholas. We should be intentional about teaching our children to be generous and share with those in need, not just during the holiday season but year-round.

About That True Meaning of Christmas

Building up the faith foundation for our children is important! I hope this Christmas, before opening presents, you'll consider gathering around the Christmas tree and reading about the true meaning of Christmas. And, it's important for us to keep in mind that the true meaning of Christmas isn't found only in the book of Luke. The true meaning of Christmas begins with the fall of man in Genesis 3:1-19 and flows seamlessly throughout Scripture to God's great love for His only Son and for us in John 3:16. It even continues on to the revelation of Himself in the final book of the Bible—appropriately named Revelation. It is vitally important that we reinforce our children's understanding of God's love and the true meaning of Christmas.

Understand the True Meaning of Christmas in a Whole New Way

If you want to understand the true meaning of Christmas in a whole new way, consider reading the Bible through in chronological order of book authorship in the coming year.

Reading God's Word in this way will open your eyes and give you a new appreciation of God's plan of Salvation. Check out this Bible Reading Itinerary. It's completely FREE! This lovely, 12-month, self-guided (or group-guided) Bible reading plan gently leads the reader on a journey through God's Word in chronological order of book authorship.

If you haven't read the Bible in this order, you're in for a real treat! The plan is great for new believers and for those established in the faith as well.

The Greatest Thing About Santa Claus is When You Catch Grandma Kissing Him!

But seriously, as a child, I never believed that a man called Santa could visit every boy and girl in the world in a single night, land his sleigh and reindeer safely on their rooftops, shimmy his obese body down (and back up) their chimney, leave the exactly presents they were wishing for, eat a plate full of cookies and be on his way... That's A LOT of cookies!!!

However, as a third-grader, I did believe that a man named Jesus could make a way to salvation through faith for every boy and girl in the world in a single, sacrificial act so horrendous that even His own Father had to turn His back. He secured our redemption and gave us just what we needed—Himself, before we even recognized that we needed Him. He knew us before we loved Him, and loved us before we knew Him. Best of all, He will not shimmy His way back up the chimney and out of our lives like Santa. He will always be with us, never leave us, and is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Funny how, even as a child, you can find one thing so impossible to believe and another, by faith, so simple to believe—so simple that even a child can believe. That's the wonder of the gospel, isn't it?!

Download Our Merry Christmas Happy Everything Songbook

You can't have a holiday party without a little FA LA LA LA LA and O Holy Night! Are you going caroling? This is perfect! QUICK! before it gets too busy, download this FREE songbook today so your guest will have the words to all our Christmas favorites at their fingertips. This gorgeous, 50+ page, booklet-style printable will be the perfect addition to your holiday party and you can even send it home with your guest as a party favor! Join the movement and download it for free today!

Three ways to put your Merry Christmas Happy Everything songbook together:
First, send it off or take the PDF file to your local office store and print the number of copies you will need for your guest. These can be shared copies, or you can print one for each individual and even send them home as party favors! After printing, here are three different ways you can bind them:

Fold them and wrap a red and white string, jute cord, or some type of pretty Christmas ribbon around the binding to hold the book together. Simple as that!
After folding the book, use a book-binding type of stapler to staple the book together along it's binding in a couple of places near each end. Staple, staple and you're done!
Using a paper cutter, cut the book in half and punch it with a special hole punch that allows you to then thread a wire spiral through the binding. This is my preferred binding method.

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How have you explained Santa Claus to your children, and how do you keep the true meaning of Christmas alive in your home?

33 Comments

Rebecca Hastings link

11/19/2019 09:10:51 am

The Santa subject can get so tricky. And people can have really, really strong feelings about it. We had to do what worked for us: we never did Santa. We told the kids that some people do, but we don't. They just knew gifts were from us instead. We did stress that we never ruin Santa for someone else though. It made it a little trickier when they were young. But when they got older it was easy because there was never the big unmasking of the truth.

Patsy Burnette link

11/19/2019 10:18:58 am

Rebecca, I remember when our oldest daughter taught first grade and one of her students asked if Santa was real. She (without thinking) replied, "NO!" LOL Wow did she ever get in a lot of trouble with the mother of that child!!! I guess I failed at stressing that we never ruin Santa for someone else! ha ha ha ha Good advice!

Laurie link

11/19/2019 10:10:19 am

Patsy, thank you for this much-needed reminder. This is the time of year that we should be focusing on the story of Christ's birth and life, teaching our children (and grandchildren faith and the spirit of generosity, not teaching them to ask for an ever-growing list of things.

11/19/2019 10:24:37 am

Laurie, you're so right! I'm focusing even more this year on the fact that the true meaning of Christmas is not only found in Luke 2. The true meaning of Christmas starts way back in Genesis 3 with the fall of man. I want my grandchildren to not only understand HOW Jesus came, but even more importantly, WHY He needed to come. :) The true meaning of Christmas flows seamlessly throughout God's Word—from Genesis to Revelation.

Eva from Finding The Joy Within link

11/19/2019 10:41:12 am

Love this so much. Thank you for the reminder. My boys are already asking if Santa is real. I look forward to sharing more about St Nicholas with them. Stopping by from Purposeful Faith Link up. Xo

11/19/2019 10:45:04 am

Thank you, Eve, and welcome to InstaEncouragements!

Michele Morin link

11/19/2019 01:01:20 pm

I don't remember this being a terribly big deal for our family because we talked about Jesus, we told stories about St. Nick and Santa Claus, and we just loved every single thing about Christmas. It's a holy celebration and it's also a hilarious season full of too much sugar and not enough sleep. Communication is so key to this tricky issue.

11/19/2019 01:37:30 pm

Agreed, Michele. Communication is key!

Mandy Farmer link

11/19/2019 01:12:45 pm

Great thoughts and ideas on Santa. I was putting tegether something like this on my blog, but you have blown away my meager attempt. Thanks for this well organized and thoughtful post.

11/19/2019 01:39:19 pm

Mandy, you go right ahead. You could even link back if you like. You reach people I don't reach and visa versa. We can never have too many "real meaning of Christmas" posts!

12/4/2019 02:20:10 pm

Shared your link here

Alice V Walters link

11/19/2019 01:15:06 pm

My husband and I went with the Mickey, Big Bird (fun, but not real) route. While I don't think we should push and make Christmas all about Santa Claus and GETTING gifts, it's sad to see some parents push him totally out of their preschooler's world, along with the idea of GIVING. We have to start the concept of giving and sharing somewhere a little tangible so we can lead them to the Creator of the Gift. Thanks for tackling a touch subject so thoroughly.

11/19/2019 01:41:50 pm

Alice, I like pushing the giving part of the holiday more than the getting part of it—WAY more. It truly is better to give than to receive, and when children grasp that concept they will grow up to be grateful adults.

Susan Shipe link

11/20/2019 12:07:54 pm

I was better with my grands than I was with my own 3. With the grands, we were the out of town grandparents so we would have a happy birthday Jesus party on C'mas Eve and Cmas morning was Santa until they figured it out themselves. No harm done.

11/20/2019 12:42:52 pm

I'm better at grandparenting than I was at parenting, for sure! We have a guest blog post that goes live Friday morning at 9 EST that just about had me in tears. I feel like I completely failed as a parent and need a redo. Hindsight is everything I guess. Hindsight and a lot of maturity.

Angela Johnson link

11/20/2019 12:43:30 pm

Patsy, this is a wonderful post! I don't think we ever explained Santa Claus to our kids. They just kind of picked it up on their own. However, very early on, my husband and I decided that Santa was not going to be the most important thing at Christmas to our kids. Santa did not bring their big gifts, we did. We taught them the true meaning of Christmas since they were babies. Jesus is what Christmas is all about. Pinning!

11/20/2019 12:46:55 pm

Thanks for pinning Angela! "Santa did not bring their big gifts, we did." This sounds like something I heard my CPA-partner-in-an-accounting-firm-son-in-law say recently. He for sure wants their kids to know who worked hard for those presents! LOL

Anita Ojeda link

11/20/2019 12:47:27 pm

What a great review of the difference between St. Nicholas and Santa Claus! I've pinned it and shared it. I remember telling our girls something about Santa Clause representing a real man who lived a long time ago (but was now dead) who helped people during the worst time of the year--winter. (The Internet wasn't much of a thing, so I hadn't done my research before hand ;) ). Two days later, a kind lady bent down and asked one of our daughters what Santa was bringing her for Christmas. Our daughter looked at her askance and said, "He's dead!" ;)

11/20/2019 12:49:46 pm

LOL Anita, that's GREAT! Kids say it honest! :) Thanks for pinning and sharing!

Lisa notes link

11/20/2019 03:22:27 pm

That's the same way we handled Santa at our house. We didn't say he was real; we didn't say he was. ;) We let the gifts be from us, the parents. I remember being so sad as a child when I learned Santa wasn't real. With my own kids we focused on the Jesus story instead. I don't judge others who do talk about Santa; it's just not what we chose at the time. It didn't seem to take away any of their joy of opening presents on Christmas morning! :)

11/20/2019 05:40:32 pm

I'm sure most kids don't really care where the presents come from—just as long as they come. LOL

Lauren Renee Sparks link

11/20/2019 04:25:58 pm

Although we are past this in our house, I know Santa has become a matter of debate for many Christians. And your songbook is darling. laurensparks.net

11/20/2019 05:41:32 pm

Thanks, Lauren! I'm glad to say we're past it too.

Beth link

11/20/2019 06:09:39 pm

Wow, you've really done your research on this topic, Patsy! I knew some of what you shared about St. Nicholas' history, but certainly not all. And I really appreciate you encouraging young parents to consider how they should handle this man's life, distinguishing it from the myth of "Santa Claus"--as well as from Christ Himself! We sure don't want our kids to question the validity of our Savior's coming to earth! Thanks for this! Pinned a couple of times and will schedule to pin it more later!

11/21/2019 05:56:18 am

Thank you so much Beth! :)

Heather Hart link

11/22/2019 09:29:09 am

I loved this so much. I have never come across a post about explaining santa claus to your kids that was so well written or researched. Thanks for this. It's so tactful. We don't do Santa. I like to say it's because Christmas is about Jesus, but it really stems from my own santa trauma. I still remember the day I decided I would never put my kids through that. But, I don't share that side of the story often. It's hard and ugly and still makes me want to cry.

11/22/2019 09:44:53 am

Thank you, Heather! You are very kind. Sorry about your Satan trama. :-0

Tiffany Montgomery link

11/23/2019 08:19:35 am

Thank you for this post. We teach out children that Santa is fiction, St. Nick is history and Jesus is the reason. And boy do we get a lot of slack for that teaching. It's crazy how often I have to defend our right to raise these kids our own way and it feels like we are the only ones. It's nice to know we are not.

11/23/2019 10:25:34 am

Tiffany, I love your points here! —>We teach our children that:
1. Santa is fiction
2. St. Nick is history
3. Jesus is the reason!

EXCELLENT!

And to this —> "And boy do we get a lot of slack for that teaching. It's crazy how often I have to defend our right to raise these kids our own way and it feels like we are the only ones. It's nice to know we are not." I just read the quote below from the book "Authentic Christianity: Trading Religion and Rules for True Faith" and it struck me when I read your comment.

"If your life is one that reflects radical, authentic Christianity, people become either bitter or better through contact with you. But one thing cannot happen: people will never remain the same. Those who are determined to die are pushed on toward death by coming into contact with authentic Christianity. Those who are seeking to live are helped on into life. Jesus certainly had this quality about Him. No one ever came into contact with Him and went away the same." —Ray Stedman