When my kids were little, we did the whole Santa thing. They put out cookies and milk for him on Christmas Eve. And yes, I dumped some milk and ate some of the cookies when they went to bed to prove Santa’s existence. We wrapped their Santa gift in white tissue paper to distinguish them from the other presents. We even made up ways in which he’s able to fly around the world in a sled in one night and deliver gifts to every home (even the homes without chimneys in which we accidentally painted a picture of Santa as a burglar).
With that said, I don’t think we did Santa right in my home. And while I’m not going to tell you how to deal with this as a parent, let me give you 3 options I see with 1 of them being the best way to honor all of scripture.
OPTION #1: SANTA IS FAKE
This is a legit option many people take. The upside to this option is that it is easy to obey scripture in regards to lying and hopefully makes pointing to Jesus a little easier since Santa is not in the picture. The downside to this option is that it can create an overly legalistic atmosphere and negate a child’s imagination during an imaginative time of the year.
OPTION #2: SANTA IS REAL
This is the option I chose with my kids. But, I’m not sure I made the best choice. The upside to this option is that it creates a fun story for kids’ imaginations to engage with during a festive time of the year. The downside? I lied to my kids every December and had to repent of that.
OPTION #3: SANTA IS FAKE BUT CAN BE WOVEN INTO THE REALITY OF THE GOSPEL
If I had to rewind and do it all over, I would choose this option. The reality is Santa is not real. And me telling my kids every year that he is a fat bearded man who gives gifts to children around the world is a blatant sin of lying. BUT, Jesus told fake stories all the time that pointed to a greater and more important reality. They were called parables.
For Jesus, parables were stories that engaged the mind at a different level to captivate the listener’s imagination in order to point to a greater reality. If I had to do it all again with my kids, I would help them understand the story of Santa in a way that points to the greater story of Jesus. How does Santa point to Jesus and the gospel? Let me show you.
- Santa gives physical gifts while Jesus offers a spiritual gift of salvation (John 10:10)
- Santa gives gifts based on your good behavior while God offers salvation freely in order to change your behavior (Ephesians 2:10)
- Santa wants you to be happy while Jesus promised his followers they would suffer (John 15:18)
- Santa doesn’t want you to be sad (“you better not pout”) while Jesus will actually wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4)
- Santa is a myth while Jesus is the truth and way to eternal life (John 14:6)
If Santa were real and really cared about your joy, he would point every person to Jesus, the Savior of the world. Let’s do the same for our kids this Christmas. And if you’re like me and Santa was “real” in your home, it’s never too late to make a change.