Diaper Swappers

averysmom · 12-05-2008, 05:31 PM

We do the whole "Santa" thing. My kids love it, but at the same time we do read the real Christmas story and focus on the real reason for the season.

One thing we do is on Christmas morning before any gifts are opened I make blueberry muffins and we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

I had Santa all growing up and I never lost sight of what Christmas is really about.

Also, my kids think Santa is their papa. My dad who looks like Santa (with the white hair and beard, and the round belly). Every year people actually hire him to play Santa. He loves it and does a great job.

Here is a pic of my kids with my dad aka: Santa

mlhmrsdds · 12-05-2008, 05:34 PM

I struggled with this. In the end after consulting friends we go with the Santa thing. I didn't want to be the mom who people came after when my kid let it slip that is was pretend. One friend almost got mad and thought I was going to ruin her winter discipline program--that I thought was taking it overboard :-).

I do however be sure to tell my DDs the story of St. Nick as well as mention on the side things like: sometimes Santa let's mom buy things too for fun, Santa brings gifts to kids who are less fortunate than us, there are lots of santas out there, we can all be santa, etc. Just to lay a little foundation. My worries come from the fact that I still remember how dissapointed I was when I figured it out myself, 20+ years ago.

grandma2x · 12-05-2008, 05:37 PM

I know Santa
"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Frogjump · 12-05-2008, 05:39 PM

As kids we didn't do Santa at all. I think we sat on Santa's lap twice, once cause we knew the guy taking the pictures and the other time cause our great-Aunt wanted us too.

My sister-in-law on the other hand, her family did Santa more so because it was an excuse for how much her mom spent on them but just the same when my brother married her he was told you have to believe in Santa if you want presents. That ended like a year later.

We now do the birthday cake for baby Jesus on Christmas eve and all the kids know that their presents are coming from family.

I'm thinking of letting my kids play Santa every year and buy Angel tree gifts. The point of Santa to me is you don't know who your gifts are coming from.

Now at the same time I never have and never will spoil it for someone else, and will try to teach my kids the same thing. That's it's all right for others to believe in Santa it's just not something we do.

Just tonight I had a talk with a little boy of Santa bringing him something for Christmas, and that Christmas really was getting close.

I think the idea of Santa is fun, but at the same time I just can't do it.

katiematie · 12-05-2008, 05:57 PM

heres my thing. Its not that i have a problem with other people believing in Santa, just not my kids. I havent said to them "theres no such thing as Santa" but i also havent said "there IS a Santa". They really have no idea either way. On Christmas, they know that all the presents are from mommy and daddy because we love them and care about them so much. I want them to know that Jesus is the real reason behind Christmas, not Santa. It seems like nowadays its becoming more of a "Hallmark" holiday and people are forgetting the real reason why we celebrate. Santa is not my reason, nor my kids reason. period. But like i said, they see Santa at the mall and on billboards and stuff and they dont even pay attention to it. They have no idea who the guy is and we are keeping it that way unless they ask. Then we will be truthful with them when the time comes.

OneFishTwoFish · 12-05-2008, 06:09 PM

We'll be honest. We plan to tell him that Santa is make believe but we'll still give a gift or two from "Santa". I also don't plan on playing up things like the Easter Bunny either.

CarrieMF · 12-05-2008, 07:16 PM

Quote:

It seems like nowadays its becoming more of a "Hallmark" holiday and people are forgetting the real reason why we celebrate.

It's more like not everyone believes that Jesus is the reason, even some Christians don't.

shanree · 12-05-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneFishTwoFish

We'll be honest. We plan to tell him that Santa is make believe but we'll still give a gift or two from "Santa". I also don't plan on playing up things like the Easter Bunny either.

we don't do easter bunny, tooth fairy, or any of the like either

joy7s · 12-05-2008, 08:03 PM

we tell them who St christopher was.. and what he did.. but not that he is the one giving presents etc. We just explain that he's not real. MY oldest is four and this is the first time she sat on santa's lap and it was circumstantial not b/c we wanted her to

*Aimee* · 12-05-2008, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RebekahG77

Christmas is about Jesus for us. We still have a tree, do presents, and all that other fun stuff. Santa is pretend, and our kids will know it from the start. We can still make-believe and have fun with it, but it won't be the focus of our celebration, and we will make sure our kids know from the start that he's pretend.

Thats us too

View Poll Results: Santa - what do you do?
Go with the flow (red suit, North Pole, presents...)	69	60.00%
Tell them there's not such thing as Santa from the start	25	21.74%
Tip-toe around the subject as much as possible	10	8.70%
Something else?	11	9.57%
Voters: 115. You may not vote on this poll

12-05-2008, 05:31 PM	#21
averysmom Registered Users Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 2,891 Ratings: 13 Feedback: 100%	Re: Santa - what do you do? We do the whole "Santa" thing. My kids love it, but at the same time we do read the real Christmas story and focus on the real reason for the season. One thing we do is on Christmas morning before any gifts are opened I make blueberry muffins and we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. I had Santa all growing up and I never lost sight of what Christmas is really about. Also, my kids think Santa is their papa. My dad who looks like Santa (with the white hair and beard, and the round belly). Every year people actually hire him to play Santa. He loves it and does a great job. Here is a pic of my kids with my dad aka: Santa __________________ Delana, Wife to Michael 7-29-00. SAHM to Parker Stephen 2-14-03 and Avery Grace 8-17-05 Autumn Rose my HBAC baby 2-9-10 EXPECTING #4 sometime in Sept. 2012 Planning my second homebirth!!

12-05-2008, 05:34 PM	#22
mlhmrsdds Registered Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Wausau, Wisconsin Posts: 5,501 Ratings: 215 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: Santa - what do you do? I struggled with this. In the end after consulting friends we go with the Santa thing. I didn't want to be the mom who people came after when my kid let it slip that is was pretend. One friend almost got mad and thought I was going to ruin her winter discipline program--that I thought was taking it overboard :-). I do however be sure to tell my DDs the story of St. Nick as well as mention on the side things like: sometimes Santa let's mom buy things too for fun, Santa brings gifts to kids who are less fortunate than us, there are lots of santas out there, we can all be santa, etc. Just to lay a little foundation. My worries come from the fact that I still remember how dissapointed I was when I figured it out myself, 20+ years ago. __________________ Melissa, mama to: Genevieve 04/04, Brooklyn 06/05, Callia 10/07 & Greysen 11/09 www.thegreenbabystore.com GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. USE COUPON CODE 35OFF TO SAVE 35% OFF IN-STOCK ITEMS. Last edited by mlhmrsdds; 12-05-2008 at 05:37 PM.

12-05-2008, 05:37 PM	#23
grandma2x Registered Users Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: TX Posts: 811 Ratings: 3 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: Santa - what do you do? I know Santa "DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? "VIRGINIA O'HANLON. "115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET." VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. __________________ See My DD's WAHM wares here: Diaper Change Pocket diapers (Over 100 choices avail) "It's time for a Diaper Change"

12-05-2008, 05:39 PM	#24
Frogjump Registered Users Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Montana Posts: 1,276 Ratings: 1 Feedback: 100%	Re: Santa - what do you do? As kids we didn't do Santa at all. I think we sat on Santa's lap twice, once cause we knew the guy taking the pictures and the other time cause our great-Aunt wanted us too. My sister-in-law on the other hand, her family did Santa more so because it was an excuse for how much her mom spent on them but just the same when my brother married her he was told you have to believe in Santa if you want presents. That ended like a year later. We now do the birthday cake for baby Jesus on Christmas eve and all the kids know that their presents are coming from family. I'm thinking of letting my kids play Santa every year and buy Angel tree gifts. The point of Santa to me is you don't know who your gifts are coming from. Now at the same time I never have and never will spoil it for someone else, and will try to teach my kids the same thing. That's it's all right for others to believe in Santa it's just not something we do. Just tonight I had a talk with a little boy of Santa bringing him something for Christmas, and that Christmas really was getting close. I think the idea of Santa is fun, but at the same time I just can't do it. __________________ Sarah Last edited by Frogjump; 12-05-2008 at 05:46 PM.