No, Virginia, There Isn't A Santa Claus

This blog would crush the heart of that little eight year old girl who sent in a letter to the Sun newspaper asking if there really is a Santa Claus. My children do not believe in Santa Claus. He is dead. Now, before you decide to come over and tell me how awful I am as a parent for allowing this, let me explain.

Cliff was raised that the spirit of Christmas was sometimes embodied in the form of St. Nick, but the main focus in their house was always the birth of the Savior. His parents were really against any form of lying to their children. I was just fine with that when I married into the Sharp family. We also came from a very Christ-centered Christmas in my family, and being in Europe as a child certainly helped that. Santa just isn't that big over in Germany and Italy the way he is here in the States.

So when we started having a family, we focused more on the Savior than Santa Claus. We have talked about the nice man Saint Nicholas who loved children and was very kind to them, and how he died a long time ago. But we try to remember his kind acts when we dress up as Santa or do nice things for our neighbors and friends in the Christmas spirit. We try to tell the children it's okay if other people say they believe in him, but it doesn't always sink in.

Like when Brandon's Primary teacher asked everyone if anything neat or interesting had happened that week. Brandon raised his hand. "Santa isn't real. He died a long, long time ago." I am sorry if your child is in Brandon's class. I had no idea he was such a downer. He has also started a crusade to enlighten his fellow preschoolers. Again, I apologize if your child is in Brandon's class and needs help for their depression. We are currently working on his Christmas skills to try to remedy the problem.

Nadia is a little better, but not much. She doesn't announce the death of St. Nick like Brandon. She'll let kids talk about Santa and what they believe, and will do the "Uh-huh," like we all do to the telemarketer while we wait through the spiel to tell them we're not interested. Once in a while she'll say, "But you know he's not real, right?" A little bit of progress, but it still needs some work.

As a side bar, I think Nadia's cousin had almost convinced Nadia last year that St. Nick was real. Nadia was quite the follower of this cousin and had to be just like her. So when she said she believed, I think Nadia decided it wouldn't hurt to try. Then came the ward Christmas party. Nadia was very excited to see Santa. For the first time ever. Then she saw him and grabbed my hand. "MOM!" she whispered in that urgent whisper voice. "Who is that?" "That's Santa." "MOM! No, it's NOT! It's some guy dressed in a Santa suit!" She was very shaken that it wasn't the real thing. So much so that she wouldn't go near him. Until Brandon came back with a bag of candy. When she found out where he got it, she was all over it.

These pics are from last year. This year I couldn't take the shot. They both sat on his lap just long enough for him to ask what they wanted, shrug because they know HE isn't getting them anything, and ask for their candy. Hey, I may be raising unbelievers, but at least they are SMART unbelievers.