Believing in Santa

Being a kid is such a magical time of life! So much wonder about the world and so much to believe in! I know many parents have differing opinions about whether children should believe in Santa or not. I’ve seen so many arguments for it and against it, but what I never see is the kid deciding for them self what they want to believe! It’s always the parents making the decision. When it came to such a big decision about whether Santa existed or not I let my kids decide what they want to believe.

How you may ask? Well I don’t tell them one way or another... I ask what do you think.. what do you want to believe? I tell them that there are lots of people who believe many different things about Santa! My oldest last year decided that she doesn’t believe a man comes in our house at night, but she thinks Santa is real it’s just not one person! This year she asked if she could be a Santa and give gifts to a list of people she wrote down!

They asked me what I believe about Santa, and I told them, when I was little I believed the stories that one man flew around the world giving presents because it gave me hope that someone was watching out for us kids. However, now that I am older, I believe that Santa isn’t actually a person, but it’s the magic of giving a gift without expecting any thank you or credit in return! So that anyone can be Santa, and anyone can give a gift using the name Santa.

So this year my girls still believe in the magic of the season, they believe it’s a time for many to come together and give to those less fortunate without expecting anything in return! My oldest doesn’t believe in the Santa with a red suit, but she believes something similar to me with her own twist on it! My younger daughter says “I don’t know if I believe if there is one Santa that lives at the North Pole, but I know that sometimes you and dad are Santa” and I just replied “yup, sometimes we are”. I let them know that they don’t need to figure it all out right now, and their beliefs may change as they see the world differently! I told them this is normal and this happens for all of us throughout our lives with everything we believe!