Every year untold parents face one of the more difficult questions a child can ask. Is Santa Claus real? There is plenty of evidence that the jolly old guy is toiling away at the North Pole, updating lists, tending reindeer and supervising the elves. 

• Hundreds of books have been penned, detailing his escapades
• If you write to him and send it via snail mail, you will receive an answer
• NORAD, run by Canada & the US, tracks his whereabouts each year and reports it with the help of weather forecasters across the country.
• He visits a plethora of locations in advance of Christmas to gather data and verify his naughty and nice lists.
• If all else is insufficient, that are scientific proofs to be found online that explain exactly why Santa Claus is definitely real.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, children everywhere, paying closer attention to us than we realize, begin to question his existence.

Trust & Tact

When my son was about six years old, I was faced with this age-old question. His father and I hadn’t really pushed the idea of Santa, but we hadn’t disputed it either. In large part because we were trying to be truthful, if not completely honest with him, so he would learn to trust us completely from the start.

He came home from school one day in mid-December asking about what kids at school had talked about. Is Santa Claus real? I knew if I told him “No” directly, he would likely go back the next day to set everyone straight and likely cause difficulties with families that hadn’t tackled this particular debate yet. But I’d be lying if I said “Yes” outright and with him trusting me enough to ask, I didn’t want to jeopardize that precious trust. I also had my extended family to keep in mind, along with many others that believe the Christmas season should be centered around more religious beliefs. 

The Answer is Yes

I’m generally not a very quick thinker, which can be rather frustrating at times, but this was one of rare times inspiration struck with the answer. We sat down facing one another so I could assure I had his attention and gauge his comprehension. I began by telling him I was told from the time I was a baby that Christmas was the celebration of Jesus’ birth and gave him the short, short version of his sacrifice. I then talked about the stories of Santa Claus, his lists and delivering toys across the world. 

So, what do Jesus and Santa Claus have in common? According to the stories, Santa spends all year with his elves, making toys for children. Jesus spent his ministry serving others, and according to the Bible, paid the ultimate price for his believers. In a nutshell, they spend/spent their lives doing for others and every one of us can be like Santa Claus and spend our year doing things for others. I explained that when Christmas rolls around, we should make lists of what we’re going to do for others, not what we want. By focusing on others, we get the greater joy of giving rather than receiving. 

We had already started a Christmas tradition of making ornaments that J– could help create, and that year those simple decorations took on a whole new meaning for him. We finished by talking about writing down our Christmas list of who we were gifting ornaments and how much fun it would be to personally deliver to close family and friends. 

Aftermath

You may wonder how long my Christmas List idea worked, especially for a little boy surrounded by people that wanted to know what toys and gadgets he wanted. I’m proud to say his Christmas list is still the same, nearly 25 years later. If you ask what he wants for Christmas, he’ll tell you he doesn’t know, he doesn’t make lists like that. His list is filled with what special item he can create or find for each of his friends and family members. 

One side effect I didn’t expect with my Christmas explanation was the pushback and frustration I got in the early years from my extremely religious mother. When she heard he didn’t have a wish list of “wants,” she got rather indignant with me, “How was she supposed to know what to get him?” I found it rather ironic that I had to explain that he understood that Christmas was about giving, not getting, therefore he made a giving list, not a wish list. Of course, I would give her some suggestions, but I was not going to make him create a wish list for her.

I am extraordinarily proud of my son in so many ways, but most of all I’m proud of what a kind, thoughtful and giving person he is. And yes, I’m proud of myself for my part in teaching him and doing my best to be a good model for him. 

If you want to have a great Christmas in my opinion, get started on your list as early as possible each year. Take every opportunity you can to do things for others. It doesn’t work 100% of the time, but it will nearly always give you that warm fuzzy feeling in your heart and you’ll become greedy for more warm fuzzies. On top of that, others will start passing along the kindness and generosity and we can gradually make this world into the great place we all think it should be.