Christmastime is scary this year for me...

Simon heading off to school in his Santa hat...

Last week Simon was so excited for Christmastime that he wanted to wear his Santa hat to school in place of his winter hat.  I let him, but spent the majority of the day with anxiety.  What if that Santa hat brought on unnecessary discussion about Santa and his existence?  He does ride the bus with older children, waits in line to go inside the school with older children...oh please do not let anyone ruin the magic for my little boy, I am not ready for him to stop believing in the magical time of Christmas.  This is the first year I was uncertain we would make it the entire season without getting busted by one of the boys.  I would rather have Simon use his critical thinking skills to figure out that the logistics of Santa are not possible (or legal since people cannot just go around climbing down chimneys), then someone at school telling him Santa is not "real".

In our house we believe in Santa and we are definitely an over achieving elf family.  Now, I know there is some controversy out there in Parent World about Santa (and please remember there is no right or wrong way, nor am I judging anyone that does it different then us, but this is what works for our family and why), but let me explain why he is a big part of our Christmas Season.  As a child I remember the excitement and magic that surrounded the holidays in our house.  The wonder and make believe.  The ringing of the bell on Christmas morning so we could come downstairs. (One of those bells still sits on my mantle year round and I smile when I see it because it triggers so many happy memories)  I do not know when I figured it all out, but part of me still believes in Santa.  Not the person himself, but what he stands for; the good in people, the giving without the recognition (I know when they figure it out they will understand it was mom and dad but for right now their smiles and joy are all the "credit" I need), the make believe and the magic.  Santa does not put the boys on the naughty or nice list though in our house, I have explained to Simon several times in his little life that just because he makes poor choices sometimes this does not make him a "bad kid", so we stay clear labeling them naughty or nice around the holidays as well.  This is also one of the reasons we chose to use Elf Magic Elves, because I was not a big fan of the Elf on the Shelf story that talked about him reporting to Santa.  We want them to behave even when know one is "watching", when they do the right thing because of their own self pride not because someone can see them.  I also did not like that you could not touch Elf on a Shelf, so when I found the Elf Magic Elves and the story behind them that talks about making memories and spending time with the family I was sold.  (You can really use ANY elf or any "doll" for the holidays and still have the same outcome).  Our elves really like to bring us activities that we can do as a family or activities we can do for others, such as when we bake our cookies for the neighbors or go shopping for our toys for other children.  I know many people roll their eyes at our little elf tradition or the amount of time and effort I put into it every year, but I will never forget the smiles and excitement I get to see every morning.  I will never forget the memories that we have made and will continue to make and I hope long after they figure it all out for themselves, they continue to enjoy the opportunity to imagine and believe even as an adult.  I hope that long after the material presents have been broken or outgrown; they remember all the fun we had as a family and they remember the little things that make the holidays special.

Over achieving Elf Family

When the day comes that Simon figures out the whole Santa business (which even if a kid at school does not spill the beans it will be soon I am planning since Simon is a pretty logical thinker) I plan to share a letter similar to the one written by another mother who explains it all so perfectly HERE.

What holiday traditions do you and your family enjoy?  What happened after your little ones found out?