Santa and The Gospel

When I was a child, every Christmas morning my brothers and I woke up to stockings stuffed full after a visit from Santa. Leading up to this special day, we made lists of what we wanted from the jolly man, and eagerly anticipated the gifts we would receive. It felt fun and magical.

My family attended church regularly growing up, and the story of Jesus’ birth was a familiar part of our Christmas tradition as well. While it held its own magic, to be sure, a tiny baby in a dusty feeding trough didn’t captivate my heart the way that the promise of presents did.

When my husband and I became parents, we wanted to raise our children to treasure Jesus. As the first Christmas approached, we began to ask ourselves how celebrating Santa might affect our children’s understanding of the gospel. After much thought and prayer, we decided that celebrating Santa risked confusing the gospel for our children.

Be Good for Goodness' Sake

You've heard it before. "You better behave or you’ll end up on the naughty list and Santa won't bring you any gifts." This sounds a lot like “Do more good than bad and you’ll earn the reward you want.” That message is precisely counter-gospel. Training our children that they can be good of their own effort and will receive the reward they're looking for is dangerous for their hearts and souls.

Any goodness we have is from being made new in Christ. In Romans, Paul tells us:

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
- Romans 6:6

Goodness is not the end goal. Goodness without God is death. Let's teach our kids to seek God over goodness.

A Lie is a Lie

Many families go to great lengths to maintain the story of Santa. I recognize how magical that can seem for kids, but when we participate in the Santa custom, we’re ultimately lying to our children. It feels well-intentioned and innocent, but the fact remains that we're fabricating an untrue story and telling our kids it's true.

Someday, they will learn from a friend on the school bus, a big sibling, or whomever that Santa is not real. They either quietly make the transition, knowing we told them an untruth, or they ask us, "Is Santa real?" And then we have to tell them that he’s not. I don't think it is beyond even the youngest kids to realize what that means—my parents lied to me.

We can't expect truthfulness from our children and demonstrate the opposite. Furthermore, once we have broken their trust in this small but significant way, in what other ways will they doubt us and our teaching?

Elevating Christ at Christmas

So, what are we supposed to do in a culture so entrenched in this custom?

I don't think the answer is to tell our kids that Santa is bad or attempt to completely shield them from him (spoiler alert: it’s impossible).

It brings me back to our aim as Christian parents: making known the goodness of the gospel by being honest about our sinfulness and sharing Jesus' work as the only remedy for it (Romans 5:8).

The Advent season should be full of excitement and anticipation for us and our children. Focusing our family’s celebrations on the arrival of our promised Savior should come before cultural expectations, and it models for our kids what they should be excited about.

You can find so many fun and creative activities that focus our eyes on Jesus. Or better yet, create new traditions with your kids with the aim of treasuring Jesus above all. You know your family best, and some of the most memorable family traditions are simple and unique.

The Truth Behind the Myth

There really is no hiding from Santa at Christmastime. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times an adult stranger has asked my children what they want Santa to bring them, or if Santa came to their house. When they find out we don’t celebrate Santa, most are shocked, a few are curious, but to all of them, we’re different.

So how in the world do we help our kids navigate this common custom? One approach our family has taken is to explain the truth behind the myth and share what we know about the story of Saint Nicholas. He was a real man that lived centuries ago who loved God deeply, served others selflessly, and gave his wealth generously. It allows us to use cultural Santa to point back to a true, God-glorifying story.

No, we can’t hide from Santa.

But we can choose to pursue things in the Christmas season to foster hearts that are captivated by the gospel of Jesus more than presents or Santa. Because the gospel is the real magic of Christmas, and truly the best gift we could ever hope to receive.