I know there are many differing views regarding "Santa." Do we teach our kids about him or not? If your kids enjoy Santa, does it take the focus off of Jesus? All of these thoughts have been pondered in our household and we came to a conclusion that we think still keeps the emphasis on Christ's birth while still letting the kids enjoy seeing Santa. For us, we like the origin of the "spirit" behind Santa. The tradition began in honor of a 3rd century Christian named Nicholas who was known for being generous, standing firm in his faith, being persecuted, and loving children.
What a great role model. I love learning about Christians whose lives were lived in obedience to Christ. For us, this season is about celebrating the birth of the Savior and it is about us trying to live the lives that He desires for us to live. We want our children to grow up knowing that "things" are not what we are living for. This season is about giving to others as Christ gave His life so that we might be brought back to God.
With all of that said, it was a family tradition when I was a child to go take pictures with Santa. As a mom now, I enjoy letting the kids get dressed up and take sweet pictures together. It has been our new family tradition to meet my mom at a mall during the Christmas season to see Santa and have a day with Mimi. The kids love it. They enjoy seeing this jolly guy dressed up who wants to give them little toys. They like the lights and the fake "snow." We use it as an opportunity to tell them about Nicholas who gave to others. During this season we try to go through our house and find toys that the kids can give to others who do not have any. It really is a great opportunity to teach our children about living lives of obedience to the Lord and about having a giving spirit.
Here are some pictures from our visit with Santa and day with Mimi =)
Our sweet friends also came this year and though Kinley wasn't too thrilled with Santa, we were able to get a few pictures that I think turned out cute...
Mimi took the kids to ride the carousal...
It was a fun and very tiring day! We saw Santa, played at the playplace at the mall, rode the mall train, went on the carousal... so much fun!! I am thankful for my sweet mom who enjoys making special moments with her grandbabies =) and for our sweet friends who we love getting to do life with.
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