Why We Don’t Send Letters To Santa

Raising Children To Believe In Jesus

photos by Bespoke Photography | gingerbread by The Art Of Cake | wreath by Flowers By Willows

Here is some shocking news: Matt and I don’t do the whole Santa Claus thing with our daughters.

Sure, they know about Santa through the multiple times we’ve listened to Michael Buble’s Christmas album but we don’t centre Christmas around Santa.

Because for our family Christmas is about Jesus Christ and his birth.

Honestly, I was unsure how I would be teaching my children why we celebrate Christmas because I was raised believing in Santa and came to know Jesus as my personal saviour when I was a teenager. So, there was a period of time between when I knew Santa didn’t exist to when I understood the true meaning of Christmas.

But thankfully my 3 year old has been asking me to tell her the Christmas story like a broken record so it’s made me brush up on the details of Jesus’ birth. So what do I share with her?

It goes something like this:

A long time ago there was a man and lady named Mary and Joseph. They loved each other very much and were going to get married. Then one night an angel came to Mary in a dream and told her that she had been chosen for a very special job. She would become pregnant and give birth to a boy named Jesus, God’s son, who would be the king of all kings. An angel also went to Joseph and told him to marry Mary, even though she was pregnant, because the baby was the Son of God. So Mary and Joseph got married.

When Jesus was almost ready to be born, Mary and Joseph had to travel back to Joseph’s hometown Bethlehem to be counted by the government. But when they got to the town there was no room for them to stay in the inn. So they had to stay in a stable with the animals, and that’s where Mary gave birth to Jesus. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him in a manger.

People came to visit Jesus and worship him. Three wise men had followed a star all the way to Bethlehem and found Jesus. They brought presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh. There were also shepherds who found Jesus, thanks to an angel telling them that a new King was being born in Bethlehem.

And that is the Christmas story – of course there are more details into King Herod and the shepherds with the angels but this is the story we tell our 3 year old when she asks. It’s the truth of Jesus’ birth and the reason for the season!

Hope you all enjoy your Christmas Eve Eve! If you have more questions on what we believe as a family, you can find our beliefs here.