You should tell your kids the truth (Elanor):

He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake.

For many kids, those words reference the notorious man in the red hat, Santa Claus. Growing up, many children, including myself, are taught the story of Santa Claus, the guy who climbs down your chimney and delivers presents on Christmas Eve. But as the holiday season approaches, many parents wonder, should you tell your kids Santa is real?

You should tell your kids that Santa isn’t real. One of the many appeals of Santa Claus as a child is believing in this magical person who appears at your house once a year, leaves gifts, but yet you never see him. While believing in fantasies is good to a certain degree, children who become attached to the tradition and reliability of Santa Claus can become upset or simply refuse when confronted with the truth. By growing up with the association of Santa Claus and Christmas, realizing the truth could lead a child to simultaneously disregard all other Christmas traditions, real or not. And, while discovering the truth of Santa Claus may happen more gracefully for some children as they age, an abrupt confession from an enlightened classmate is unfortunately how many children find out, leading to the distrust of parents as well. 

Many argue that believing in Santa promotes good behavior for children around the holidays, for fear of being put on the “naughty” list. And while encouraging children to be kind to others and behave well isn’t inherently bad, incentivizing them to do so only when they will receive a material reward creates a need for compensation for doing something that’s expected of everybody. Young kids are still learning important lessons about how to behave and treat others through practice, so I’m not saying rewarding children for good behavior is bad. But, Santa Claus specifically puts emphasis on being good for your own gain, rather than for the goal of being a good person to those around you and developing skills like empathy.

Adding on, when children don’t expect Santa Claus to bring them gifts, the focus of Christmas can be diverted away from getting gifts and place greater significance on being appreciative and spending time with family. Growing up as a kid who believed in Santa, I remember talking to many of the kids in my class about what they got for Christmas after we returned from winter break. Though each of us had received generous gifts from Santa, there was an air of comparison and jealousy for those whose friends got gifts they had also wanted. While this does happen whether or not Santa is credited, not having the holiday centered on a character whose main purpose is to deliver presents would certainly relieve this expectation, at least partially. 

Overall, Santa can provide a sense of fantasy and joy but children should be able to find that Christmas joy in other aspects of the holiday while still knowing the truth. 

Let your children enjoy Christmas magic (Gabby):

Santa Claus, Father Christmas, St. Nick, Noel; This jolly man is the epitome of Christmas for children who celebrate. Believing in these folktales add value to childhood, creating fond memories and living in bliss. 

My parents raised me with the whimsy of Santa, writing letters to him in November just so he doesn’t get stressed out. When winter rolled around, all I was excited for was no school and Christmas; holiday movies, food, presents and family time. I looked forward to waking up early Christmas morning after “hearing” the sleighbells, or trying to stay up late to catch him. 

People would try to make me believe otherwise regarding the “truth” behind Santa, but I would disregard their words. I was never awake when the presents popped out of nowhere. Always confused by the fact that if my parents were playing the role of this jolly man, where did they hide the presents, how did I not notice, why eat the cookies that we’ve had for a while, asking myself, wouldn’t you be sick eating those cookies? As soon as I learned about the Santa tracker it was so over for my parents sanity, I would pester them about where he is or ask if he’s close. A fond memory was during one Christmas morning, I went to see if Santa ate what we offered him, discovering that he drank one of our soda’s. It was funny to me because it was weird Santa wanted a Diet Coke instead of his regular milk.

I’ve been a strong Santa believer since day one. I was especially blown away when I began to get letters from good ‘ole St. Nick. I only stopped believing recently when I saw my mom move the Elf on the Shelf. Now, it was just my elf but everyone who owns one knows they can’t be touched or else they won’t move.

I love the idea of Santa and when portrayed correctly he can leave positive impacts. Looking back, it’s heartwarming to know how much my parents did for me in order to bring me joy. So I think that if you celebrate Christmas, it is nice to implement him into your tradition. As people get older they stray away from the idea of him, but the memories that are made will always be there. Once the younger generations start to  enter your life, it is your turn to take on the role of Mr. Claus, a worthwhile duty in order to bring smiles to your future children.