My Problem With Santa Inspires A New Tradition

What can be more magical than the childhood experience of going to sleep on Christmas Eve after a month’s worth of holiday preparation, celebration, and anticipation leading up to the big night that Santa will fly around to leave a pile of gifts for every child?

My Problem with Santa

Christmas for Everyone??

And that’s exactly where my problem comes in… ’cause we all know that the big guy doesn’t actually come to everyone’s homes equally. In some homes, he’s dropping off an entire catalog’s worth of toys, but for many less fortunate families, Santa is truly a fairytale.

Of course, a big part of many families’ holiday traditions at this time of year is to give in some charitable way. We volunteer time, donate gifts, and money. And for good reason!  In 2014, an estimated 28% of Jacksonville children were living in poverty. (This stat comes from the Kids Count Data Center that writes “The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition. In calendar year 2014, a family of two adults and two children fell in the “poverty” category if their annual income fell below $24,008.”)

So no doubt, it’s important to give. And as a mom hoping to raise compassionate and involved citizens, I want to teach my children that they/we are fortunate and have many talents and resources that we must share with people in need. I want them to be involved. I want my kids to understand that the Christmas that they enjoy is not the same for every kid in Jacksonville.

But how in the world do I maintain the magic of Christmas while truthfully educating my kids about the inequities around us? How should I respond when my son says “we don’t need to buy presents for other kids… Santa will just bring it to them.”  (Not to mention the time that he educated me about the fact that Santa isn’t concerned with a budget because “he doesn’t buy toys… he just makes them.”)

The Beginning of A New Santa Tradition

My husband aptly describes Evans visit with Santa as a "business transaction."
My husband aptly describes Evans visit with Santa as a “business transaction.”

After he had given me his long list of wishes (errr… demands?) for Santa, I asked my son, “How many gifts do you think Santa brought last year?  Because you know, some of the presents under the tree were from mommy and daddy.” To which he predictably replied, “I don’t know.”

“Perfect,” I thought… as long as there is a pile of gifts under the tree and at least one is from Santa he’ll be happy. Now is the time to enact my plan to reveal the real reason that we should help less fortunate children while keeping Santa in the picture at the same time.

From now on, the Christmas bounty from Santa will include filled stockings and a single gift. The additional gifts they receive (of which there will be plenty) will be from Mom and Dad. So now when my kids say… “but Santa will bring gifts to other kids….” I can remind them that Santa kindly brings them one gift, and it’s up to mommies and daddies to fulfill additional wishes. And of course, they will know that not all kids have moms and dads who can buy extra gifts like in our family.

I’m happy to say that this year, my kids will be fully aware of and/or involved with all of the giving and sharing that our family does for our community!

Looking for ways to give back to the community this year? Jacksonville Moms Blog has plenty of ideas for you!

Random Acts of Kindness… FOR KIDS!

Books, Booze & Giving Back :: Christmas Countdowns for the Whole Family

the Elf on the Shelf – Operation: Nice List

Charities to Support this Holiday Season


Megan Johns
Megan grew up in rural central Florida building forts and feeding cows with her 3 younger sisters. Her youth led Megan to believe in the amazing power of female ingenuity and to put a high value on positive and supportive interaction among ladies and girls. As a graduate of the University of Florida Mechanical Engineering program, Megan moved to Jacksonville to pursue a career with a bio-medical device company and to begin a wonderful life with her amazing husband Patrick. During her years working as an engineer, Megan developed an interest in photography. When she put her career on hold to take on the hardest job a person could love (Mommy to Evan 5 and Lilla 3), she discovered her love of "life" style photography as seen at Megan Johns Photography. Megan carries her camera everywhere and sometimes refers to it as her "third child!"

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