Are you kids Santa Claus believers? What do you tell them? If you do go along with the Santa bit for how long, what’s a good age to stop? Would you travel all of the way across town to get pictures taken with the one Black Santa in the city? BMWK let us know what you think and how you run it at your house.
About Lamar Tyler
Lamar Tyler is co-creator BlackandMarriedWithKids.com. He also is the co-producer of the films Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me, Men Ain't Boys and Still Standing.
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King James says
lol @ your stay on topic message. Folks get rough huh?
I don’t have any kids… but I’m still undecided on what I plan to do or what I support with other young ones. It’s weird how we are sometimes quite obdurate when it comes to a situation as this, yet fail to ‘stay on the str8 path’ in so many other areas of our lives.
I don’t really like the fact that someone else gets credit for our gift giving, but I would assume it can be said that Jesus gets credit also… in a similar fashion.
I do know, that I don’t want my young ones to be outcasts concerning issues that aren’t life or death. This is one.
Bottomline, I’ll have to see what the wife feels too. 🙂
Anonymous says
That looks like a drunk Santa…lol.
The WEST END Mall in Atlanta used to have the best looking black Santa that I have ever seen.
conseula says
My kids, at least the eight-year old, believes wholeheartedly in Santa, despite all kinds of evidence (and friends) telling her there’s no cuch thing. She’s had her picture takenw ith all kinds of Santas because she believes that all the mall Santas are elves standing in for Santa while he’s supervising at the North Pole.
TheDad says
@ Conseula what do you say when she asks you and will you break the news or let her eventually find out on her own?
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Corliss says
At age five I tell my kids the truth about Santa. I also tell them from then on I will not lie to them ever again. I may not share the entire story or truth with them because they may not be mature enough to understand the truth. But I will never lie to them again.
So why did I lie about Santa in the first place? Because I wanted to preserve their innocence with a magical story about giving. I wanted the enchantment of the festivities during the holidays to take over their little imaginations when they visualized Santa arriving on our rooftop with his reindeers.
When we were children my father would take us to Toy R Us about a week or two before Christmas and we would get whatever we wanted for Christmas. At Christmas the toys we chose were always right under the tree. He told us from the jump that he was Santa. He told us there was no fat and jolly white guy ever going to do anything for us and if in fact such person existed we should Run as fast as our little feet could.
Corliss says
By the way I knew it was time to come clean about Santa when my five year old pointed out that deers do not fly.
Mocha Dad says
I wanted my kids to know from the start that the presents came from me and their mom. We work too hard to give someone else the credit.
Mocha Dads last blog post..World AIDS Day 2008
Vonetta says
I cosign with Mocha Dad. My daughter’s two & although she knows about Santa, we don’t hide the fact that her gifts come from Mommy, Daddy, etc. Like MD said–we work too hard to let some strange guy in a red suit get the credit, lol!
Gregg says
I do not have kids, but I’ve thought about this years ago, and decided that if I did have kids I would explain to them that there is no such thing as Santa Claus, for a lot of the reasons already mentioned in this post. First of all, I would explain to them that it is a pagan holiday created to combine the birthday of Christ with the worship of the Sun god, Ra, and this is the reason for the ornaments and lights on the tree… Sun worship. We would also read together the book of Jeremiah where it explains how christmas tree worship came to be. I would explain to them that scientific study and just plain common sense proves that Jesus was not born on or nowhere near December 25, because shephards were taking care of their flocks, and that is not done in the dead of winter. I would explain to them that the gifts the Christ child received was not for his birth, but for his death, and that the celebration of birthdays is not biblical, and show them through scripture that every time a birthday was celebrated in the bible something bad happened, because celebrating birthdays comes right out of Anton Laveys Satanic bible (but I won’t go there right now). I would explain to them the origins of Saint Nick and Swartze Piet (Black Peter). I would make them understand that some people do worship Christmas and that they can go along with the school programs (that is, if they still allow them to happen), but they would know the truth… and be free from the marketing mindset of vendors selling products for end of the year clearance and the next years tax purposes. I would tell them that the truth is always best, and that real christians actually read the bible, know what’s in it, and don’t jus go to church because it’s fashionable.
As I do now, I would buy gifts after the holidays are over to maximize my purchasing power. I have no problem buying things that I can afford, not on credit. Cash is still king as we can see by this financial meltdown. My kids would be very savvy, and I would tell them not to make fun of the other kids, but never, ever tell a lie.
rawdawgbuffalo says
nope popa gets all the credit lol
conseula says
I think we’ll let her find out on her on. And when she asks questions about Santa getting around the world in one night or about all the toys being in the store already, I ask her what she thinks. And she usually comes up with a more clever explanation than I ever could. It’s part of the magic of the holiday season at our house, and we can’t really see the harm.
conseulas last blog post..Afrogeek A-Z Film Meme: A-G
ericka says
uuh..no, our little ones will never think that Santa Claus is real…i agree with greg in respect to egiptology & teaching them about some of the symbolisms of Christmas but santa claus does nothing more magical than my husband and I…we know if they are bad or good, or naughty or nice, and we are always watching, and deliver gifts..so why give some stranger the credit. Plus we never give lots of presents..usually only three, and at 5 he is very appreciative..now the grandparents on the other hand..they go all out, but I think it’s important not to overdue it with things they will hardly use. Great post…as usual!
August says
We go along with it, because as a child I remember when I beleived there was a Santa Clause, I enjoyed baking the cookies with my mom and setting them out on the coffee table with a cup of milk. I enjoyed opening up this big dept. store catalog and sitting down writing my wish list, which I would put in the china cabinet hoping he see it. I also enjoyed the feeling I got when I use to wake up at 4am and run to the Christmas tree to see all the stuff I received, then call my cousins on the phone asking them what Santa clause got them. I was around 10 when I knew there really wasn’t a santa clause, I was more disappointed, to me it actually took some the fun out of it, not because I found out he wasn’t real, but because I no longer can do those things. No point in baking cookies cause I knew they were for my mother, I still did a wish list but I would just give it to my mother. No need to rush to go to sleep. My brother knew it wasn’t a Santa, but I was glad he never told me and let me find out on my own. I don’t mind my son thinking somebody else brought his gifts, in due time he will know it was me and his father, but for now we will continue to play along with it. My son is pretty smart I don’t think it will be too long before he figure it out anyway.
Crafty Mama Traci says
I agree with Gregg. There is a history that runs deeper than American pop culture. I have a two-year-old and my husband and I mull over how we want to celebrate Christmas as she gets older.
My thought on this issue is this: If we tell our children to believe in fictional characters such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy and they find out that they are not real, how much harder will it be for them to believe in the truth: God and Jesus Christ–entities that like the myths, cannot be seen?
I did a bit of internet research on Santa Claus last year and came to this site: Bible Believers on Santa Claus. Mind you, everything should be taken with a grain of salt, but this site gives a variety of biblical and historical sources to help one learn about the history behind Santa Claus and the Christmas holiday.
I think that everything should be balanced. If we teach our kids that there isn’t a Santa Claus, then we should give them something to look forward to when the holidays come, such as keeping the traditions of gift-giving and decorating, preparing special foods, honoring God and helping the community.
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Anna says
I “introduced” my kids to Santa. It is so fun to see all the excitement of Christmas through a childs eyes. It doesn’t last long. Kids are too smart. I find it to be one of those things that we live vicariously through our kids for as long as we can.
MKT says
Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Barney, Webkins all magical and make believe.
Jesus, God, Higher Power all faith based.
There is a difference between magic and faith. You can have both.
@ Gregg Wow! That is really heavy stuff. I could hardley wrap my head around it and I am 39. Do you really think a two year old needs to know ALL of that. Please break it down a little at a time for your kids.
My children know that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth first and Santa is secondary. Mass and family come first. We celebrate the religious side for a month before we even do gifts on one day.
For those religions that don’t believe in Christmas or birthdays. I can respect that. I am sure you still believe in family. Just use the season to be together and be thankful for one another.
@August. Everything you wrote and remember is about spending time with your mom. You can still bake the cookies together. Just give them to an elderly neighbor or someone that means something special to you with a note. “I used to bake cookies with my mom and leave them for santa. Santa was very important to me as a child. Since I know there is no santa I am leaving these cookies for you because you are very important to me as an adualt.” Can you imagine the impact that would have on a loved one?
DJ Nelson says
(When I have kids) I will not teach them anything that is based on a lie. As someone pointed out earlier, if I lie about that, then I must be lying about God…right? People think it’s not that big of a deal, but to me it is and I believe that Satan, I mean Santa is a distraction from Truth.
But to each his and her own….
DJ Nelsons last blog post..No, I Will Not Eat at Hooters
August says
Thanks MKT for the comment. It wasn’t just about baking cookies with my mom. I was basically giving some examples as to why I let my son believe in Santa. My son is 6 and some people are taking this a little too deep, santa is for children not adults. I never heard a child being devastated about finding out there is no Santa, Easter bunny, Toothfairy, etc. I say if you let your kids believe in Santa then that is fine, if not that is fine too. No harm done.
August says
Thanks MKT for the comment. It wasn’t just about baking cookies with my mom. I was basically giving some examples as to why I let my son believe in Santa. My son is 6 and some people are taking this a little too deep, santa is for children not adults. I never heard a child being devastated about finding out there is no Santa, Easter Bunny, Toothfairy, etc. I say if you let your kids believe in Santa then that is fine, if not that is fine too. No harm done.
I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season 🙂
T. Rogers says
My kids are babies. So I don’t have to give them an explanation about Santa Clause just yet. When they get older I will let them know their presents come from mommy and daddy,not Santa.
With that said, I don’t want to overdo it with the “realness” too much while they are young. It is important for children to allow their imaginations to develop. It helps them intellectually and preserves their innocence just a little longer. And Lord knows their innocence will be assaulted from day one.
I feel where Gregg is coming from. I just think that is too much for children to know. They just won’t understand it, nor the broarder implications of it. I think adults definately need to understand the history behiind Christmas. But kids won’t care anyway.
Kim C. says
i have 2 kids (age 7 & 1) my 7 yr old has been attending a christian academy all of his days so he has not been taught anything about santa and reindeer. it’s all about jesus and christianity. my other one will probably follow suit. however, i was believing in jesus and santa up until i was 10+! not having a santa theme around anymore kind of takes some of the magic and fun away for me…
i still love you santa!!!
LolaJane says
My daughter just turned 4. This is the first year we talked about Santa at all. We told her “Santa is a character in a fairy tale… just like Dora, Little Bill, etc… and people like to tell the story of Santa bringing gifts for kids on a sleigh with reindeer. The story is fun to tell and pretend about, just like it is fun to pretend to be a frog or a robot and act out stories about them. The Santa pictures or people dressed up like Santa are just expressions of other people’s imagining of what Santa looks like based on the stories.” She gets it and knows there is no Santa. My dad does an elaborate advent calendar for her every year, and this morning she said “Papa is my Santa… he gives me my presents.” We still decorate a tree and hang stockings on the mantle, but she knows it all comes from the people in her life who love her.
Now why did we tell her Santa’s make believe? Because we never want to lie to her. Because I don’t want her thinking it is OK for a strange, White, man to enter our home and give her presents. Because I don’t want her sitting on a strange man’s lap at the mall, telling him “secrets”. All of that would be a stark contradiction to what we tell her about strangers. We don’t tell her all of this reasoning.
We have not found it necessary to have the fallacy of Santa intact for her to have an innocent, joyful, generous Winter celebration. She has a pretty big mouth, but I haven’t gotten any angry email from parents at school saying she busted their kids Santa bubble, so she must not be telling the other kids.
Harriet says
What Gregg said. Our son knows the difference, anyway. He’ll be attending a Christian academy starting next year as well.
Blackmommywithkid says
I believe in the gift of a magical childhood and letting a child’s imagination run free. My daughter is only 3 but this year we baked cookies for Santa and I remember her joy at seeing the presents under the tree that “Santa” brought down the chimney. Life is too short and it is definitely hard when they start growing up-for now she believes in elves and Santa-I’ll deal with the consequences later!