celebrating Santa...st. nicholas??both?

[doulawoman]

Just curious what everyone does in terms of santa. dd is only 10 months so i'm not too worried this christmas...I am pretty excited to celebrate st.nicholas day but both dh and I are skeptical on santa. we don't want to deprive dd or trick her either and the commercialism surrounding him and how far and how long parents go (sometimes, and for us growing up) can be disappointing and confusing. How do you navigate this issue? I was heming some tablecloths last night thinking I'd make her a stocking...but don't stockings=santa? confused...I'm really curious what others do and what works for your family!

[mommamanjari]

We tell our son that Santa is a game of pretend that people like to play at Christmas time. I won't lie about it, but it's nice for the kids to have some magic. We are not Christians, but we do have a holiday tree and my in-laws have stockings for the kids. We also go to the family's Easter celebration, but again, our son knows that the bunny is pretend.

~M

[xekomaya]

Having this post in the Waldorf area, I'm not sure if you're looking for opinions of people who send their kids to Waldorf schools, people who ascribe to anthroposophy, or something else?  We are Catholic Christians so we celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, but we do up a HUGE St. Nicholas day. He is the patron of our church so we have stockings with oranges, nuts, candy, toys at home, put up the Christmas tree that day, and then to church for Liturgy, a pot luck, visit from St. Nicholas dressed properly as a bishop. So far we have no friends who celebrate Santa on Christmas so there has been no confusion on conflicting dates or anything, but we'll handle it as it comes up. 

[doulawoman]

anyone in this forum is welcome to respond...and just because you are sending your kids to a waldorf school doesn't mean you re christian or atheist etc so i tried to make the poll inclusive.I had orignialy thought we wouldn't do Santa but would do St. Nick but how to handle everyone else around her talking about santa. Is there a Waldorf/steiner perspective on Santa?? Is it talked about in school (santa ho ho not St. Nick)

[Melaniee]

I have to say, I totally respect people's decisions not to do Santa for whatever reason, but please be sensitive, when they start asking questions, to those of us who do. 

St. Nicholas visits on St. Nicholas Day, Santa visits on Christmas Eve, and somewhere in there (depending upon the year as to the 'when'), we also celebrate Hanukkah.

[dogretro]

We are Christians and don't "do" Santa.  I was really planning to doing up advent & I love that Waldorf makes a big deal about advent.  Unfortunately, my mother underwent cancer surgery the day before Thanksgiving, so many plans went out the window.  I have been able to kind of refocus us, so we do talk about baby Jesus & I act out the birth story every day using dd's nativity set, like they would do at school.  We do have a tree & stockings, but we will be honest about us filling them.  The big gift this year will be unwrapped under the tree & I will tell the girls it came from Grammy.  When it comes to Santa, since the girls are still so little, we just don't talk about him.  When they are older and ask about  him, we will tell them that he is pretend and why.  We will focus more on we give and receive gifts to celebrate the lavish gift that God gave to us in the form of His son.

We know people who do and don't do Santa.  I do not want my kids to ruin it for those who believe & I am not yet sure what to say to *everyone* who asks dd1 if she is ready for Santa :p

[doulawoman]

yes, I'm already wondering about this! You don;'t want your kid going "Santa's not real!" to another kid...it seems quite confusing to me.

[whoami]

Originally Posted by Melaniee 

St. Nicholas visits on St. Nicholas Day, Santa visits on Christmas Eve, and somewhere in there (depending upon the year as to the 'when'), we also celebrate Hanukkah.

Would you mind explaining how you differentiate the two? I told my 3.5 year old boy the st nicholas story, and he got some treats the following morning. It was so magical for him and he ate it up. He did not like that he rode on a white horse though and insisted he had reindeer. He told everyone later that day that he st. nick gave him the necklace he was wearing, and they were all baffled because they have to wait until Christmas for him to visit them. I like the story of st nicholas so I added that this year but everyone just wants to go with santa and feels it's weird and confusing to do both.

[doulawoman]

same question, love the discussion!

[appalachiamama]

Our little girl is two and just starting to learn who Santa is.  We are plan on telling the truth and focusing on St. Nicholas.  I'm thinking we might celebrate St. Nicholas Day with stockings next year when she'll be able to participate more.  For now, stockings are fun things filled by mommy and daddy and we're having them on Christmas Eve.

[mrsmischief]

We have both St. Nicholas and Santa Claus as part of our holiday celebrations.

For St. Nicholas Day we read books about Bishop Nicholas and she receives gifts from us (and knows they are from us) that represent important symbols from the stories of his life. We make foods that symbolize the saint such as a roast fish for dinner as St Nicholas is the patron saint of ships and sailors. Every year we choose a family in need that we know to anonymously give gifts to in the spirit of St. Nicholas. We typically purchase or make a toy or two for each child or a large one for all of the children to share and then provide gift cards for the parents to do as they see fit for the rest of their little one's Christmas and their holiday dinner. These gifts are sneakily left somewhere safe where they will be found and we sign the card "Love, St. Nicholas. We also bake breakfast buns and make baskets for our neighbors and a tray for my husband to take to work with him. We refer to St. Nicholas as "Bishop Nicholas" to prevent confusion and treat him in the same fashion that we do all inspiring individuals who are deceased: a good role model with virtues to aspire to. (Here are some pics and info about our celebration this year: http://berrybramblecottage.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/st-nicholas-day-2010/)

Santa Claus visits on Christmas Eve, leaves one large gift and a few small ones under the tree, a letter for our daughter, and a stocking full of goodies.