When I was in high school and I was dating a boy who’s family was Jewish, I thought that it would be hard to combined that if we ever made it. Course we didn’t. Lol.
I mean we are all some form of Christian, but at the same time we Grew up differently with Christmas. How we chose what to do for our kids VS the other kids in the family.
Santa Claus is one of the biggest choices any parent can make for their kids. Should we have the secret or not. Should lie to our kids or not. Etc.
When I met my husband he grew up in a household where they didn’t celebrate Santa and they were a close family. And I mean close. They were homeschooled, and they moved from Nebraska to Alaska, to Arizona, to New York. They also belonged to a church, and went on retreats.
While as I have lived no where but Arizona, went to public school, and Santa was something I looked forward to every year. I believed in him till I was 12. We are Lutheran but only went to church two days out of the year. Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday.
Major difference. However when we met and fell in love, my husband and I decided to have a happy medium about things.
I wanted to celebrate Santa with my kids and he didn’t mind it. While we don’t attend church unless we like to, it’s still basically Christmas Eve and Easter. The kids attended Sunday School with my in laws.
While I believe in God and Jesus ( I was raised Luther ) I don’t believe Church as an obligation. It’s a place to go to worship if you want. I pray perfectly well at home or where ever I am, and if I feel I need a day at church, I go. It’s my children I want to have a better understanding of it. I didn’t go to Sunday school, but I am glad my kids are.
Course during Covid they haven’t been going, their grandparents have started doing their lessons from home, but I am sad that this year we won’t go to Church on Xmas Eve. Not that I know of anyway. We’ll have to see.
Anyway back to Christmas.
Santa is always a hard topic to decide. I remember working for the district, around this time of year we weren’t allowed to celebrate any of the holidays unless we celebrated all of them.
Which made me thing about when I was a kid. We had a Christmas party every year, and they changed it call it holiday party later on. But think of the kids who actually don’t celebrate anything this season.
About 20 kids out of the 1,000+ kids I came into contact with didn’t celebrate anything. But they always enjoyed a good party, but some were told they weren’t allowed to join in.
And back to Santa, 1/2 the kids didn’t believe in Santa, ( mainly the older kids) and the others did.
I would always have crying kids come up to me saying someone else told them that Santa wasn’t real. As a teacher I couldn’t take sides, but rather I would just tell that kid that Santa only gives gifts to kids who believe. So they wouldn’t get one. Then I would go over to the other and ask them what right did they have to spoil the other kids fantasy. They were to keep the truth to themselves and not spoil it for others. But it never ended.
In our family, my side, we do Santa. It’s our family tradition. But the other side doesn’t. But the cousins know they are not allowed to say otherwise. That we want the kiddos to have a little magic in their childhood. So they promise not to say anything.
As far as presents go, and how they hand them out, we are very different. I got a shock my first Christmas with his family.
Now to begin, his parents lived in New York until 3 years ago. So they would visit during Christmas but would celebrate it with us in January and we still do. Cuz that is when some of the Family can come into town after having actual Christmas with their immediate family first.
My side of the family is small but we are so close. We all live in ARIZONA , except for a few who live in California. So sometimes they would drive here for Christmas.
My parents inherited the Family Christmas Eve Party from my grandparents and have been doing it for almost 40 years. ( yes I am almost 40 moving on) and this year we won’t have it. Cuz of covid. I had to announce it on Facebook the other day and so many sad reply. Cuz for 40 years we have had family and friends come over to our house and spend Christmas Eve with food, drink, company, and fun.
It’s going to be a quiet Christmas Eve with just the Family.
We do presents the way I think it normally works. Christmas Eve we always got our presents from my parents, my relatives, and such. Then Christmas morning, presents from Santa. It was a childhood I will never forget and am grateful for.
When we do presents with his side, we pick one random present, give it to that person, watch them open it, and then they pick the next random present. And it goes on for hours. Plus we have Christmas breakfast and my mother in laws amazing Monkey bread.
Cookies are a huge tradition in all family’s I would assume.
Every year my grandma ( dads mom) would come over to our house and we would make sugar cookies and frosting home made while watching White Christmas. Still do even though she’s gone.
At my in laws my mother in law bakes the cookies and the kids decorate them.
On my husbands side of thr family in Nebraska they do a decorating cooking contest with voting.
So many sweets.
I was probably all over the map with this but basically, I love how both side of the family celebrate Christmas. And I love how we are doing it with my kids.
I hope you have some awesome traditions. I’d like to know them. Comment.
Happy Christmas.
The TAWL Mom 