STOP coming up to my children and telling them about Santa. We Don’t Do Santa! Yes, I understand that my children are unbelievably cute, and you just want to talk to them, even if you spot us in the grocery store and don’t know us from Adam. But please, DON’T tell them Santa is coming! Don’t tell them if they’re not good, Santa won’t bring them any presents. Don’t ask them what Santa brought them for Christmas!

I don’t mind if you chose to let your children believe in Santa, really! And I’ll try my best to teach my children to keep their mouths shut about Santa. I know I spilled the beans to classmates in the second grade about Santa and the Easter Bunny, and I feel a tiny bit bad about that. My parents raised us without Santa, and we intend to do the same for my children.

What about the magic of Santa? The childhood wonder of Christmas? If you burst into flame over religious talk, you can stop reading now.

Imagine the sky full of stars. A starry blanket; a real Milky Way because there are no street lights, house lights, or headlights from the highways to lighten the sky. Then imagine the brightest star of all, over a stable in Bethlehem. The baby Jesus, sent to earth as a baby for us, is the Magic of Christmas. And that’s what I want my children to know and anticipate when it’s Christmas time. That is a childhood wonder that can last into adulthood, and into to our old age. Be good, for goodness sake, but not for Santa. Be good because God so loved us that He sent His only Beloved Son to us and for us. And so we should follow His example and love others. We’re not always good at this whole love thing, but we can give it our best shot.