I suppose it might be a bit early to write about Christmas shopping and gift giving, but the stores and advertisements are already beginning to point in this direction. My post has to do with thinking ahead rather than shopping.

Years ago when my daughter was a toddler and just beginning to figure out that Christmas and presents go together, an idea grabbed hold of me. I can’t claim that it was super spiritual, probably it was the result of my desire that my daughter would know that my husband and I loved her more than Santa Claus did. But I persuaded my husband to select a few items that were to come from Santa while the rest of the things we bought for her were simply from Daddy and Mama. My daughter is now grown with teen and preteen children of her own, and I still think our decision was a good one.Gift buying at Christmas time has the potential of playing havoc with a child’s sense of self-worth. The rich kids get tons of extravagant gifts while poor children may be lucky to get anything at all. What kind of Santa Claus would favor rich kids over poor children anyway? In my way of looking at it, Santa’s gifts shouldn’t be better than the ones the parents give to the children, and even more so for poor children. They will realize that Mom and Dad made a sacrifice to give them gifts. Does Santa make sacrifices? No. He just gives rich kids lots of presents and poor kids might get skipped altogether. I believe children who feel underprivileged will appreciate the gifts they recognize as sacrifices all the more, and will feel their parents’ love more as the child’s sense of self-worth rises in spite of small gifts.

This practice can also make the transition from believing in Santa Claus to knowing the truth a little easier as well. How many children pretend to believe in Santa long after they have figured it out because they fear the gifts will stop once they declare they no longer believe in Santa? Gifts from Mom and Dad instead of Santa helps the act of gift giving to be seen as an expression of love instead of an entitlement. A few gifts from Santa are enough to keep the old tradition going.