When I was a kid, my mom didn’t do Santa. Santa visited other kids, and that was fine, but he didn’t come to our house. We had a Christmas tree and gifts, but each one was carefully labelled with a “to/from” tag. In general, my mom just didn’t make a big deal out of it one way or another.

As a mom myself, I tended to adopt the same stance. We discussed the historical roots of Santa Claus in the person of Saint Nicholas while emphasizing the joy of giving. And I did occasionally remind my daughter not to ruin it for other kids whose Christmas hinged on a visit from the mysterious man they knew as Santa Claus.

The fact is, most families, whether they identify as Christian or not, DO include Santa Claus in their Christmas celebrations. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that as long as we are careful to help our children understand its true meaning. Attending Christmas programs at your church, reading the account of Christ’s birth as a family from the Bible, and making sure there are Christ centered books available among your child’s personal books are some ways to do that. There is no shortage of good Christmas books from a Christian perspective.

As for jolly old Saint Nicholas, there are some books about him, too. Many of them explore the historical background of the man who inspired the tradition we know as Santa Claus.

There are very few books, however, that manage to combine the idea of Santa and the story of the Christ child. In fact, to many, those two themes might seem incongruous. But Santa’s Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki and Ivan Gantschev does just that. In it, Santa Claus relates the story of the first Christmas to his animal friends.

I first became aware of this book back in the days when I was in the classroom. Santa’s Favorite Story was originally published as a collaboration by Japanese and Austrian publishers in 1982. Scholastic picked up the title and published it in the US in 1988. The book went on to earn a Scholastic Blue Ribbon. Its most recent release was 2007, and it’s still available on Amazon.

I doubt a teacher could get away with sharing Santa’s Favorite Story in the classroom these days, but I happily read it to my classes for many years. In the story Santa is found sleeping in the forest by the woodland animals. When Santa wonders aloud if those heavy packages are getting to be too much for him, the animals are alarmed to think there might not be a Christmas anymore. Santa is quick to assure them that can’t happen since Christmas doesn’t have anything to do with him anyway. He goes on to recount the story of the very first Christmas.

Santa’s Favorite Story is a way to honor the Christmas tradition of Santa Claus while still reinforcing the true meaning of the season. Theology aside, it’s a sweet story and one worth incorporating into your Christmas story times with your littles.

By Wendy Hinote Lanier

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