Santa Comes to Our House at a Cost

When I was young, every one I knew believed in Santa. It wasn’t until I became a parent did I learn that many of my peers had strong feelings of not doing it with their own children. My husband and I are both  strongly Pro-Santa Parents. We have played it up since my oldest son was born. The magic of Santa is so much fun for us. We enjoy the build up for the kids from Thanksgiving to Christmas morning. Most years, our kids see Santa multiple times at different events. This is the first year, though, that one of the points the Anti-Santa Parents make has hit home for me: Santa sets unrealistic expectations. I blame YouTube. HobbyKids, Daily Bumps, and Ryan have a plethora of toys, robots, games, etc. So, of course, my kids think they can put EVERYTHING those kids have (actually get for free) on their Christmas list.

We had to give realistic guidelines for Santa.

When the Target and Amazon Christmas catalogs were delivered, we sat down with the kids and let them circle everything they like. Of course, like every other year, we told them they most likely won’t get everything they want. This did not deter them from continuing to add to the list until I had to finally cut the list off the other day. At 6 and almost 4, they are starting to comprehend money. We are a single income family, and we are very fortunate to live a nice life. However, we do have a budget for Christmas.

To keep the magic of Santa and ensure we don’t have disappointed kids Christmas morning, we told them that Santa sends us a bill. He watches them to make sure they are good. The elves make the toys in Santa’s workshop at the North Pole. While we are asleep on Christmas Eve, Santa sneaks into the house to put everything under the tree. Then Santa bills Mom and Dad.

We have to pay for the toys because, at the end of the day, nothing in this world is free.

Amanda Blaum
Amanda is her name and sequins are her game. She can never be too extra with fashion or fun. Boymomming keeps her busy. In between playdates and ballpark games, she enjoys dates with her husband of 8 years and girls nights with her mom squad.

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