To Santa, or not to Santa?

It is the question of the month. I have seen blogs and posts galore, all asking the same thing; should I let my children believe in Santa? What age is the right age to tell them the truth if I do? Will they hate me when they find out I've lied to them all of this time? Will they question every thing I've ever taught them, namely Jesus?
I get it. I really do. As a parent we are always second guessing every decision we make regarding our children and we are terrified of the outcome if we make the wrong choice. But I have read some serioiusly crazy stuff lately. Blogs demanding that Christians everywhere not participate in any secular traditions. How we will surely send our children straight to the nuthouse should they be encouraged to believe in something that is not real. I actually saw someone make the statement that you cannot be a Christian if you allow your children to believe. And further more, they will then turn around and say that Jesus was a magical myth, just like Santa!
I would never put myself in a position to judge someone's heart, but I don't believe that a statement like that should come from the mouth of a Christian!
In the Ferguson house, we do not believe in Santa. We believe Christmas is a time to celebrate that sweet baby Jesus and his entrance into this world. We do, however, follow some Santa traditions. We talk about who St. Nicholas was and what his mission was all about. That he was a Godly man and that when you see "Santa's" on the streets, they are celebrating his life. We put cookies out for Santa, because we love to make cookies 'round here, and big momma needs a tasty treat as she is up all night playing with...ahem..I mean assembling toys. We also make reindeer poop out of brownie mix and sparkles to make a trail from the children's doors to their stockings. What? That's not a tradition in your home? Weird.
So, now you know where I stand.That is what is right for our family BUT that does not mean that it has to be what is right for your family. To each his own, and however or whatever you do with the Santa story is cool with me.
I just can't help but churn this idea of our children questioning Jesus and His story around in my head. Would that really be the worst thing? Come to think about it, don't we all question Jesus at one point in our lives? Don't we all test Him? I know I did. I struggled and questioned and tested and guess what? God proved Himself to me over and over again. And friends, it is because of those moments that I am who I am today. It is because of my questions, that I have answers!
To those parents that are terrified of that moment that their precious little ones look at them with big eyes and say "WHAT? Santa's not real?? How can I ever trust you again? Is Jesus even real and powerful like you said he was?" I say, you haven't crushed their dreams and ruined their lives. You aren't going down under. You haven't damned them to a Godless life. You have just opened their eyes. You have given them a great gift! The opportunity to experience God on their own. To not just make an assumption of who God is based on what you say is true, but to get out there and get answers for themselves. Scary? Yes. But I beleive God is fully up to the task friends.
So don't choose your Christmas rituals based on the scare tactics that are out there. Decide what is right for your family and go with it. And trust God to be able to handle things on His end should your children decide to start questioning His existence.
Be blessed.