Santa

   In our home, Christ is the reason for the season but we feel that there can be room for secular traditions, too, as long as Christ remains at the center of our celebrations.

   Here are some of the ways we accomplish this, in regards to Santa and the elves:

• Our elf, Lady, often holds baby Jesus from our nativity and Bible passages.  Lady is a Christian, too.
• We begin Christmas Eve by worshiping together as an extended family in our church.
• Baby Jesus from our nativity is wrapped and he is the first gift that's opened after church at our family celebration.  We do this again on Christmas morning before we open Santa's gifts as an immediate family.  This idea was from a family friend and I'm so glad it's become a tradition in our household.
• Santa is the one who wraps baby Jesus.  We make sure to use the same wrapping paper and include a note from Santa.  It explains that we give in honor of the gift God the Father gave and that Jesus is far more precious and more valuable than any toy.  Santa, like Lady, is a Christian.
• We talk about it!  We discuss how wonderful and generous Santa is but that Jesus is MORE wonderful and MORE generous.  We discuss that Santa's generosity was motivated by his Savior's generosity.

    This year, we found a new tradition.  reindeercam.com

   This website is so incredibly fun!  These folks have a 24/7 webcam focused on their reindeer and barn.  At 10AM CST and 6PM CST, Wesley Elf, Santa, Santa's dog, Cocoa, and sometimes The Grinch, come on camera to feed the reindeer.  At 6PM CST, Santa reads letters from children, sometimes a bed time story, reminds the children watching to do as mom and dad say, and to say their prayers.  On the first night we tuned in, Santa read a beautiful poem about Christ's birth.

   This is quite interactive, too.  Children are encouraged to write to Santa and doing so will put their name on the "Nice List" posted on the page.  You may also donate to the reindeer fund, or join the "Nice List Club".  The club even has its own benefits!  Additionally, Santa's take-off is filmed live at 7PM CST Christmas Eve!  It is ADORABLE!
 
   While Santa and his family do accept donations to help feed the reindeer, the website is free of charge.  Can I just take a moment here to say how generous this is?  Think about that for a moment... Santa suit every day, twice (sometimes 3 times) a day, going on camera... These are SPECIAL people. I love that they are having some good-ol'-fashioned fun and keep the reason for the season in mind while doing it!

I just KNOW this will become a family favorite the moment of your first visit!  Please also look for them on social media!

Cheers,
Alyssa

*I would like to take a moment to note that while I received permission to post this information directly from reindeercam.com, I am not receiving any compensation for doing so.