Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year! It is a time to cherish the most with the ones that you most love. It is a unique time where many families from all across the world would simultaneously spend time together while exchanging gifts.

For many years, I absolutely cherished Christmas above all the other holidays.

I actually put Christmas at the top of my list. It’s such a time that I feel that I am most happy throughout the year. From the  Christmas music to the decorations and so much more. Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without the sprinkle cookies and pinewood smell.

As a child, we weren’t afforded the opportunity to celebrate Christmas as everyone else did. All of the other children in school believed that there was Santa. They were filled with joy knowing that they were going to get gifts from Santa Claus. I, on the other hand, was not afforded the same. I was sad and doubtful. 

My parents told us very early as children, that there was no such thing as Santa Claus.

The devastation that we felt. While all the other children in school were preparing for Christmas time, I just felt as though I was missing something. So, for many years I’ve played along as if I believed. However, I really wished that our parents lied to us like the other parents. As silly as it sounds, I just really wanted to believe and be filled with the same joy as others. 

Therefore, when I became a parent, I was certain that I was going to tell my children that there was a Santa Claus. I was going to fill Christmas with the joy that I felt I missed as a child. Rightfully so, I’ve done it for the first few years of parenting. However, after some years, my parents began questioning us. They asked us why we were lying to our children. It was there, that we started rethinking our motive. 

My parents explained to us their devastation that they felt when they were told that Santa Claus wasn’t real. They further explained that they felt that their parents were liars for passing down old folks tales. Therefore, this was their exact reasoning for telling us the truth about Santa Claus in the beginning. They just wanted to protect us from the same devastation they’ve experienced. However, I just felt like they didn’t want to participate in the gift exchange. 

We actually were taught that Christmas was Jesus’ birthday. They explained that it was a time of year that the world celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. They explained that we are not supposed to esteem one day over the other. They further explained that every day is a gift from God and that we should not celebrate Christmas over any other day or holiday. 

Personally, we use to overwhelm ourselves.

We decided to do some more research on our own and further learned that Christmas is strictly a secular day. Secular meaning without having any spiritual or religious regards. This is the day that the world has decided to deem as a holiday. By doing so, it is beneficial to the market for multiple reasons. Some of those reasons benefit the start of the fiscal year. The end of the year and the closing of the market just in time for the start of a new year for the current market. There are many retailers that benefit from the Christmas season. While on the other hand, there are many families that are left after the Christmas season in debt. 

We tried buying expensive toys and gifts for our children and family. We would also instruct our children to sit down and pick through the most popular catalogs of toys from retailers. Our children were allowed to pick out 5 toys each. Then we would take their list and also include the latest electronics. We then would go and buy each of our children 5 toys each including tablets and accessories. It had gotten so bad to the point that my husband picked up a second job, just to get through the Christmas season. We would then try to break our necks trying to buy each other expensive gifts. It was flat out exhausting! It wasn’t fun anymore. It felt like a task and obligation. 

In 2017, we made the ultimate decision to tell our children the truth! Our children’s ages at the time were 9, 5, 4, and 1 years old. Our 9-year old was beginning to suspect the idea of Santa Claus. She said that while in school the children were discussing whether or not he was in fact real. Our other children were surprised and sad at the same time. Our 1-year old was too young to understand. We just knew that it was the best thing for us. It really did relieve us from so much pressure that we were experiencing. We would have to hide and wrap the toys. We had to stage the scene as to how Santa came in our home because we never had a chimney. My goodness! The lies we’ve had to make up. 

Instead of buying gifts based on our children’s wants, we decide to purchase gifts based on their needs. We no longer participate in the formal gift exchange like many families. We much rather cherish this special time to spend with family. We may cook a large family dinner while rejoicing over laughter and joy. We truly realize that the best gifts in life are not purchased from retailers. The best gifts in life are the ones that you create through experience and love. 

Thank you so much for taking the time out to read this post about what Christmas truly means to us. Please read our other post on how to utilize resources for the holiday season on a fixed budget.

We realize that we don’t share the same values as most families do throughout the world. And we realize that this is OK. We are unique and we are something different. We are the Henry family and we love you guys. It is our prayer that you guys are having a great holiday season. Please feel free to leave me your comments as I’d love to read them.