Christmas can feel like a tug-of-war for parents. You want your kids to experience the wonder of the season, but you also want them to know that Christmas is about more than gifts and magic. It’s about a God who loves so freely that He gave us His Son.
I believe that the story of Santa doesn’t have to compete with Jesus. If we use the story well, Santa can actually help kids understand the true gift of Christmas.
Santa as a Picture of God’s Generous Love
From the time our kids were very little, we tried to use Santa to point toward God, not pull attention away. We talked about St. Nicholas, sure, but we also talked about what the “magic of Christmas” really means. For us, Santa Claus gives us a tiny glimpse of how wildly generous God is. He's an example of how God loves us: freely, abundantly, and undeservedly.
For us, this meant skipping the naughty list and the idea that they had to earn gifts by being good. It also meant never buying into any of the borderline creepy surveillance style trends (tattling elves, North Pole cameras, or threats to "call Santa" for bad behavior).
We wanted our kids to know that God’s love isn't earned by being good. That the gifts Santa leaves under the tree are like every good thing that comes from God the Father who gives simply because He loves us.
When we frame Santa this way, our kids begin to see that every wrapped gift points to a deeper one: the generous heart of God.
Fairy tales can give us experiences we have never had and thus, instead of commenting on life, can add to it.
— C.S. Lewis, On Three Ways of Writing for Children
Is Santa Real for Adults? The Deeper Truth
As our kids got older, they started asking the big question: Is Santa real?
Our answer was yes...just not the way they thought. Santa is real in the same way parables are real. He’s an allegory, a story that reveals something true.
Our family nativity changed every year when the kids were little — a mix of saints, superheroes, shepherds, and Santa. It was messy and holy, just like the story it tells.
Around this same time (late elementary/early middle school), our kids were learning that the stories of Creation in Scripture are true, even if they’re not always literal. They were starting to understand that Truth isn’t just about history; it’s about meaning. When they reached that age, we helped them unpack the deeper truths in the Santa story the same way we unpacked those stories from Scripture.
Once they crossed that threshold, we invited them into the fun! They got to experience the joy of helping younger siblings and cousins experience the mystery of God's love in this way. They wrapped gifts, filled stockings, and learned firsthand how much happiness comes from giving someone something they didn’t earn.
And then there’s the gift that accidentally extends Santa’s lifespan. The year our oldest finally got the Lego Millennium Falcon set from Santa, he told his friends, “I know Santa is real. My parents would NEVER buy me a toy this expensive!”
Part of me wanted to correct him. The other part loved that he instinctively connected wonder with generosity.
At every age, Santa can be one of the clearest ways kids can start to grasp what grace really is: a loving Father who gives us the greatest gift freely and undeserved, just like the gift of Jesus Himself.
By casting all these things into an imaginary world... one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency. Could one not thus steal past those watchful dragons? — C.S. Lewis, Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to Be Said
This is what intentionally blending the stories of Santa and Jesus can do for children; it sneaks past the “watchful dragons” of skepticism and literalism. It lets them feel and experience that love is a gift and that generosity is holy – even before they can fully reason.
If you want to explore more about how stories—movies, books, even childhood myths—can open hearts to God’s grace, check out our earlier reflection Finding God in the Stories Around Us.
When Rules Replace Relationship
If you’ve ever said (or thought) “I just need to be good,” you’re in good company. Most of us grew up hearing that, and it shapes how we picture God.
For many cradle Catholics, believing in God's existence isn't the hard part. Believing that God actually delights in us is.
Decades of "follow the rules, don’t mess up” can make God feel more like a scorekeeper than a loving Father. Spiritual writers call this practical Pelagianism – the quiet belief that we have to earn God’s love or at least prove we deserve it. We might say we believe in grace, but deep down, we’re still keeping score.
That’s why the Santa story can be a such a great bridge for evangelization. Beneath all the commercial noise, there's a story that whispers something sacred: a love that gives without measuring who deserves what.
When we help people see that the real heart of the story isn’t “be good so you’ll get something,” but “you are loved, so I give,” everything changes. Santa becomes a doorway to understanding a God who gives first – a God who isn’t keeping score, but keeps showing up with joy, generosity, and love that we didn’t (and couldn’t) earn.
When we reintroduce Santa not as the judge of “naughty or nice,” but as a reflection of God’s joyful generosity, we show our kids that the true gift of Christmas isn’t a thing at all. It’s a person whose love is freely given.
The Sweetest Way to Tell Your Child About Santa
This is often the part parents worry about most. How do we tell our kids the truth about Santa without ruining the joy or losing the link to Jesus? How do we make sure that they don't stop believing in everything once they stop believing in Santa?
It helps to remember: You’re not taking something away; you’re deepening it.
When your child starts asking, it’s your chance to reveal what the story was always about. Tell them that Santa’s generosity mirrors God’s, and that we give gifts because we’ve already received the greatest one in Jesus.
That conversation can become one of the holiest moments of parenting: revealing that the “magic” behind Santa’s gifts was never a trick or a lie. It has always been a reflection of God’s own heart that we've shared with them at the level they were most able to understand it.
Quick Tip for Parents: When your child asks, “Is Santa real?” try answering, “Yes, because real love gives even when it doesn’t have to.”
Santa and the Gospel Story
J.R.R. Tolkien once said that “The Christian story is the greatest fairy-story of all, because it is the one story that is true.” The story of Santa helps our kids sense that same truth, that every joyful story points back to the real one: the God who gave us the true gift of Christmas.
Even now that our kids are grown, there are still presents from Santa under the tree. Still to this day, the biggest and best gift always comes from Santa, because the biggest and best gift of all came from God Himself.
After the wrapping paper settles, we try to remember to take a few minutes to name other gifts we’ve received from God this year — things we didn’t earn but that showed His goodness. Then we thank Him for the greatest gift of all, the one that never fits under the tree.
"The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God's giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves." - St. Nicholas of Myra (the fourth-century bishop considered the real-life model for Santa Claus)
Embracing the enchanted magic of Santa doesn't distract from the Gospel. It brings it home. It makes generosity feel a little more holy and every act of giving shimmer with something divine.
Because when you think about it, the story of Santa has always been an echo of the Gospel: God loves us, gives to us freely, and invites us to do the same.
Quick Take: 3 Ways to Connect Santa and Jesus at Home
- Let kids help give instead of just receive.
- Remind them that every good gift comes from God first.
- End gift-opening with a short family prayer of gratitude.
The Gospels contain many marvels... and among them is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe. The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man’s history. — J.R.R. Tolkien, On Fairy-Stories
Want to go deeper this Christmas? Explore our Discovering Your Story reflection or Love Language Reflection Sheets to recognize the gifts God has already given you and learn how to share them with others this season.
Know someone who wrestles with Santa and Jesus? Share this post and spread a little Christmas hope.
