Our solution for Christmas 2012

Given the previous post I have to tell you we could not let go.

Scott told the children there was no Santa back in July. We simply could not see a way around him being an Idol and distracting our children from Christ. We felt they needed a grasp on fiction vs fact in this area. We hardly ever really mentioned him to our kiddos or made him a big deal anyway, but others did.
*what I should tell you*
We still watch santa movies, and have a few images on leftover wrapping paper. But now our kiddos know he's totally fictional and it's more like watching a good movie that is nothing but made up.

We DID decide to do a tree. I don't really have a biblical excuse for this. Growing up, some of the only good memories I have of my mother are Christmas, and I have many of my childhood ornaments. This is one of the few times I can think of her and smile and not have sadness interrupt from bad memories. I cherish those happy ones, in order to not be bitter about my childhood I HAVE to cherish any and every good memory I can muster. I love our tree. I love decorating it with my children and how our house looks this time of year. Thus the only thing I can say is that if it is a sin, I am a sinful person and I'm so thankful Christ made a new covenant with us to cover my sins.

We tried to do less gifts and told all the relatives not to focus on the gifts please. They did though. Oh well, we will continue to try to teach the boys not to expect these gifts and to be thankful for them. For some of our family this is how they show their love, I will not deny them this even though I wish we could find a happy common ground that didn't involve things.
*what I should tell you*
I adored watching our children open their gifts and seeing their faces light up and the grace they gave each of us over everything, even the clothes. And I'm SOOOOOO excited to go shopping for new clothes with the amazing gift cards I received. I can't help it, I am.

In conclusion, I don't really know what we *should* be doing or not doing as Christians. I don't know where to draw the line and I'm sure we will continue to ask and explore the subject over the next year. I have a feeling we shouldn't be celebrating as we do, and some say that is legalism...I prefer biblical. Still, I am not worried about it now that it's said and done. In truth, I love this time of year and the celebrations whether good or bad.
And, I'm trying my best to honor Christ while also making the most out of the time with my family and friends.

Having said that. I think only Charlie can say what I wanna say...

But remember, this is the ONLY thing really important...
or Charlie Brown's version of it anyway.