Just one reason....

Why we don't make a big deal about Santa.

HA!  Poor girl!

This is not going to be long dissertation on "To Santa or Not to Santa".     We think Santa is a Jolly ol' Saint and we sure do have a lot of fun singing silly songs about him, and taking pictures with him, and reading some books about him. 

But... there is a HIM who we like to make a much bigger deal about during Christmas.  If you saw a few posts back during the holiday tour of homes, we have our house full of images of the newborn King and a tree full of symbols Jesus, His birth, His Life, and His death on a Cross. 

I want those who visit our home, and especially those who live in our home to know beyond a shadow of a doubt what and Who it is we are celebrating. 

Here are a few things we do to make this season focused on the right guy...

-We visit Live Nativities
I want our kids to see people dressed up as Mary and Joseph.  To know that these things really happened thousands of years ago. 

-We go to a Breakfast with Mary and Joseph
A local church does this and we LOVE it.  They get to enjoy donuts and biscuits with Mary and Joseph, and take their picture with him in the manger scene.  It is SO much fun!

Charlotte did not want in this picture...

-We have a Birthday Party for Jesus
Sometimes we do this with friends.  But we always have cupcakes for Jesus' birthday for breakfast on Christmas morning.  I found a mini ornament set years ago with all the nativity pieces and each cupcake gets adorned with a figure. 

-We sing Christmas Hymns at Bed

-We are doing a devotion each morning building a Christmas tree out of the names of Jesus
We have definitely missed some days and had to catch up, but this has been so fun! (thanks Katie for the idea!)

-Of course we have our play nativities...
Who cares if I get out of the spirit at least once a day because Mary has been thrown across the room or because the wise-men are in the bucket of dinosaurs.  We are currently out 1 baby Jesus from the wooden set and 1 Wise man from the Little People set....argh!

We certainly do have a ton of fun celebrating Christmas and all it means for us who follow Christ.  He is so much more than a story... so much more than a little play nativity set.  And certainly so much more than a jolly old man in red.   

Who, by the way, according to Charlotte says "Yo Ho Ho"  instead of " Ho, Ho, Ho!".