Santa v Jesus

I've been thinking a lot about Santa. Addy is clearly too young to get all that yet, so I thankfully have another year, but what to do? Pete currently doesn't seem too concerned about having Santa come to our house, but I'm not totally sure I'm on board yet.

So I was thinking of ways Santa and Jesus can both exist during Christmastime. Rather, I was thinking how can Santa be a part of our Christmas and Jesus still be our main focus. So I thought I would start with coming up with things Santa and Jesus have in common.
1. They both love children.
2. They are both believed in, even when not seen.
3. They both give gifts on Christmas.
4. They both can perform miracles.
5. They both want us to be "nice."
6. They both have a book with names in it.

After making this list I found it almost amusing that people of all kinds of religions (or no religion) encourage their children to believe in Santa, but scoff at the idea of God. Not that they are the same, but look  t that list, there are some pretty good parallels there.

No decision has been made, but I do think there is a way to have Santa and still focus on Jesus. I'm anxious to talk to other young parents on what made them decide which way to go.

Some of my ideas on how Santa can help us remember Jesus at Christmastime. Santa teaches us the joy of giving to others. Jesus wants us to give to others too. Santa wants us to be nice. Jesus wants us to obey his commands, the greatest of which is to love one another. Santa helps us believe in miracles. Jesus performed miracles, and sometimes it can be hard to believe. You just don't see people brought back to life, but you can read about it, and know that it is true. Santa is working even when we can't see him. Jesus is with us, even though we can't see Him.

Maybe that's all a stretch? Maybe it's ok, because believing in magic is so sweet. I'll let you know what we decide. And perhaps you can weigh in if you have thoughts on the subject.