Christmas in July

So last night at bedtime, my very literal and incredulous five-year-old, popped the question:
"Santa's not real, right?"

See we've got a pattern going these last few months where he fact checks me.

"Are superheroes real?"
"No. But there are real everyday heroes like daddy, who was a Marine, and police officers and firefighters."
"Dogs can't really talk, right, mom?"
"No. But it's fun to pretend."
"Is Jesus real?"
"Yes. You just can't see him but He sees us and hears us and loves us."
"Are pirates real?"
"Yes, but not how Disney depicts them."
"Are angels real?"
"Yes, and they're all around us, but they're invisible to humans unless they're on special assignment."
"Do wolves live in the woods or can they get in our house?"
"They live in the woods and cannot get into our house."
"Are there really mad guys?"
"Yes, that's why we don't talk to strangers."

See, he's sorting out the world.  He loves Captain America but needs to know if the guy's really walking around NY today.  We tell him God and angels are real but you can't see them.  It gets confusing.

So, last night when he was talking about his beloved "brown bird" stuffed animal and stuffed snake, I asked "who got you brown bird?"
"Nona."
"And who got you snake?"
And to my surprise, he said "Santa."

Stunned, and struggling with a little human pride, I corrected, "No, hunny, mommy got you snake" (Snake was the result of a great debate in the toy store between my husband and I.  I insisted our son would love him but Lee was not sure.  The look on that boy's face Christmas morning sealed the deal that I had won that one ;))

Lee and I both grew up with the mystical magic of Santa and although we have lots of fun memories, let's face it; when it comes to Santa, there comes a day when a parent has to tell a child "Yeah, about the last ten years...just kidding." And that didn't sit well with me for a couple of reasons. Before you think I'm an unAmerican stick in the mud, hear me out.

First, we are dealing with autism which means we are dealing with very literal thinkers.  We have to consistently teach them that there are shades of grey in this world and everything is not black and white, but some things are.  Like God.  Like the possibility of wolves breaking into our house.  There are things that are true and things that are not.  And as much as retailers want us to believe it, Santa is not real.

That being said, I feel Veggie Tales does a perfectly graceful job at explaining what is true.  And yes, I recognize the irony of me referencing singing vegetables to make my point about Santa.
Fact: Nicholas was a really real man who gave presents in secret in honor of God's gift of his son, Jesus.  So, in essence, there really was a Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas.
Fiction: A fat man in a red suit will break into our house in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to deliver toys. 

See, I was shocked at his answer because we've always kinda dodged the Santa thing. In five years, the question has never been flat out asked. I suppose they've always believed in Santa to some extent from exposure to traditional American pictures and shopping and preschool songs and that's fine. But we've never encouraged it; we've never done cookies and milk, never threatened that Santa "knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake" (p.s. how creepy is that and isn't it, um, God who is omnipresent and the whole good/bad thing sounds a bit like it's encouraging legalism...but I digress). We never asked if they heard reindeer hooves on the roof and only once did we make the mistake of waiting in a line of screaming children for a $14 photo with a man in stuffing and fake beard. We "play Santa" when we pass out gifts on Christmas morning, but we don't say "this is from Santa." 

So back to the conversation.  After I less than humbly reminded my sweet little boy that mommy did a great deal of convincing to get him the snake, he laughed and said "Oh yeah.  Santa's not real, right?"

So in a moment where I felt like I might be stealing away a little bit of his innocence, I told him the truth, "No, baby, Santa's not real."  And quickly followed it with reminding him about Veggie Tales and how it's fun to talk about Christmas things like Santa but in the end, it's all really about giving gifts because of the greatest gift ever given.  The gift from a Father to his children, a gift of His only son to light up the world.

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