“How does Santa get in through there?” my four year old son asked me the other night. Renton was helping Jamie and I decorate for Christmas and he was busy setting up holiday candles in the fireplace. His head was twisted half way around staring up into the blackness of the chimney.

“That is a really great question, Renton” I responded. Then to avoid answering the really good question I launched into a diatribe of how Santa would probably burn his fanny on the candles that Renton was setting up. Renton laughed and howled at this mental image and we danced around the Santa issue for another day.

About the same time my seven year old daughter, Bonnie J, marched into the room to announce to my wife and I that she didn’t believe in Santa anymore. I asked her to explain her reasoning.   

“Well, I think you and mom wait until we all go to sleep and then you bring out the wrapped presents and put them under the tree.”

This isn’t too hard to deduce in our family because Jamie and I haven’t really pushed the Santa Claus idea to our four children. All the presents under the tree are from family or friends and none usually addressed “from Santa”. I think the only thing we have done to perpetuate the fat-man-in-the-red-suit story is having our kids leave out milk and cookies that are strangely missing the next morning. The rest of our kids’ Kris Kringle beliefs have come from holiday songs, cartoons, and kids’ movies. I wouldn’t say that my children have very sound doctrine when it came to Santa. If you ask Renton where the real Santa Claus lives he will tell you, “Boise Towne Square Mall.”

So belief in Santa and his elves isn’t very important in the Estes household. Our older two kids, Kona (11) and Stephen (9) never came to us saying that they didn’t believe in Santa Claus, but then again they haven’t told us that about the tooth fairy either. I think it has something to do with the economic benefits under their pillows in exchange for their ivories that they don’t want to end.

There are far more important beliefs about Christmas that we want our kids to know and experience.

One important factor is tradition. Both sets of grandparents live near us so we get to have celebrations all over town. Our children have picked up traditions from both sides of the family that they will celebrate with their own kids someday. They know that Grandpa Lepper has a box of candy in his dresser drawer over the holidays. They know that Grandma Estes will make the favorite holiday brunch casserole on Christmas day as well as buy them all new underwear whether they want it or not.

The decorating is always a memorable time for us. You get to relive the Christmases of past years by opening up the treasure chest of ornaments. Our house is full of holiday knickknacks made in Sunday and Grade Schools that have survived over the years.

We do string up a few lights around the house, but my favorite yard decoration is the silhouette cutout of Mary and Joseph kneeling beside the manger that my dad made a few years ago. We have it lit with flood lamps hoping that all who drive by will see the display. I’ve seen a lot of manger scenes through the years with Jesus’ earthly parents and the shepherds surrounding the manger peering in at the baby. But what I like about this scene in our yard is that Mary and Joseph and Christ Child are worshipping.

Worship takes time. There is no such thing as drive by worship. You don’t ohh and ahh at Jesus the same way you do the Christmas lights in the fancy neighborhoods while cruising around in the family van. Somewhere in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle we need to be slow down and truly seek Peace on Earth. And when we find him, we need to worship.

We decided against a Christmas tree this year – not that we don’t like them or haven’t had them in the past. But this year we decided to decorate a cradle instead. This cradle has most recently held our babies and we are the fourth generation from Jamie’s family to use it. The cradle sits in our living room with a star suspended over it from the ceiling and a big blanket inside in anticipation of the Christ-child. That is what I really want my kids to do, anticipate Jesus and worship Him.

We sing carols along with our goodnight prayers during the month of December. This year we have chosen “Away in a Manager” as our theme song which fits our living room decorations.

There are two special memories of this season that I am already treasuring. The first happened last Sunday night as our family went caroling with Vineyard Boise as part of the “Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration.” Earlier in the morning Renton was excited to put some money in the red kettles at church for the Salvation Army. He looked through the house to find some of the green paper and located one of them. Problem is after church it was realized that Renton had found the dollar bill that Bonnie J had discovered under her pillow in exchange for her newly lost tooth.

Kona tried to console Bonnie about the loss of the dollar, ensuring her that her money had been used as an offering. Kona told Bonnie to pray to God about it and maybe He would double the money back to her. Well, I am glad I didn’t hear about the situation. I probably would have scolded Renton, corrected Kona’s doctrine and given Bonnie J another dollar. Instead God took care of it in His own way that evening. As we were caroling Bonnie bravely went up to one of the people we were singing to and handed him a candy cane and a note from our church. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollars and called Bonnie back so he could bless her as well. Bonnie ran with her gift to Kona yelling, “He did it Kona! He answered my prayer!”

Both girls came to Jamie and I and related the story. When I asked Bonnie what she was going to do with her two dollars she didn’t hesitate to respond, “I’m going to put them in the red kettle!” I think she gets it. Target may not get it, but little Bonnie J does.

The second memory is this. Our family lives half a block down from the church building that Vineyard Boise started in 15 years ago. It is now a church called Epworth Chapel. Jamie and I have got to know the church members from their activities and outreaches in the neighborhood. This Advent season they have had a special half-hour prayer service on weeknights. On nights that I have been free I have walked down to participate with them.

I’ve stumbled through the service, not having a background for the liturgy, but I love the reciting of the Psalms, the scripture readings, and the rich prayers. I thought I’d take Kona and Stephen so they could experience another expression of The Church.

Kona enjoyed it, as I thought she would, but I wasn’t as sure to what Stephen’s response would be. He is so energetic and full of life that I know sitting still for a half an hour can be a real challenge. But the next night when I was ready to walk down to the chapel he was right beside me. He picked up the rhythms of the service faster than I did and quickly turned to the right pages and stood at the right times.

A few days later I was home in time for the Advent service. Kona walked with me but Stephen was at a friend’s house playing. But just as the bell rang to begin the service I heard a bike hit the pavement and the doors to the chapel creak open. My sweaty little nine year old breathlessly grabbed a prayer book and made his way down to our pew. He smiled at me and then knelt down on the kneeling bench and began to worship.

Our finest gifts we bring

To lay before the king

So to honor Him

When we come