Ronald Reagan's Christmas address 1981

This wasn't that long ago, but I wonder if a President would speak so plainly about the true meaning of Christmas today. As always, to-the-point and eloquent. My kids will listen to this today with me. God bless us, every one.

The problem with Santa.

It's Christmas Eve morning and I've officially HAD IT with Santa. My kids are obsessed with the presents under the tree, even though I've done everything I can to keep them focused on Christ during this circus of a season. They know the importance of giving, at least intellectually, but the lure of shiny wrapping paper and colorful bows seems to mesmerize them.

Every year, my goal is to have 3 presents for each child on Christmas, since that's how many Jesus received. We put them out well before Christmas morning because I want them to realize that Santa didn't bring them anything. Still, they expect their presents to multiply on Christmas morning. I've gone back and forth on how to explain this lack of multiplication. I want to tell them that Santa skipped our house because we don't need anything from him but that statement validates his existence (doesn't it?). I could just completely debunk the Santa myth but I've been told that would be harsh (really?). Santa is taking up way more of my mental bandwidth than I would like. But how do I escape?

How do you handle Santa in your house? I am desperately resisting the urge to gather up every present under the tree and hand them out to random people in the Target parking lot or on any city street. It shouldn't be such an uphill battle to shake the excess off and focus on the fact that a sweet little baby came into this world to die for ME. But, here we are again, fighting that battle. Any tips on how to win it?