“Whaaaatttt? That can't be. Surely the Sassacks I know, the ones who are committed to spirituality and progressive parenting, don't give in to the Santa hype!"

Ahh, but we do. And we don't even do it just because it's the thing to do. We haven't simply followed the crowd, repeating what our parents and their parents before them did without questioning. No, we put a great deal of thought into the decision to "do Santa". Well, that's not exactly true. Truth be told, we've always done Santa with our kids simply out of tradition. But this year I've heard a lot of rumblings about not doing Santa. And much as I love my progressive parenting posse (i.e. acquaintances I've met at various parent, mom, and family groups that I now keep in touch with mostly via Facebook), I’ve given it some thought, and I must disagree on this Santa issue.

Parents’ reasons for not doing Santa are many and varied, including not wanting to lie to their children, not wanting to scare their children about some strange guy breaking into the house in the middle of the night, not wanting to force their children to sit on some guy’s lap, and not wanting to give credit to someone else for giving the presents. I suppose those are all valid enough reasons. But I have my own reasons for wanting to do Santa with my kids.

Imagination is an art form that is dying. True imaginative play takes time, space, and solitude - three things which our children have precious little access to due to societal pressures and the subsequent devaluation of these commodities. We overbook our children so that they’ll be smart enough and talented enough, providing them very little free time. We clutter their spaces (and their minds) with “educational” toys that do all the work for them. We bombard them with media and socialization through television, music, and playgroups, allowing them very little alone time in which to hear themselves think.

Additionally, we fail to see the value of imagination, and often we’re actually scared of it. Take for example children playing cops and robbers. This is the child’s way of working out the what-ifs in life: choosing between good and bad through play, instead of in real life. Rather than seeing the value of this, parents are quick to admonish any violent play-acting and put an end to it.

Believing in Santa is much-needed exercise for the imagination. It is fun, and it helps children to feel precious, valued and worthy. These are all things that our children want and need. Why not indulge them?