I grew up with the t.v. series Recess. They had a Christmas episode called “Yes Mikey, Santa Does Shave” in which Santa was black, so I’ve been used to the idea of having racially diverse Santa Clauses. When the media presented people freaking out about there being a black Santa at a mall, I really didn’t think it was a big deal. Black, white, Asian—who cares? I just think it’s a fun tradition for kids to go to the mall to “meet Santa.” But as I thought about it, I realized it might be confusing for kids to have Santa look different every year. So my husband and I came up with some excuses to tell our children if/when they ask why Santa looks different. DISCLAIMER: Some of these came from my husband. You can guess which.
Ten Excuses to Tell Your Children
1. Use The Beach Boys’ excuse, “You’re really not Santa. He’s just helping Santa Clause” (check out the song “Santa’s Beard”).
2. Santa is magic and can take on any appearance he wants to. It’s how he knows if you’re naughty or nice—he could be anyone, anywhere.
3. Santa is like the Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride—Santa retires once in a while and a new Santa takes his place.
4. That’s not Santa—that’s one of Santa’s interns. The real Santa started out that way and worked his way up—who knows, maybe he’ll be Santa someday.
5. Santa is really the Ghost of Christmas Present from A Christmas Carol. (On one hand, this seems to be an easier transition to explaining, when kids are old enough, that Santa is a representation of the spirit of Christmas. On the other hand, if they are sharp enough to pick up on the whole Ghost of Christmas Present dying every Christmas, you might need to modify #3 to stop the crying.)
6. Oh, looks like this Santa is the real one. The one last year was Krampus filling in—good thing you were on the nice list!
7. What are you talking about? He looks exactly the same as last year. (Convince the kids they’re hallucinating the differences.)
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas actually happened, but Oogie Boogie still has Santa. Good thing they found a replacement!
9. Don’t question his authenticity. He might be fake, but if you’re wrong, you might not get presents. I wouldn’t risk it if I were you.
10. The mall Santas are just stacks of elves. Looks like Fred is on top this time.
You’re welcome, and Merry Christmas!