Santa Baby 3

Here is Santa number 3. 
He's probably the biggest out of all of them.
His coat is cut from a new unused quilt.
One of the hardest things is having to cut the quilts. 
I have so many quilts. 
I'll cut one that is fallingapart or I will cut a new quilt, as long as it's not expensive.  I will not cut a handmade family quilt in good condition unless someone wants a Santa from it and I have their permission. 
Because I make quilts, I know what goes into putting them together and quilting them.  I'll drive by a home and see someone covering their outdoor plants with an old quilt and I want to scream.  Bruce's aunt used to do that so I went to her house and traded her the old quilt for a blanket.  The quilt was in horrible shape but it ended up making some beautiful crafts. 
I have a Santa that is made from a ragedy quilt, a pair of one of the boys jeans with holes in the knees and a pair of the boys baby tennis shoes.  
I've saved my oldest son's very first pair of boots for the same reason.
 
I think about why I love to make Santa dolls and display them through my home. 
Being a devoted Christian, I sometimes feel guilty.  During the Christmas holidays my home is decorated with Santa's, snowmen, angels, nativity scenes, two Christmas trees and much more.  But I feel like it should be devoted more to the nativity scenes than anything else.  I have three full nativity sets, and a couple of sets with Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  I have more Santa's by far.  Although, I think it's because I make them, that I have so many.  Each year I kept my favorite and sold the rest.  I'm not keeping one this year. 

I ask myself why I like the idea of Santa.  Obviously he takes a huge amount of attention away from the true meaning of Christmas, and yet, I think it's the part of Christmas that displays HUMAN kindness that we find so attractive.  Santa is every person who gives a gift to someone else, all put together in one.  We love our children, we give them gifts for Christmas, but we let the credit go to an imaginary person who, we say, gives gifts to every child around the world.  It connects our child with the child down the street and the child in another country.  The idea of Santa defines human love that extends beyond just one home.

God is love.  But He is God.  We do not have the ability to love the way that He does.  We are not divine, we are human.  Every day I am reminded that this world is not the most loving world, but once a year there is a moment where everyone, whether they are Christian or not, feels Gods love through giving, receiving, and watching others give and receive.  They feel that "Christmas feeling" and don't even realize that's God
.
To a child Santa is a fun magical being that loves beyond limits, flies all over the world in one night just to make little ones happy on Christmas morning.  In reality the story comes from a man, long ago, who cared for others so much that he used his own money to provide whatever he thought someone needed without telling them it came from him.  I googled the story last year and it was very cool.  Human kindness.  Someone saw that someone else needed money for food, medical needs, toys for children, clothing, and he gave from his heart.  Someones wonderful story turned into a tradition. 

When I look at my sweet fluffy Santa dolls, I think about the love of Christmas.
God Gave us the most precious gift ever, when he blessed us with that sweet baby many years ago.
We celebrate by giving gifts to the ones we love.  We do the Santa thing because we love our little ones and want to give them the bit of magic we had when we believed in Santa, the excitement of Christmas eve and watching the sky for reindeer, listening for bells or footsteps on the roof, the wonder that we are connected to every other child in the world for just that one night. 
Christmas is my favorite Holiday. 
No one had to die.  We get to celebrate a birth, a gift. 
And the entire world feels it whether they want to or not. 
So..... I'm still not sure if God likes the Santa thing. 
Kinda wish I could make a phone call and ask Him. 
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Hugs
Shannon

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