I've never allowed Santa with my kids and their Christmas season is wonderful

McAdenville, North Carolina is 'Christmas Town USA' Tracy Gunn of McAdenville, North Carolina joins 'Fox & Friends First' to showcase her town's Christmas spirit and widespread draw. The holidays start earlier and earlier every year and expectations, shopping lists and parties are never-ending. By the time December begins, many parents are already out of breath. I’m not having it. I want the Christmas season to be peaceful and joyful. I refuse to run around like a madwoman fulfilling shopping lists, going to every holiday party and most of all, perpetuating the Santa tradition for my kids. That’s right - we don’t do the whole Santa thing in our family. No gifts from Santa. No photos with Santa. No sitting on an old guy’s lap and telling him all about Christmas wish lists. The only cookies laid out on Christmas Eve are the ones I’m eating while wrapping gifts that are coming from my husband and I to our kids - not from Santa. I feel zero guilt about my daughters not having the whole Santa experience and if you choose the same path, congratulations, your holiday season just got a bit easier. Calm Meditation App confirmed in a November study that 76% of millennial moms feel pressure to create a perfect holiday experience . Since the perfect holiday experience does not exist, just cut out one more thing anyway. The mental unloading will feel great and the kids will not be missing out on any magical parts of the season. They will also have an opportunity to learn about true gratitude and not have the crushing experience of learning a big man in red-and-white fluffy clothing does not really exist. A family Christmas is just perfect even without Santa. (iStock) The Santa myth can foster a lack of gratitude for gifts received. Children only write to Santa when they want something. There are no Santa mailboxes for thank-you notes. Parents work so hard to provide for their children and most already suffer from a lack of thankfulness from their offspring, which is exacerbated when Santa gifts the kids things they want and there are no avenues for gratefulness to the real gift-giver. Gratefulness is a lesson I try to weave into our everyday lives and the tradition of Santa fails to instill any kind of gratitude. My parents kept the Santa myth going for years after I figured it all out for the sake of my younger siblings. I remember when I was a teenager and unwrapped a gift with the "From" tag that read, "Santa." In a flash of teenage girl clarity, I felt sad for my parents because I couldn’t say thank you to them at that moment. My mom knew what I really wanted for Christmas and she got it for me but disguised it as a gift from a holiday figure. It felt a little gross. While I grew up in a middle-class family, I was not immune to the struggles of others. The myth of...

Preview: ~500 words