puzzled, I love the Tom Bombadil story. I'll run it by my kids and see what reaction I get!

I've had one of those for many years. I'd still like to have one of the real St. Nicolas, episcopos, though.
I'm afraid, though that the fat jolly version, with the flying reindeer and wife, is really Tom Bombadil, who saw what St. Nicolas was doing, and thought it would be great fun.
That's the story I'm telling my (and it please God) future children, and I'm stickying by it. ;-)

When I was two, I announced, with great satisfaction, that Santa Claus didn't bring the presents, Mommy and Daddy did.
There was not this strange man breaking into my home in the middle of the night. . . .

Thank you for your example Rosemarie. You seem very balanced.

On the "Santa controversy," my own parents struck what has always seemed to me an ideal stance: Every year we read "The Night Before Christmas" and watched "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Babes in Toyland," so Santa was definitely a part of our domestic culture, but we never did the milk and cookies routine, and on Christmas morning the presents were always accurately labeled "From Mom & Dad" or "From Grandma & Grandpa," etc.
In short, my parents never made a big deal one way or the other about Santa's reality: They never went out of their way to tell us "Santa isn't real," any more than they went out of their way to tell us that Felix the Cat or Spider-Man weren't real. Santa was just one more character in our imaginative landscape. But they also never told us that Santa was real, and never acted like he was.
That's more or less what I've done with my own kids, except that Sarah, our oldest, has always insisted on absolute clarity about what is and isn't real, and explicitly wanted to know right away if Santa was real, so we had to tell her -- and then we also had to tell her that SOME parents DO tell their kids about Santa Claus WITHOUT telling them that he isn't real, and whatever we may think of that, it's not our place to tell those children otherwise. (As a very young child Sarah was always offended and upset when adults would ask her what Santa was bringing her. And she did NOT like the mall Santas AT ALL.)
But we still read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with our kids, and this year we're watching Babes in Toyland from Netflix.

+J.M.J+
Bought a chalkware statue like that a few years ago. The message behind it certainly isn't "Both Santa Claus and Baby Jesus are real." It's more like, "Of the two most prominent figures associated with Christmas, guess which is *really* more important?"
That's why it's the only depiction of Santa Claus I will allow with my home Christmas decorations (though I do have a few images of St. Nicholas that I put out on December 5 and leave up until Epiphany). I display the kneeling Santa as a "statement" of what the holy day is *really* about.
BTW, I've never told my children that Santa brings them presents. Just that he's a very nice mythical figure based loosely on St. Nicholas of Myra. I don't have a strong animus against him
(none of that Santa=Satan silliness); I just want Jesus to be the center of Christmas. But I certainly can't just ignore a figure as ubiquitous as Mr. Claus, so I present him in a "controlled" way.
In Jesu et Maria,

I'm with Tim J. I've always interpreted this--whether people think it's kitschy or not--as an expression of the subordination of the warm and fuzzy traditions to GOD. Whoever conceptualized Santa kneeling at our Lord hit it on the nose.
Just don't get a velvet painting of it ;-)

I have actually designed ornaments for a living, and I remember thinking the first time I saw an image similar to this one, that I wished I had thought of it.
As far as mass-market religious sentimentality goes, it serves as a pretty decent symbolic reminder that the merry-making aspects of the season should always be properly subordinate to the religious.

There's a nice book for children that goes along with this ornament (we have 2, both painted by my mother in law). The book explains that Santa Claus is St. Nicholas, a few traditions associated with him, and ends with santa bringing a gift to the Christ Child. His gift is a collection of loving deeds done by folks around the world.
Benedict, children are too smart for that type of confusion. I've heard the same argument that you shouldn't teach them greek mythology lest they confuse Zeus with God. my 7 year old thought that was SO STUPID.

So -- explain that Santa Claus is St. Nicholas of Myra, who was real.

I have an old book about holiday customs that warns against using a display with both Jesus and Santa Claus. The argument is that children will associate the two together and conclude that either both are real or both are imaginary.

We have a Christmas tree ornament just like that.
Cool stuff.