Why Parents Say Black Santa is so Important for Kids

By Rosie Colosi When you buy Santa pajamas for your kids, do you pause to examine the color of Santa’s skin? These moms do. “The second Labor Day hits, I order Black Santa pajamas,” says Rebecca Kaiser of Charlestown, Massachusetts. Old Navy was one of the first places she found Black Santa pajamas for her children, daughter Haven, 9, and son Zeke, 6, and buying them there has become a tradition. This year, you can even purchase the same set of pjs with Santas in three different hues: beige, walnut or cocoa. It wouldn’t be Christmas for Zeke and Haven Kaiser Wagner without Black Santa jammies.Courtesy Rebecca Kaiser Because Kaiser and her wife, Natalie Wagner, have a different racial background than their adopted children, they go the extra mile to make sure that Haven and Zeke feel represented in all aspects of their lives. “When it comes to the holidays, we have always looked at this as an extension of the importance of cultural representation so that they can see that someone as magical and as amazing as Santa can be Black like them too,” Kaiser says. Kaiser and Wagner take the kids to the annual Black Market in Boston’s...