Why Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell are telling their kids the truth about Santa

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell are the parents of two daughters, 5-year-old Lincoln and 3-year-old Delta. And while they have their fair share of family traditions, pretending that Santa Claus is real isn’t one of them.

Shepard told Us Weekly that while it may be an unpopular opinion, he and his wife don’t buy into the lying about Santa Claus game with their kids.

“This is going to be very controversial,” he admitted to the publication. “I have a fundamental rule that I will never lie to them, which is challenging at times. Our 5-year-old started asking questions [about Santa] like, ‘Well, this doesn’t make sense, and that doesn’t make sense.’ I’m like, ‘You know what? This is just a fun thing we pretend while it’s Christmas.'”

But apparently, the honesty hasn’t ruined the spirit of the season at all for his girls.

“They love watching movies about Santa, they love talking about Santa,” he told Us Weekly. “They don’t think he exists, but they’re super happy and everything’s fine.”

The actor also opened up about the Christmastime traditions he and his family do cherish, such as heading back to visit his family in Oregon and dressing alike — which sounds like a lot of fun!

“We have matching onesies. There’s Santa hats that we wear,” he said. “And the kids have matching Christmas pajamas.”

If you follow Shepard on Instagram, you’re not surprised that his holiday season involves matching pajamas. In fact, it would appear that matching is kind of this family’s thing, no matter the holiday.

Just look at him and Bell on the Fourth of July:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWIOO3IDrZC/

And in December of 2016, he and Bell wore matching festive outfits:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BONf0STBR1x/

He’s also been known to rock a onesie on more than one occasion:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcxtUOoDz44/

Of course, these parents loop their kids in on the fun of this, too, considering they share pretty much “everything” with them.

“We talk very bluntly, in some people’s opinion, to our children about everything,” Bell told HelloGiggles, explaining the parents’ open and honest approach to parenting.

Whether their daughters believe in Santa or no, it seems as though, above all, these parents care that their daughters can think for themselves. That’s why there are no non-truths coming from these two — even when it comes to classic tales as old as Santa and even Disney princesses:

“Every time we close ‘Snow White’ I look at my girls and ask, ‘Don’t you think it’s weird that Snow White didn’t ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple? Or where she got that apple?’ I say, ‘I would never take food from a stranger, would you?’ And my kids are like, ‘No!’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m doing something right,'” the mom told Parents magazine.

Whenever you feel as though you’re “doing something right” for your family — that’s a parenting win!