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The Santa Question(s)
Will you (or, do you) tell your kids there is a Santa Claus? Did your parents tell you there was one? When did you discover the "truth" about Santa?
Two stories...
My friend's parents decided they didn't want to "lie" to her, so when she was two, they told her there was no Santa. She told them THEY were lying, and that Santa was going to be mad at them. She continued to believe for the next five or so years.
Now, I on the other hand explained to my mom (when I was four) how I figured out she and my dad were "Santa." She tells me that she remembers staring at me and thinking "Well...I can't argue with her..." so she told me I was right. Only problem? When I started kindergarten and Christmas time rolled around, I decided to share with a class full of 25 five-year-olds my wonderous knowledge.....at which point most of the class started crying, I got in huge trouble, parents needed to be called, etc.
Anyone else have a Santa story?
Re: The Santa Question(s)
We'll probably go along with it, to a point anyways. Although I'm not terribly religious, it bothers me that the reason for the season often seems lost.
I figured out what the deal was when I was 7 and found my parents stash of presents in the hall closet.
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I have no clue. I don't remember knowing there was/wasn't a santa. I do remember being in on it with my little sister and telling her santa did exist.
SBS I can just picture you standing in front of the class and being so proud of your information!
You mean Santa isn't real? But, my mom said if you don't believe you don't receive. And I still get presents from Santa under the tree.
But for real, we will go along with it up until they figure it out on their own. I was probably 9 or 10 before I didn't believe in Santa, but I am lame like that.
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I don't remember ever finding out there wasn't a Santa, though I did notice that he had the exact same hand writing as the tooth fairy and my dad. I don't remember it being a relevatory moment and I certainly didn't ruin it for any other kid (or have it ruined for me by another kid).
I fully plan to go along with the Santa story, and I have it all planned out, too. If a kid doubts he can make all the houses in one night: he's magic. Mall Santas: filling in for him--the real Santa is at the north pole, obviously, making the toys, so these guys are filling in so you can take your picture, like an actor in a movie isn't the real guy or the guys who dress up like Batman on Hollywood Blvd. When they get much older: Santa is a spirit of giving that lives inside each one of us. It's an expression of love, and that is real.
And, for the record, I still get gifts from Santa. I also get gifts from Rudolph, Crumpet the elf, Mrs. Claus, and sometimes Jimmy Stewart (my dad is the cutest dad in the whole world).
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Me too! And we still get gifts from Santa every year. At work Santa is becoming really popular (daycare, gotta love it) so it's fun to really get into it for the kids. Plus the older ones are really well behaved for the last two weeks or so leading up to Santa's big day...it's amazing!
I'm not sure how old I was... most likely 4 or 5 but I do remember ruining it for my little sister when she was 3ish. She cried, I got in trouble. I'm pretty sure I caught my parents putting presents under the tree and dad eating Santa's cookies. We still however get presents from Santa.
We'll go along with it and let our kids believe in Santa until they figure it out. Hopefully they aren't dumb and they figure it out at a decent age so there is no crying in school incident should there be a little SBS in their class.
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I'm riding it out as long as I can! I love the Santa story! I remember thinking my parents were so cool for playing along with it for our sakes.
I remember the excited feeling I used to have when I was little. One year my dad even got on the roof and jingled bells-I swore the reindeers were at our house!
Our friends came over Friday night and their 7 year old asked my H. "How is Santa going to stuff your stockings if you already have presents in there?" My H had a quick recovery. He said those presents were just left over from last year.?
Close one!?
Gee thanks :-P This is the problem with being a young only child -- I had no cousins, no siblings, nada. I also had a kindergarten teacher who always encouraged us to "share our thoughts and things we learned" because "sharing and learning are very important". I thought I was doing a good thing!
Amusingly, two years later (when my first brother was born), I jumped right back into believing and never told either of my brothers. We all still get presents from "Santa" (I did even after I figured it out when I was four).
DH is totally against the Santa thing. I personally love it. Still haven't decided which way we'll go if/when we have kids...
I never really believed in Santa- it didn't make sense to me. When I was about 4, I told my mom that the flying reindeers were fine, the elves made sense, etc. etc. but I just didn't understand how he could go to every house in the whole world in one night. That was the end of that.
But we did play along, leave cookies out for santa, etc. Mom & Dad did our stockings, but there would usually be at least a few "Santa presents" under the tree. They were always the boring things like socks, underwear, etc. and it was our family joke. (we'd always open those last cause they weren't fun)
I have no intention of outright telling my kids there IS a Santa Claus, but we will definitely take them to see Santa, leave out cookies, and enjoy the fun of the story!
Haha - I'm actually surprised I wasnt that kid too... I was such a know-it-all about everything else.
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I think I'd let them believe there was a Santa until they figured it out. I remember when I was younger I would feel so excited waiting for Santa. And one year my parents pulled the same thing as Angelfire's with the bells coming from the roof. And then when we went outside to see Santa we saw a red bag filled with all our presents, and that's when my mom said we must have just missed Santa. Best Christmas memory for sure.
And once I figured out Santa did not exist, I used to feel so cool playing along with the adults and telling my younger cousins that Santa was on his way. So even once the oldest figures out Santa is not real, I would let them know they should still pretend in front of their younger cousins/siblings.
I'll play along for a little while with my kids...probably.
I found out there was no Santa when I was about 2 - 2.5 yrs old. My parents had a fire in the fireplace and I asked them how Santa would get down the chimney with a fire in the fireplace. My mom was amazed...looked at my dad for a quick response. My dad said "oh, well Santa has a special key that enables him to get into the houses with fires...he can tell if there is smoke coming from the chimney and will use the key." I promptly said "no, that's not right because we are the only ones with keys to our house." My parents realized at that point it was a lost cause and told me the truth. I proceeded to "ruin it" for my best friend in first grade.
Yeah, this is what I don't understand -- I mean, I got in trouble in kindergarten too (I think I lost recess for the day or something). I think it's ridiculous that schools can punish kids for something like this.
I agree, I know my mom would be talking to principal too, if I got in trouble at that age for saying Santa wasn't real.