Santa Secrets

[SmurfBlueSnuggie]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/75656/

When did everyone else learn?

For me, it didn't come as much of a surprise because I'd already "caught" the tooth fairy. I don't remember how old I was, but I remember that my parents must have chosen a really great age. Because part of the explanation included the invitation to get to help stuff my siblings' stockings. I was probably more excited about helping than I had been about Santa for a couple of years. A few years later when my sister learned, we fought over who got to stuff our brother's stocking. We now each stuff each other's. My mom sets out what goes in which one and we all take a turn sneaking up to her room and filling the stockings. It's great. And we always still have packages from Santa.

[Violet]

I actually liked the way my mom told me. I was 5 or so and we read stories about different Christmas traditions. I mean, it probably helped that we had the great 391 section at the library, but I liked it.

[Whistler]

I believed in Santa for a looooong time. I have a predisposition that likes believing in magical things, and I'm also very faithful! I accused my mother of lying to me about Santa recently, and she told me how she would always ask what I thought and I think she tried to tell me my parents are Santa's helpers. She'd give me hints, like "it has to be someone who knows you, and who spends a lot of time with you..." but I'd just think she was referring to Santa. I think last year I told her she wasn't very forthright, and she said she wanted to "let me believe" as long as I wanted. I guess it was fun, but it was still fun after I knew it wasn't Santa.

I'll probably carry on the Santa tradition with my kids, as in, they'll get special presents on Christmas day, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to tell them it's "real."

[Portia]

My brother never believed in Santa. My mom told me he wasn't real, but I believed til I was 9 or 10 in spite of it. I don't plan on telling my kids. I don't like the idea of promoting magical thinking.

[SmurfBlueSnuggie]

I'll probably tell mine, but they'll always know Mom and Dad are "helpers" and that somehow, someday, they can be too. Because Santa is an idea and a tradition, not a person. At least to me.

That said, my sister and brother continue to track Santa every year despite knowing the truth.

[Marduk]

I never believed in santa, nor will my children.

[Dragon Lady]

I honestly can't remember when I figured it out. But that can be said about many things. (Like the Birds and the Bees. I don't think I ever got a talk about it. But I also grew up on a farm where things like, "#6810 is in heat" and "#320 is riding #810" were common phrases.) I do remember one year my brother trying to tell me Santa wasn't real. And I knew he was right. But I didn't want to believe him. Or at least I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being the one to break it to me. So I vehemently disagreed with him and insisted that I had found one of Santa's gloves in the fireplace the year before, so I knew he was real. But I honestly don't know what age I was. But I remember the conversation happened in my mom and dad's office... Maybe somewhere between 6 and 8? ish?

As for my kids, I wrote up a blog post on how we're handling it in my family. I'll pm the link to anyone who cares and hasn't read it already.

[wryness]

My parents never specifically told me that Santa was real, as far as I can recall. Whenever I asked about him, they would give a roll-your-eyes-up-and-start-whistling-and-ask-"What do you think?" type of response. "Santa" only stuffed our stockings, so my parents got credit for all of the gifts they gave us, and that kind of sent the unspoken message that Santa wasn't really real. I don't remember when I found out, but I wasn't really disappointed because my parents hadn't set me up for disappointment. Christmas was always more about family than anything else--something I really like now in retrospect, and plan on doing with my own children.

...unlike some neighbors who told their child that Santa Claus was one of Jesus's apostles. I'm not sure why they thought it was a good idea to turn a relatively harmless childhood lie into an enormous lie and mix it with religion. "Yeah! Santa Claus is real! Just like Jesus!"

[Portia]

...unlike some neighbors who told their child that Santa Claus was one of Jesus's apostles. I'm not sure why they thought it was a good idea to turn a relatively harmless childhood lie into an enormous lie and mix it with religion. "Yeah! Santa Claus is real! Just like Jesus!" :shock: :?

I'm stealing this because awesome.

[Katya]

I shared my Santa experiences here and here. (Summary: Finding out about Santa backfired badly for me, but I'd still be comfortable doing some sort of "Santa lite" with my (hypothetical) kids.)

[Portia]

I shared my Santa experiences here and here. (Summary: Finding out about Santa backfired badly for me, but I'd still be comfortable doing some sort of "Santa lite" with my (hypothetical) kids.)

I missed those the first time around. Thanks for re-sharing.