Thursdays Question of the Day: 12.19.13

Sorry it's late today.. Things has been busy at work lately!

I was talking to an 11 year old boy earlier at work.. and I was surprised to find he still strongly believes in Santa Claus.

At what age did you stop believing? Would you encourage a child to stop believing at a certain age?

I was never fully raised to believe in Santa. My dad wanted me to believe, my mom didn't. She was a hardcore believer as a kid and it tore her little heart up to find out "IT WAS ALL A BIG LIE!", as she put it. So I got very mixed signals as a kid, which translated into me not really caring. I got toys for Christmas. From whom they came was really secondary. 

So for my kids, I raised them to believe in Santa because their father was also a very die-hard believer as a kid. His mom would go ALL OUT for it. Including having a neighbor dress up as Santa, walk across their roof so he'd hear it in his bed. One year he set up a camera in his living room and "rigged it" to go off when triggered by a string (that realistically would never work, but he was young enough that he was convinced it would). And he woke up to images of Santa's back, then Santa turning, then Santa looking shocked, then Santa covering his face, then Santa fleeing, leaving behind his giant red sack and a bunch of toys still in it. He was maybe 7 when this happened. When he found out it wasn't real, probably around 10 or 11, he just appreciated all the effort his mom had put into it.

When we had our kids, he never crawled on the roof, but he'd run around the house with sleigh bells, and we'd always eat the cookies and drink the milk left out for Santa (not to forget the carrots for the reindeer). When my daughter was 8 or 9 I told her Santa wasn't real, because kids had been talking about it on her school bus, so she began to question it. However, we kept the ruse up for her brother, who's 4 years younger. And just this past weekend, she made a comment about Santa being real. It really blew me away. A few times since we told her he isn't real, she's had moments where she's made comments that suggest she still believes, so I explain it again and she says she gets it. So now, at nearly 12 years old, for her to still seem to think he's real... I can't even begin to comprehend it. This time I seriously had to just call her out.

So her response, in her regular dramatic fashion, was to ask, "Why do parents lie to their kids about Santa?" ... I told her it's a fun tradition. Like the Easter Bunny and I almost said the Tooth Fairy, but she still believes in that one! Ugh. Anyway, for the way she asked it, I really wanted to tell her to go ask nana. The two could wallow in the tragedy of Santa being a big lie!

So her brother is almost 8 and I'm not putting presents from Santa under the tree this year. Maybe that's too young to cut it, but little kids get bullied around here by bigger kids for believing in Santa.

A big WHITE lie, according to some "news" personalities. XD

Sorry, I just thought of that and made myself giggle. Had to share. Hahaha.

I never believed in Santa Claus. I always knew the true meaning of Christmas.

If I ever were to have kids I would not let them believe in Santa Claus. I do not encourage children to stop believing, because I don't really talk to kids... but I do not agree with allowing children to believe in Santa Claus.

I still believe in Santa Claus! He made us willingly buy gifts for our daughter, for years, putting his name on the tags!

I think I was 9 when my mother told me. She got very serious and had me sit in her lap; expecting me to be very upset.  Sorry Mom; didn't care at all!    I think it bothered me more that she was making me sit in her lap.

My husband was never raised to believe in Santa and we have no plans to do Santa with our kids.  DD seems to have found a belief in him though; probably through the Christmas movies we have.  We tell her it's pretend and I've told her a little about how Santa came to be.  I also tell her that sometimes people get so excited for Santa; they forget that we are celebrating Jesus' birthday, and that's not what Santa ever wanted. 

I was fairly old, 11 or 12. I kept hearing the rumors at school and would come home and ask my mom if he really existed. She always said yes. Finally, I remember asking/telling her. 'Look, they are making fun of me because I still believe. What is the truth?' She said the fat man in red does not exist, but Santa is the embodiment of charity, the joy of giving and the Christmas spirit, so in a way, he does exist and always will. And I still agree with her to this day. Also, I am the baby of the family so I think she was having a hard time with me letting go of childhood.

I might be an oddity but I did believe in santa and was terrified of him along with the tooth fairy and the easter bunny. I was terrified that santa could see me sleeping and that he could get into my house and wonder around. The tooth fairy was my biggest fear though because one - she collected teeth and two - she came into my room and put her hand under my pillow while I slept! I spent a good part of my childhood afraid of these imaginary beings that my parents told me were real.

I started noticing the handwriting on presents throughout the year looked alike, santa had the same writing as my mom apparently. I asked her about it one year and she said that yes santa was indeed fake. . . I was so mad at her that I cried, how many Chirstmas eves did I lay in bed sweating unable to sleep, how many teeth did I not want to fall out in fear of the tooth fairy? My mom felt awful when she found out I was a big fat chicken, I won't lie to my kids in fear they might be like me and be scared lol. Besides being mad that I was scared so often I was also super mad that I had been lied to for year, I just wish they had been honest with me. I guess if I'd told them how scared I was, maybe they would've been honest sooner.

I was also afraid of bigfoot, aliens and even Jesus and the thought of God watching me. My dad used to watch a lot of alien abduction junk on tv and paranormal stuff, I'd sit and watch it like a big girl then be awake for 24 hours in fear I'd be abducted lol.

As an adult I don't get scared easily and enjoy horror movies and all things creepy, thankfully I grew out of my everything is terrifying phase! 

This is funny. My brother called me last night to let me know his 11 year-old daughter told him yesterday that she knows the truth. He said it was a really cute conversation with her asking about the milk and cookies they would leave, etc.

I caught my parents putting the gifts under the tree one year. I don't remember how old I was.

I knew about Santa when I was quite young, but I don't remember how I knew. We used to get gifts from Santa....the card said To: Pam, From: Santa Claus (but yeah, his writing was just like my mom's too!). We also received small presents from Rudolph. I think one year we even got a present from Frosty....I have no idea why. But we carried that idea on to our son, so he always received gifts specifically from Santa Claus, too. Our son came home from school one day and asked me about Santa and I told him that I thought Santa lived in our hearts. Sounds sappy, I know, but he got it.

I remember my niece being petrified of Santa when she was young. One Christmas Eve, she was absolutely terrified that Santa was going to come down the chimneys (because that's what she knew) and no way did she want that man in their house. Her parents stayed up with her pretty much all night because she was so scared. My sister has a very old house (early 1800's) with five working fireplaces, so you can imagine how frightened my niece was until she outgrew that phase. 

Ha! You brought back memories, Pam.

l believed in Santa until l was 8 or so. We lived in England and had full fireplaces with chimneys as mentioned above. l can remember being young and pleading with my parents to put out our roaring coal fire so Santa/Father Christmas wouldn't burn his bum, lol.

I work in a grade school so I hear both ways all the time amongst the little ones. Believe me, by the time they are in first grade some little grinch has mentioned there is no Christmas! That's about when someone told me!  I was standing right there when a little guy looked at me and asked if there was a Santa, cause he could tell the Santa on the street was fake. I told him there was no way Santa could be everywhere at once, so we celebrate his spirit and goodness like he was truly here and I kept him in my heart. He seemed satisfied. I want to wish EVERYONE a very Merry Christmas, and a happy birthday to Jesus who would want all of us to be caring and kind on His birthday! I will be gone for three weeks after today, but will try to get some computer time in at least once a week. (no computer at home), in the meantime, take care and have a Happy New Year!