Santa and My SIL That Has Her Kids Not Believing

Hello how are you doing? When I was a child I believed in Santa and did until I was about 9 years old. My Husband did not want our Daughter believing in Santa either, because his family and Church taught him not to believe in Santa ,because Christmas is only about Jesus and we are Christians and I know that Jesus is the reason for the season and I Love God with all my heart, but that does not mean that Kaitlyn cannot believe in Santa and so I am telling her about Santa anyways and this saturday I am taking her to see Santa and get pictures! I am not sure what to tell you about your situation, I have often thought of that myself!
J.

I went thru the same thing last year with my sister in laws kids I was mad but I told my children that Santa did not stop at there house b/c they did not believe in him and they have been on the bad list.. I have 3 children and now my oldest knows the truth but he never ruins it for the other 2..

Good Luck

I have so many fond memories of 'Santa' with the family. Still to this day I believe I saw him going up the attic steps when I was in second grade! My siblings and I were talking about putting our letters up the chimney just this Thanksgiving. I still remember my son's face Christmas morning when he saw that Santa had eaten his cookies and drunk his beer <grin>. Have you talked to your sister-in-law about the situation. Could she talk to her kids and tell them the little ones believe and not to mention it? Would your brother do it? My son believed until the fourth grade even though his friends didn't - mainly because we played it up. You could tell your kids that Santa doesn't come to those who don't believe in him. Which I believe is true. My son still gets gifts from Santa even though he is 16. He labels some for me from Santa too <grin>. He understands its the spirit of the holidays. Believe it or not, he was petrified of Santa - wouldn't sit on his lap, didn't look at him when we walked by, etc. But he was excited about Santa when he wasn't around -lol. He still doesn't like people dressed up as other things - clowns, mascots, etc. I wouldn't worry too much about this. It will happen eventually anyway, but its all how you handle it when they have questions. I'd just tell her kids that Santa is the spirit of Christmas and you'd like their cousins to believe in him for a few more years and could they please not say anything. Do bribes work with them <grin>? Good luck. Jule

I think that u should respect her way of going about it but be sure to let ur newphews know that in ur house santa is alive and kicking and apart of ur holiday tradition. Encourage them to play along and to not spoil their cousins belief in him. My aunt and cousins do holidays different too and when we went over to her house we played along with how they done christmas and done it our way at home.U can even have ur SIL explain it to her kids how u do things in ur home and to not to force what they believe on their cousins.

My ex-husband chose to tell our then 4 yr old that there was no santa, easter bunny, tooth fairy ect. I was furious because it was something I wasnt ready for him to know at that age. But once he did know I explained that alot of other kids didnt know, including his cousins and it wasnt his place to tell them, it was their parents and he understood that.

I hope that your SIL will respect your wish for you children TO belive as you have respected her wish for her children NOT to. Perhaps gently mention that to her...hopefully she will be understanding. But what her children say to your children is a different story. Lets hope they arent mean spirited and would say such things just to be mean.

But should that happen and your children come to you and ask for the "truth" I have found that its easier to tell them to look in their heart and its ok to believe what they want. They wont get any less toys for believing or not believing. I'm 37 and Santa still comes to my house every year...blessings are something you are never too old for.

Maybe you could ask your SIL to remind her children that their cousins believe Santa that is a real person and that they should be careful not to spoil it for them. I have never done Santa either, and as a child my parents explained to me that others do, so I should not tell them otherwise. It worked for me and my sister! Good luck.

Laura

We don't do Santa in my house either. We tell my daughter the real story of St. Nick and leave it at that. I bet you SIL has thought this through and shared with her children not to say anything. My daughter knows this is a secret just between but I have also told her to not lie. With that being said as a parent we have to make the decisions that are right for our families. She has done what is right for her family and you have done what is right for you family. I think you are worring for no reason.