Santa Clause - Valrico, FL

I was just asked what I was going to tell my kids by my over-bearing, no-nonsense sister. She said she didn't teach her 4 kids about Santa, that she thought of it as lying to them. I see it differently and told her this. When it comes time to tell my daughter I will explain that the best thing about Christmas is the magic of it all. Adults understand that concept, but for a child the easiest way to understand is to have a character to believe in that is the very essence of that magic. I believe in the spirit of Santa and will explain it in that way. Good luck to you and Merry Christmas!

Not one person mentioned the movie the "Polar Express" so far. I think that movie is one of the best Samta movies out there.

I can tell you as a child I believed until I was 10 and then my mom decided I was plenty old enough to know the "truth". I was devastated when she told me. I didn't ask her ... she opted to tell me.

My daughter is 10 - almost 10 and a half and she still believes. It's ok with me that she believes in the spirit of Santa.

In my house you must believe to receive! :)

Hi...that was such a hard subject to encounter for my 3 children as they grew-up...The way I handled it was I told them that the being of Sanata is not in human form as we see the pictures, but Santa is a person of the heart that we all carry to help with the real reason of the holiday which was to love one another and give gifts to the people we love like the wise men gave gifts to Jesus to celebrate his birthday. As the time proceeded in history and more people did not believe in Jesus we were given another being to "believe" in, which was Santa Claus. So like Jesus is a real person in our hearts so is Santa....and they were all 3 able to accept that therory and still believe even though it was not a real live living breathing physical being.....Hope it helps you.

My children are 11 & 13. We have always encouraged there belief in Santa Claus, even taking them this week to take a picture on Santa's Lap. We have never told them Santa Claus is real. When asked we always asked them questions to encourage them to think in there heart what they wanted to believe. Jesus Christ is a very important part of the Holiday Season to our family and I never want to hinder there faith in Jesus. I always believed if we lied to them by saying Santa Claus is real that in may cause them to question there faith in Jesus, another man they can not see. When my 13 year old was 9 or 10 she really started to express a concern that Santa was not able to deliver presents to everywhere unless Jesus helped him, and nowhere does it talk about Jesus helping Santa in the Bible. At this point I went to the book store and looked for some books to read on the subject. I bought a book from our local Christian book store about a man named saint nicholas who did a lot for children.
A Gift From St. Nicholas by:Cristine Bolley. I bought another book that I must have lent out and not gotten back, because I can not find it that talk about the spirit of giving. My 13 year old has never told anyone that Santa was not real, and when asked about Santa she always tells people why is it so important that you do not want people to believe in Santa? She loves the idea of giving, and is always looking for things she can do for others at Christmas. I have always felt like Santa was special. I do not take the same approach to the Easter Bunny or the tooth fairy. Good Luck and trust yourself as a mother, you know your son best.

Ah...and such is life. Your son (and your daughter) will, throughout their life, meet many who will not view things - or believe in - the same things as they do. It's a hard path to stand firm and be unwaivered by others' "need" to taunt and tease. My husband and I, too, are trying our best to preserve our children's innocence during this age when 4-yr olds are into the Bratz and playing video games has replaced the yearning to read books. We are also trying to teach our oldest son (who is going to be 7 in Feb) how to rely on his own and be unmoved in his own decision-making regardless of what others might think/believe. It's heartwarming to hear he still believes in Santa Claus. To me, it tells me that you're raising him up well, sheltered enough to preserve the innocence that this world is so quick to let go. Whether you believe it's time to reveal the truth is simply up to you. And if you decide you'd like to preserve the innocence just a little longer, until he's really pushing a discussion on the topic, I believe that's OK, too. With your support, his ability to articulate his own belief only builds character, confidence, and strength to withstand outside influence and others' inevitable remarks. (It's good practice for years to come.) Until now, I hadn't thought about how I would approach the topic with my boys. "Who is Santa? Why isn't he real?" But I'm certain that we'll reference God in some analogy... perhaps that Santa represents God and the gifts that Santa brings us represents all the intangible gifts that God bestows upon us...they represent the goodness, the family and friends we share gifts (our lives) with, and the love that we share with others...that the gifts are merely a token but do not compare to all of the important things in life that money can't buy. Perhaps we'll say that believing in Santa is a little about believing in yourself and believing in God. I'd be really interested in knowing how it works out for you. Please let me know! Good luck and Merry Christmas!

hi mom of 3 ages 10.8 and 3 . I have always shared the true meaning of what christmas is about and it's not santa. I do let them believe but when they get older i do tell them there once a saint nick years ago. My kids take it pretty well.

Can't remember quite how old I was (I'm thinking probably around 10-12 yrs. old) at the time when I started questioning whether or not Santa was real. But when I did start questioning, my dad sat down and read a book with me. Can't remember the exact book, but it it asked the question...Santa are you for real? As I remember, it told the story of the true Santa Claus - St. Nick, and then as the story ended, it left it open for imagination. I remember that after reading the story, I understood that St. Nick was REAL back in the day, but then I still kind of questioned whether or not Santa was still real today - made me know in my mind that he was truely not real, but the idea of him was, and then again I didn't NOT want to believe because it was fun...

As I said, I don't know the exact book that my parents gave to me, but I found one online called "Santa Are You for Real" & it sounds pretty similar; here's a review link ==>
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Santa-Are-Yo...

Then to top it all off, after leaving the story to rattle my brain, either that same year or the year after, my parents arranged for us kids to see Santa at work leaving gifts under our Christmas tree. Late Christmas Eve night just arriving home from midnight church services, we pulled up in our car to our house to see Santa Claus all decked out in his suit inside our front room with all the lights on & leaving gifts. By the time we all pilled out of the car and opened the front door, he was gone...we were amazed at how fast he flew up our chimney & dashed off our roof! (Years later to find out that it was really a family friend in costume & he really dashed out the back door to his car around the block!) But it was a memorable Christmas that year, and made me realize that no matter what my friends thought...I would always believe in the fun and imagination of Santa & Christmas.

And I hope to pass on a similar story book & spectical for my young daughter when she gets to the age of questioning.

Good luck to you...

Well, I am no where near this point as my kids are 3 and 5, but I can tell you this....Christmas is HUGE in my family and I was 11 when I found out he really didn't exist - meaning I actually caught my parents setting out the gifts. My parents would have never told me that Santa didn't exist! Even my niece (12) asks about it, but we all say the same thing to her...No matter what YOU think or hear from others, if you do not believe in Santa he doesn't come.

I was 15 when my brother got married and they lived with us for a few months around Christmas. My sister-n-law thought we were crazy when we talked about what we wanted Santa to bring us. She kept saying, in front of my parents, that Santa doesn't exist. While we kept telling her the same thing we tell my niece now, she still said he didn't exist. Well, when Christmas morning came and we all got out to see our gifts (Santa doesn't wrap presents in my house and sets everything in piles by person) my sister-n-law didn't have a pile. When my brother asked why, my mom told him that Beth said she didn't believe and Santa only comes to those that believe. Anyway - at about 1:00 that afternoon my Dad made a big scene about a bunch of stuff in the garage and sure enough "Santa" put my sister-n-laws presents in there. She will never say Santa doesn't exist! :-)

Not sure that this helps, but when we told my niece that story she swore she would never say Santa wasn't real! :-)

Merry Christmas!!
Sam

Hi:
I have a 10 year old and a 6 year old and last year my 10 year old ask me about Santa. I told her the story about who Santa was and how he helped a lot of people in his time. She enjoyed the story, and I also told her that there are beautiful traditions that we love to keep.

She understood and then I told her that she had to keep the secret (which she enjoys keeping a secret) and not to tell her sister and little brother.

I also told her that by not telling the little ones she still has the priviledge to receive gifts. Her gifts are suprise, she is so excited about Christmas still.

Hope this helps, C.

S., I must say I understand your dilemma. Although my son is still so young he doesn't even know what Christmas is (he's only 10mo), my sister (who is 10 years younger then me) I vividly remember Santa. And unfortunately, my father from day one always told my mom and I that he would not lie to his daughter, and if she asked he would tell her the truth, that Santa is not real. We died!!! But, eventually she asked, and he said no, and she was ok. But what we told her is that Santa, may not be a real person, but the spirit of what giving is all about. And just a reminder that it is better to give then receive. We also led into what Christmas is truly about, and that is Jesus being born. And how Santa is a fun way to think about something special happening and giving to others, just like Jesus gave so much to us. We told her Santa was a spirit inside of all of us, and to this day, you can ask any of my family (except my dad of course!!) and we all still believe in Santa. Hope that helps.

Hi S.,
St. Nicholas was a real person. I told my children when they were on the fence about Santa the story of St. Nick. They still get presents from good ole St. Nick. My oldest is 22, my other is almost 10. Then I have a 2 year old grandbaby. When you read the story about him the spirit of St. Nick is about giving to others, so I or anyone else can have that spirit and give to anyone and all that I choose to give to. Both of my children would tell you that the spirit of Santa lives on in their heart, and that is what's important. Good luck in whatever you decide, and have a very Merry Christmas.

K.

I was 10 years old and still believed and would argue with classmates as well. I found out because my mom let me fall asleep on the couch and I woke up to her putting the presents under the tree(what was she thinking?) It is tough because I see where your husband is going with it.....It is a real shame you have to consider telling him just becasue some kids at school make you feel he will be teased. (Kids can be cruel) Why dont you let him enjoy being a kid and experiencing the excitement that comes allong with believing and tell him not to discuss it with the other kids. Thats a tough one sorry you have to deal with this.

Whenever we directly asked my mom about Santa Claus, she would say "Santa Claus is the spirit of Christmas." That's absolutely all she would say! When we were younger, we took that to mean that he was real. As we got older, we understood it more--that it was not the person in the suit, but all the great things people do for each other. But none of us ever felt like we "learned that Santa wasn't real"--there are four of us, and I've heard enough stories by now to know that is pretty rare. (Oh--and she always called the guys in the mall "Santa's helpers")

I don't know if this will work with your son at this age, but I hope it will suggest a solution. Maybe you can make him feel secure enough to let his classmates have their opinions without arguing.

I think it's great that you care so much!

How precious that your children still have a fantasy. I don't know what your faith is, so this may impact your childrens belief, but never the less there is far to much "sophistication" of our children today, let them be children for as long as possible. Ask him what he knows, as you said he is "bordering". If he is coming to the reality that "Santa" is a fantasy, but the feeling and meaning of Christmas is what the mystery is about. Ask him to help protect the reality for his sister. And remember "When you stop believing in Santa, you get underware for Christmas." Have a blessed Christmas season.

If your son asks right out then tell him the truth but also explain to him that you don't want to spoil the fun for the younger sister. My youngest stopped believing long before my oldest did. They learned the truth from friends at school but didn't come to me about it for a long time after. They said they didn't want to ruin Christmas for me. But if he doesn't ask then leave it alone. When he is ready to stop believing he will. I asked both of my girls about this and they say the same thing. Unless he askes don't tell..............What my Mom did for me was to let me help wrap the presents for my brothers. That took the hurt of finding out the truth away and gave me something to look forward to. Also I had an Aunt that let me help wrap my cousins presents after I found out the truth......

Merry Christams S.!

I didn't read your other posts yet, I just wanted to share my story with you. My daughter was 8 years old when my mother-in-law (whom is a Jehovahs Witness) told her that there was no such thing as Santa. I really think I was more devestated then she was. But since the cat was out of the bag, I wanted to be honest with her. So I told her that there really was a Santa, it just isn't who you think it is. It didn't take her long to figure out I was talking about me. I will never forget what she said when she figured it out, " Everything makes so much sense now, who else could see me while I was sleeping".

Now she is 11 and she still talks about Santa, except she refers to him as her and she puts out my favorite cookies on Christams eve. She loves to keep the tradition going for her younger cousins.

Well, my son is five going on six, and I think as soon as he was old enough to really understand things, he knew Santa was us. I think it's great to keep them innocent but you also have to be truthful with them and not have your son resent you because he was adament to the kids in his class that there is a Santa and was told by everyone that there isn't. My son one day just said I know you're Santa and the same with the tooth fairy but we still play along and say you have to be good so Santa will bring you something or put your tooth under the pillow so the tooth fairy can come give you some money. He even knows where I keep his teeth at but that's okay because he knows the truth and yet the innocent side of him enjoys pretending it's real along with my inner child. Oh, almost forgot, just remind him that he shouldn't spoil the fun for the younger child. She'll find out in her own time.

It's sad to think we have to tell one day isn't it? I found out in 3rd grade. A friend came to school and said she asked her mom and her mom told her the truth. I was sad but let my parents think I believe till I was 11/12 too. It was harder not to tell my younger cousins but I didn't want to ruin it for them either. If your son still believes then let him. If it all changes with the Easter Bunny then you can tell him then. If they believe then they receive :) Good luck.

Hi S.,
I'm in the same boat you are:) Our son is 11 (in 6th grade) and still believes in Santa...or at least he is trying to still believe despite some friends telling him otherwise. I feel the same as you do about the "sweetness" of it, but I also know how cruel some kids are. He asked me outright the other day and I told him that the spirit of Santa lives in our heart and it's fun to still believe in the magic of Christmas. Kind of vague but it sounded good:) I do remember asking my mom in 6th grade and I cried when I found out the truth.
I guess I don't really have a good answer for you, but I know exactly what your going through. I've often wondered why we agree to "lie" to our kids when it's so hard to have to tell them the truth later on:)
Susie

My son is also 9 almost 10. He still believes. His classmates also tell him different. No, I would notm and I am not going to tell him Santa is not real. Why take away one of the most presious things about their childhood ( believing in Santa?) I would tell your husband that he will be chalanged by others about many things in his life. This will teach him how to stick up for what he believes in. There is nothing wrong with him believing in Santa. My friend son is 13 and still believes. Like from the time they were born, follow you mother insticts not what other people tell you. You do what you fell is right and it will probly be right. We were given mother insticts as a gift for a reason, because we almost always know whats best.

There is nothing like believing like a child.
Let me know how it goes.
C.