Santa's Existence

Well, we are Jewish so he has always known there is no Santa. However he has NEVER told his non Jewish friends. Last year (he was 5), he told me he was going to let his friends continue to believe in the Easter Bunny because it made them happy.

Santa exists. I work for him. Don't you?

I have told my children that parents help Santa a LOT and I have told my oldest he can help soon too. If many, many people all over the world do the same thing at the same time, how is that not real?

All that said, I am a wee bit worried about whether my oldest (now 8) is going to see it that way. I better scroll down to see what happened for others....

Whaaaattt? He doesn't exist? No way, I think you are wrong, I just saw him at the mall last week.

:0) sorry, could not resist.

I'm 33 and still believe in Santa.

I made a covenant / contracted with the spirit of christmas when my son was born to, as best as I am able, stand in. Each and every year, though, that spirit is very much around. Whether it's a bumper year, and I'm able to help others keep their covenant, or it's been a rough year, and someone else is helping me keep mine.

When I was 11 years old, I caught Rabbi Moskaweicz with the spirit of santa... as he snuck around the navy base delivering presents on the window sills of kids whose dads (or moms) were deployed over the holidays. It never occured to me that that negates Santa. Instead, it's one more proof. One more kind act. One more twinkle in the eye, and finger on the side of a nose. One more piece of magic.

I've seen hundreds and hundreds of people you might never suspect with the spirit of christmas.

And those are only the ones that I know of.

Call him what you will; Santa, Father Christmas, The Holy Ghost, Saint Nicolas... whomever the Spirit of Christmas happens to be... I care not.

Santa's real.

If you don't believe, that's fine. We're allowed to hold different beliefs. <grin> Whether or not God exists, depends on who you talk to! People believe differently.

SO... My son is 10. He knows a lot of people don't believe in Santa. He has friends / family in nearly every major religion, though... so he's used to differing belief systems. It doesn't phase him

My youngest was 8 when he finally came to me and said "Santa isn't real, right? You get the presents and just say they're from Santa."

I told him that he's right. He immediately wanted to know WHY we parents pretended to be Santa.

I explained that Santa WAS a real person who made and shared gifts with children...and he was so loved that when he died, parents everywhere wanted to honor him and keep his memory alive, so they decided to give their children gifts "from Santa." Because that's what Santa would want.

I told him that now that he knew the truth, he knew something that the adults know, and explained how important it is to keep the magic alive for the other children who still believed. That he shouldn't ruin it for anyone else. If you have a younger child, invite your newly initiated child to help you with keeping the magic alive.

You don't have to "break the news." And, like my boy, who suspected a year or so before he ever asked, he might not be ready to know for sure yet. He'll come to you and ask when he is ready.

I never told my kids, when they came to me saying they didn't think he exists I didn't lie to them either.

I'm 40 and I believe in Santa.

I 40+ and still believe. Santa really lives in our hearts and that's what matters most. I have been known to tell our 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday school kids he is real and go on to tell them how I met him at the North Pole once. All true, mind you ... It was North Pole, Alaska, and I did meet a Santa there. I agree with the others ... Keep the magic alive as long as possible.

Ridiculous for me to be answering this, since we're Jewish and don't even do Santa, but my overwhelming impression is that kids figure this out for themselves.

The magic of young childhood is believing, the coolness of older-kid/tweendom is figuring out the truth. Both fun, at different stages.

When my son has expressed doubts about the tooth fairy, I've said (thanks to some advice from this board), "Well,*I* think the Tooth Fairy is real." That's a way to keep a young kid believing as long as he/she wants to believe, without getting into outright discussions about truth.

Wait until he point-blank asks you. He probably is starting to figure it out, but this is not something you "break" to him... you share the magic with him when he asks.

I vividly remember being 8 years old in a ballet class with much older girls (12+) and they told me in the dressing room. I was devastated, but didn't want to ask my parents because I didn't want to upset them. Two years later, I cornered my mom in their room and just told her what I knew and she handled it beautifully. She told me that...

Santa was, in fact a real person. He is a Saint who was a very generous priest and Bishop many many years ago. He was beloved because of his charity and secret gift-giving. His love and spirited giving are celebrated at Christmas time because his feast day is in early December.

She also then invited me to "help them" carry on the tradition of gift-giving for my sisters which I loved. I got to help her shop for my sisters, wrap their gifts and attempt to disguise my handwriting.

Hi Jennifer,

My sweet boy asked me around 5 1/2 years old. I decided to level with him and answer with as much age appropriate honesty as I could. I told him pretty much what my parents told me; that Santa was once a real person who very generously gave gifts, candy and small tokens of the season until he went to heaven and that he now is a symbol to remind us of the Christmas spirit of generosity and giving. He seemed to be okay with that. It doesn't hurt that my DH is Jewish and so my only child gets both holidays each year. I guess I am glad he asked so young but to he honest, I couldn't begin to tell you what prompted the question.

Happy Holidays and I hope this finds you well. :-) S.

Just answered another post. I still believe, therefore, it was never a question in my kids eyes. Read Yes Virginia There Is A Santa Claus.

gosh this one is touchy. My kids are 10 and 7 and still believe. To be honest with you my mom never told me santa wasnt real. (lol) I think my older one may have an idea but my son really has no clue. When the time presents itself i will deal with it but right now i am enjoying the ride. :)

"Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." I think that this is perhaps the best explanation for kids on the verge understanding without ruining the spirit.

http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/

I've never heard of a parent telling a child Santa isn't real. My kids are 7 and 10. The 7 year old still believes. I suspect the 10 year old has figured it out, but is playing along. Why ruin the fun, right?

I told them the truth last year, they were 6 and 8. I told them because they asked me point blank, and I was not going to lie to them when asked a direct question like that, but we still play the game, and we still went to see santa at the mall this year.

You don't have to tell, just wait until they tell you. 6th grade is usually the last year for believing. Before that they don't want to know.
Wait until they tell you - your kids will tell you when they don't believe - and it won't be upsetting because they are mature enough to understand.
When my son started questioning and I could tell he really didn't want to know, I just said " who do you think buys all those presents?" That satisfied him. He is in 9th grade and stopped believing in 6th grade - although I never out right said there is no Santa.
My daughter is in 6th grade now and she fully and completely believes in Santa - probably would not want her to think that Santa exists when she is in 7th grade - she might get teased by the other kids.

Mine will be 10 in the spring. The jig's up.
A handful of his peers still believe, but once O. bigmouth blabs it--it's game over.
He suspected last year. This year he's sure.

Mine are 8 and 10. Honestly, I'm not sure if my oldest still believes or not. I think he just doesn't want to know at this point! They both asked me when they were younger, like 4 or 5. They would come home from K and say that so and so said that Santa isn't real - I would say, well maybe they were naughty and just didn't get any presents! LOL! Neither have asked in yrs. I'm sure it''s about over though.

Mine are 10 and 8 and they both still believe.
I myself figured it out on my own at about 7 .
It was thrilling. I was smart enough to figure it out and I was pretty proud of myself.
To be honest I THINK my oldest has figured it out but she just keeps up for the sake of her brother.

I never really told my kids that he didnt exist.... I did like you are doing, he exists if you believe he does. I still did Christmas Eve wrapping, and Santa came and delivered until the boys moved out of the house.

I read this a while ago, and I thought it was a beautiful way to handle it. You're right, the bigger kids at school talk about it to the younger ones..

http://www.cozi.com/live-simply/truth-about-santa

My oldest was in third grade when she told me she knew Santa wasn't real. Unbeknownst to us, she saw us "helping" Santa eat the cookies we left out for him. BUSTED!

My youngest is in 5th grade and asked me about Santa a few months ago. I'm not good with confrontation or lying so I himmed and hawed and sort of blew her off and avoided directly answering her question. I now wish I had just been honest with her. I'm hoping this will be the year she is "in the know" and can help us do the good work of Santa. Maybe she'll bust us eating Santa's cookies, lol.

I still believe! My daughter is 18 and I have always told her to never stop believing. Watch this documentary about the Santas who live among us. It's called "Becoming Santa" and it is wonderful! I agree with the others said KEEP THE MAGIC ALIVE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!

The classmates can believe what they want to believe and your son can believe what he wants to believe and it doesn't have to be the same thing.
Peer groups can be a bother sometimes.

What do you mean "broke the news"???? Santa doesn't exist???
OH MY...I won't be able to sleep tonight...I am so sad...

B.

Santa IS real. It's the belief in the fun of Christmas. Of course Christ is the reason for the season and my kids know that too.

My 9 year old still believes. So do my 7 and 5 year olds. I'm 29 and believe.

when they asked, which was around 7 or 8.
i agree that the 'spirit of christmas' is real. but kids are asking if there's a guy who arrives on a sleigh and comes down the chimney. at some point there's a mental reckoning, however parents try to slide around it.
khairete
S.

I never told them, they figured it out on their own. They just grew out of it.

If you believe, then Santa exists. My girls are 16 and 17. Santa still comes to our house every year.

Why do you have to break the news? I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but parents who feel the need to "tell" their kids or "break" the news - in my opinion are probably a little too controlling.
My parents NEVER told me. And Santa came every Christmas until I moved out at 21.
And, I NEVER told my kids. I always told them that as long as you believe, he will continue to come. It's really about the spirit of the season all in fun and they eventually figure it out. Not one of my kids ever fessed up when they figured it out. And thus, Santa still comes.
My older two are 20 and 17 and I'm pretty sure they know better LOL but they play along and Santa brings them gifts and fills their stockings.
My youngest is 10 and I can't tell if she really believes or not. I'm thinking she should be old enough to know better, but she seems to truly believe. So, I'll let her.

My daughter is 10 and in 5th grade. She told me a couple of months ago that she and another girl at school think Santa is fake. I decided to be honest with her, and the timing couldn't have been better. She's asking for something that we cannot give her (a laptop computer). It's the first year that we haven't gotten her the #1 thing on her wish list, so it helps that she knows Santa isn't real. I asked her to keep it under wraps so we can keep the magic alive for her two younger brothers. I hope she does!

Although personally I love the "Yes, Virginia" editorial, the language may be a touch advanced for some kids. My kids have not asked *outright* yet, but I saw the letter in the link of Bridget's post below a while ago. I think that brings it to their level very nicely. God help me if the oldest finds out before the baby can enjoy Santa a bit - he's ROTTEN at keeping secrets!...

Updated

Although personally I love the "Yes, Virginia" editorial, the language may be a touch advanced for some kids. My kids have not asked *outright* yet, but I saw the letter in the link of Bridget's post below a while ago. I think that brings it to their level very nicely. God help me if the oldest finds out before the baby can enjoy Santa a bit - he's ROTTEN at keeping secrets!...

I never did. It's one of those things I let them figure out for themselves. It was around 9 that she started questioning and by her 11th xmas, she was sure. As of her 12th xmas, no more Santa gifts. Once the myth is gone, so are the presents!

Our neighbors kids ....they were the ones who broke the news to our son.....wow it made me upset. I wanted him to keep believing. He was only 6!!
When he looked me in the eyes and asked if it was true, I couldn't lie. Santa or not.. doesn't phase him, he still gets presents. :)