To all of you with older dc that still believe on father christmas

[Eglu]

Are you the kind of family that goes all out with footprints in the snow etc. and is that why they still believe?

I'm asking as a parent whose eldest ds is 8 and hasn't really believed since he was 6. So for me it is difficult to imagine a 10, 11, 12 year old believing.

[mogs0]

Ds is 9 and, as far as I'm aware, still believes. I've never done the footprints in flour but we always leave out a carrot and a mince pie. That's about as far as it goes...apart from one year when we bought some reindeer food.

[PresentsRibbonsAndMerrySantas]

put out large magic key for santa, mince pie and carrots [which in the morning have teeth marks in the little bit of carrot the reindeer just could not manage] and pressents appear like magic over night dd [almost7] dd[3] and ds[5] all fully believe dd[12] is at the stage of she kind of does, but is questioning it, but i shall not confirm never done footprints

[TheFallenMadonna]

DS is 10. I find it hard to believe he does acctually still believe, but if he doesn't he isn't letting on. We leave whisky, a mince pie and a carrot. Nowt else.

[Wiifitmama]

Ds1 is ten years old and still beliefs. Weleave out mince pie and carrot. I think the less you do, the better. All questions are answered with "nobody knows how, that's the magic of father Christmas"

[moajab]

I think the Norad tracks Santa website has a lot to do with why my (nearly) 10 yr old DS still believes. If it's on the internet it must be true.... :o

Also I think the amount of chocolate and the occasional toy gun in his stocking helps. He knows there's no way Mum would buy all that!

[picnicbasketcase]

DS will be 10 by Christmas and I think he still believes, or at least really wants to. We do the mince pie, drink and carrot left out, look at the NORAD site and FC leaves a thank you note

[dearprudence]

DS is 9.6 and he half believes. He's told me he can't really believe but he doesn't want me to tell him. I said it's OK for him to half-believe and he seems happy with that.

I've only ever done the footprints once, but I love Christmas and I do ramp up the excitement.

[Joolyjoolyjoo]

dd1 is 7, almost 8, and I'm sure she has her deep down doubts, but she wants to believe. I remember that stage myself, and I know how gutting it felt when my mum finally confirmed it, and I knew that Christmas would never be the same again

To that end, I facilitate her belief. She asks how Santa can get all round the world in one night, and I confuse her explain about time zones and, last year, introduced her to einstein's theory of relativity. We do do the footprints, the sleighbells outside their window, the carrot, the note from Santa. I'm sure she has her doubts, but she is happy to suspend her disbelief, and I am happy to try to make that possible to allow her to enjoy the magical aspect for as long as she feasibly can.

[Badgermoose]

DD is 7 1/2 and is believes completely, more so almost than 5yo DS. Normally just do beer and carrots (FC more partial to a cold lager than whisky according to DH). But did elf

[Badgermoose]

On the shelf for the first time this year and I can't tell you how excited she was

[WhatsWrongWithYou]

DS2 is 10 (in Y6) and believes - just. Heard a conversation with his best mate the other day, in which they both said they believed but X doesn't because he once stayed awake all night and He Didn't Come. 'Well', says my boy, 'that's because he knows if you're awake.'

We've always done mince pie, carrots and sherry, leave crumbs on the plate for the morning, and I started sprinkling a trail of fairy dust from the fireplace to the bedrooms a few years age (total pita).

But I think, as others have said, if anything it feels comfortable to me to be reasonably low key about it rather than go too ott.

Never done the Norad thing (I always forget) but DS has been asking about it this year so hopefully that'll leave him with a nice memory for what could be his last 'proper' Christmas.

[Eglu]

Thanks for the replies. It is interesting, as we do the mince pie and carrot and NORAD. I do wonder why DS1 doesn't believe then. He is just a very sceptical type I guess.

DS2 is only 4 and has said that ds1 told him Santa doesn't exist, but I've convinced him otherwise.

[PresentsRibbonsAndMerrySantas]

we do norad everyyear, it used to be much better tracking santa but then they changed it

[bobblehat]

I'm not sure if ds1 (9.9) still believes. He really likes getting a stocking and possibly thinks that if he says fc doesn't exist it will stop, although it wouldn't. He only believes in the tooth fairy when his has a wobbly tooth!

[LauraShigihara]

My DS (8) believes with all his heart. I tested the water the other day by suggesting that the school fair FC might be a member of staff in diguise and he was so upset by the idea, I hastily back-pedalled.

Yesterday, one child in his class was boasting to all the others that he knew that Santa wasn't real but DS was horrified that anyone could suggest such a thing

My oldest boy was 'told' when he started secondary school but I always regretted it and wish I'd left him to work it out naturally.

I was a little cynic who worked it all out pretty early and, although I still enjoyed Christmas, I always wished the magic was real.

In answer to your question, we put out amince pie, carrot and a beer (!) for FC and he fills stockings and leaves a really wanted present for DS. The elves drop a hamper round on Christmas Eve as well so I suppose we do plenty to keep it going.

The magic of it all is fanastic. I wouldn't want to miss it for the world - his belief makes it extra-special for the rest of the family.

[Dillydollydaydream]

My dd is 8 and still believes.
We look on NORAD site every year at Christmas eve. Good way of getting my dc to bed! They like to be in bed well before Santa gets close!
We leave mince pie, carrot etc out. We give the carrot to our guinea pig and remove it when it's nice and chewed. Weve also been known to put mud and hair into rudolphs water bowl to look authentic!
Thinking about doing footprints this year too.

[Earlybird]

DD is almost 11, and still believes - partly because she desperately wants to believe as she loves the 'magic' (her word) of Christmas.

Some skeptical friends (particularly those with older siblings) talk about how it isn't real, but dd fervently insists it is - though she suspects otherwise.

This may be our last Christmas with her believing though - at this age, as much as she wants to keep believing, the thought of appearing foolish/babyish to her friends is very powerful too.

[whojamaflip]

ds1 - nearly 9 still believes, dd1 (6) not so sure and ds2 (4) and dd2 (2) are complete believers.

dcs put out carrots, mince pies and scotch by the fire (must be out!) and we always leave crumbs, bits of chewed carrot and an empty glass for the to find in the morning. Also do footprints using dh's work boot which we dip in the fireplace then use to put ashy footprints on the hearth!

Last year we had snow and dh went out and made long runner marks on the lawn with a really scuffled bit at the front as if the sleigh had landed. He then also put a huge pile of horse poo as if one of the reindeer had gone to the loo and sprinkled glitter on it - all his own work - apparently his mum had done it when he was little and it really made his christmas and he wanted to do it for the dcs.

They LOVED it

[sweetheart]

dd is 11 and I think she has been hedging her bets for the last year or so. She's never said she doesn't believe as such and plays along for her younger brother (6). It's not a conversation that has really come up recently and i think it might be an unpoken rules that she knows but doesn't say anything.

She did say a few years ago that Santa wasn't real and I said "oh dear, you won't get any presents then will you" she backtracked pretty quickly.

We don't go OTT, just leave out a drink, snack and carrot for rudolf.

[HarrietJones]

Dd1 is on her first non- believing year. She is 12.dd2 says age does but I'm not convinced. She is 10. We are just starting again with dd3 though which is good as I love the Santa-thing!