Did you believe in Santa as a child, even for a short while?

I never said Santa is the ONLY magic did I? 😵‍💫 get over yourself.

Four or five seems so young to know that Santa isn’t real. I believed (and so did my DDs, despite what you say) til I was 10, going on 11.

I remember arguing with a friend, both 8 at the time, she kept saying Santa wasn’t real and it was your parents, I was absolutely adamant that it was Santa!

When they were little, Santa brought most of the presents, and only a couple of small things were from me. I’m not one who needs to take credit for everything, neither did they question anyone elses Xmas gifts.

I believed in Father Christmas in the 80s/90’s and can’t remember when I stopped believing. There was never a specific turning-point moment. My mum says I began to ask questions when I was about 8 but I had a younger brother and played along which maybe diluted the dawning of “he’s not real”. As a child I had a vivid imagination and I remember lying in bed imagining him flying around in the dark and what it must be like to actually be up there with him among the stars with all the cold air whipping past. It was completely magical believing in him. I would have been so upset if my parents hadnt “done” Father Christmas, and have made my partner do him for my kids (even though he says he hates lying to them 🙄).

I believe all my friends believed as well. I grew up in a small village. I can’t remember any playground talk of “he’s not real”. Perhaps I / my friends had a naive and sheltered childhood. We were very lucky.

Exactly! 🎄✨💫

Very definitely. I remember the excitement although I don't think my parents did much to keep the story alive. I remember thinking (still at primary school) that I wasn't convinced it was all real but still wanted it to be, so I knelt on my bed looking out of the window and hoped to catch a glimpse of a sleigh in the sky just to prove myself wrong.

Unusual, but not totally unheard of where I am.

But like I say, what's the harm?

I did! I believed until I was about 6 or 7, which was about normal back then. I remember the gentle realisation that it wasn't real. It was a gradual realising, so not a huge shock. I loved believing though, and it did feel very real to me, and very magical, thinking that Father Christmas was packing his bags and flying towards us. I never questioned how he managed it.

My parents never made a big thing of it, and once I realised, I noticed the bags of presents going in the car (we were always away at Christmas) and wondered how I'd never seen it before. I don't think I wanted to see tbh.
We got the presents in the stocking, but they didn't particularly make an effort to hide them and we never put cookies out or anything.

My brother was told aged 8yo because he'd started saying things at school like "I know he's real and you won't get any presents if you say he isn't." He had a massive strop and refused to believe my parents!

I don't think I ever did. Just didn't find the idea convincing.

I think it would be a fairly unusual social circle if all the 12 year olds still truly believed in Father Christmas. Surely their parents would have to go to extraordinary lengths to keep up the pretence?

No, never. We weren't brought up to believe it was anything more than a lovely story.

He’s not real? 😞 🎅

What's the issue with that if it's the norm within their social circle?

I said that was my experience. However, I really don't think parents are doing their children any favours by letting them believe until they are 12 years old.

Yes, and pretended until I knew my younger sisters no longer believed. My parents and grandparents and teachers were conspicuously truthful about other things, why would they lie about Santa?

My oldest daughter realised that there was no Santa when she was 7 or 8. She decided her younger siblings needed to know about this, and told them. Her 5 year old brother said, "Don't be stupid, of course there is."

Yes. I remember my little brother and me sitting on the stairs trying to wait up for Santa and telling our mum we heard him. Did ye aye 😂

I'm also autistic and didn't have that issue, but my mum was absolutely fantastic in the way she explained it to me when I started to question it.

Never, even when I was very young. I found it a ridiculous concept.

I can’t remember when I stopped believing in Father Christmas, but I have a clear memory of running into my parents bedroom saying ‘look what he’s left me’. Remembering where we lived then, I must have been about 9 or 10 years old, which seems old but I have that very clear memory so must have believed!

Yes, only he was Father Christmas - I still prefer that to Santa. I used to be incredibly excited on 🎄Eve, and even on the 23rd, since it was Christmas Eve-Eve!

I was probably 9 or 10 when my DF told me it was him and my Dm, but by then it had dawned anyway. But at least I knew not to spoil the magic for younger siblings or any other children.

Like I say, context.

If your whole circle stops believing at 6 then you will too. If it's normal to believe at 10 then that will have a big impact on whether you do too.

Suggesting those who believe later comes down learning difficulties is obviously going to be a statement that people will push back on. You can't be surprised at that.

Well this was a rural area in England. But I am talking about 1963. Children grew up a bit quicker then. As I pointed out to another poster, a lot of kids started work at 14 back then, so to still be believing in Father Christmas at 12 would have put them very much on the back foot.

Seems like you're overlooking context and peer influence.

I'm in Ireland and it's common for children to believe for a longer period, particularly more sheltered children in more affluent areas. Parents in my circle would be very disappointed if their child stopped believing at 5.

I think we underestimate the power of magical thinking in children and their ability to hold logic and fantasy in their heads simultaneously. That's not indicative of low intellect at all.

It's not assumptions, it's my genuine experience. All of my peer group knew about Santa at around the age of 5 or 6. I personally didn't know anyone who still believed in Santa much past that age except for 1 girl and 1 boy (not related) who continued to believe up to around the age of 11 or 12. They both had learning difficulties and sadly were the subject of teasing. I was 5 in 1963 and still believing in Santa at the age of 12 would've been consider extremely odd. Don't forget that young adults often started work at 14 back then.

I'm not sure if you posted provactively for a reaction but I’m honestly stunned you’d say something like that.

I was born a decade later, have no learning difficulties whatsoever, and still believed in Santa at 11. Magical times.

Your comment about older kids “almost certainly” having a learning disability if they still believed, is not only outdated but incredibly crass and plainly untrue.

Childhood experiences vary, and reducing them to stereotypes like that says far more about your assumptions than anyone’s level of learning.

My younger half-brother cried a lot, and was angry with his mum for liying to him

Turns out he's been diagnosed autistic at 15, which explains why he was very literal, especially as a kid.
But if I'm honest he's the only one I know who had such a strong reaction.