To think this won't ruin Christmas?

[CaterpillarInTheGarden]

Mil was saying it won't be long until dc will believe in santa-claus (dc is only 22 months so surely it would be next Christmas not the upcoming Christmas ). I mentioned we were thinking of not doing the whole santa-claus thing and telling him the truth. Mil said how awful I was, and I will be ruining Christmas for my dc and that I'm a very selfish women.

AIBU to think that's a over reaction and it won't ruin Christmas. Any of you not do the whole santa-claus thing for Christmas?

I actually think lying to kids about Santa is a good way of teaching them two important lessons: that you shouldn't believe something just because it sounds "nice", and that authority figures will lie to you - not just about small lies about whether there's any ice cream left, but big lies as well (to children, Santa is a BIG thing!).

A boy in my class told us all in primary one that his parents had told him Santa isn't real. About a year later, we went to a museum for a school trip. The tour guide told us that the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years before the first humans existed. My parents had taught me that God created humans and animals on the same day.

All these years later, I still vividly remember realising at that museum that God and Jesus were no different from Santa. It was upsetting at the time, but in the long term it was better to learn the truth. Learning the truth about Santa can prepare children for learning some harsh truths about the world.

It was upsetting at the time, but in the long term it was better to learn the truth.

What was the benefit of having the lie though?

I wasn't upset at all when I 'found out', when I was little I believed, as I got older it just seemed to fade away.

I still get excited at the thought of Santa and the myth, for me and those around me it has never done any harm, just added a wee bit of magic!