Has anyone been caught being Santa?

[grannyinapram]

I just heard a noise as DH is wrapping the big ones- My LORD I was sure as corn we were caught!
Has anyone been caught? or caught their parents?

I remember saying to my DM that Santa had the same red dressing gown as her - but genuinely didn't twig at the time.

Yes.
I have 3 DC and got caught various times (creaky floorboards, old house, lighter sleepers as they got older..)

1. Hid stocking behind my back and kissed head and said I was just checking on you as I heard a noise, some bells... and oh what THIS ??behind my back?.. well I tripped over stocking so moved it..

1. "Santa left these by the fireplace as he was busier this year because of the new houses down the road, so I moved them into your bedroom - he doesn't always have time to go to everyone's bedroom, he usually does to yours as he knows you are good and go to sleep and don't peek..he must have known you were still awake..."

1. My eldest (teen) put out stockings one year after midnight for me as I was too exhausted and in pain to stay up and HE TOLD the younger ones when they woke and saw him... I had to "have a word" in the morning and sheepish DS1 (at threat of having no Xmas presents at all to open that year if he didn't fix it!!) so at breakfast he said "of course sant is real, I was teasing you, I heard Santa make a noise and was just peeking at what you got! "

I have messed up a bit this year so surprised they have not clicked on. Though DD playing creeping jesus on the landing last night makes me suspect she has clicked on.

I get the deathstare from DH, but a few times I have mentioned stuff I shouldn't, just not thinking at all that the kids are in the room or nearby, about presets bought, and stuff like that (which even without santa, I shouldn't talk abut as its meant to be surprises!)

Or the well loved...
Well some Presents are from mummy / and daddy / and some From Santa ... he can't carry them all.

Basically I lie my arse off

Mine (older now) all know Santa isn't real but still insist on Santa stockings abs love the pretence

My sister and I still write a letter to Santa and my dad (sorry, Santa) replies in special shaky handwriting. I’m 26 and she’s 32 😂 I don’t know about her but I can’t remember ever actually believing in Santa, I must have done I suppose but I don’t remember it. It’s just a family tradition.

I figured it out when my parents mysteriously had the receipt for something of my brother's that turned out to be faulty. The next year I remember pretending to sleep while they did the stocking because I knew they wanted to get to bed!

I figured it out quite young I think, because my Mum took something from my brothers stocking back to the shop for a different size. It was confirmation for me rather than a big reveal and I never let on that I knew. I wasn't upset or anything but I am trying to keep the magic alive for my kids as long as possible.

I caught my Mum when I was a young 8. I reckon I had a good two years of believing left and really got caught up in the magic at the time...those early Christmasses were amazing. I can remember waking up in the night and feeling my stocking... “no it’s empty”...” “Ahhhhhhhh he’s been!!!!!!!!!!”

Anyway, my stocking was always hung on the end of my bunk bed. My door would be closed. The light pouring into the room
from the landing woke me up. I realised “Santa” was coming into my room so I screwed my eyes shut really tight in case he saw me looking and got angry. Santa was noisy coming into my room! He dumped the stocking on the end of the metal bed and it startled me and I opened my eyes briefly to see the back of my mother taking the full stocking back off as she’d forgotten to remove the “dummy” stocking.

Ughhhhhh. That feeling of realisation when she’d left my room. Pit of my stomach, wave of nausea and sadness with a lump in my throat. Santa wasn’t real and mummy had been lying to me. Would I get in trouble if I told her I knew? Should I play along and become a liar too? What should I do? And...oh...Santa isn’t real...

Horrible.

I don’t have kids sadly but if I did I think I’d be a nervous wreck trying not to get caught!!! I wouldn’t want to “ruin”
Christmas.

@Clevererthanyou

Glummy - yes, why not? Does life have to be infinitely fucking depressing as soon as kids hit their teens or something? My 28 year old autistic brother in law still firmly believes in Santa, its my MIL obviously but when he eventually lives with us I'll keep it going into his seventies if he's happy.

Oh I love this. :)

My autstic 12 year old still believes. I love seeing his excitement.

No, my 14 year old doesn't believe in Santa.

She went to the bathroom (we have one downstairs), whilst she was in there DH and I did the stockings / sacks. She came out the bathroom. (I actually hadn't realised she wasn't in her room)

Me: "He's been, you missed him."
Her: "Oh no, I nearly saw him."
Me: "Good job you didn't."

She has thanked me this morning for all her presents.

People do like to just add their own narrative though.

In our family many years ago, we used to put out pillow cases and I caught my aunt coming with her dd's pillow case, as we were sharing a room for Xmas sleepover. I think I already had suspicions as I don't remember being upset.

DS caught us bringing the bike santa was bringing in from the shed one year. He was 12 so he had his doubts anyway. That confirmed things for him.

I don't live in an odd place I am just being realistic that most 14 year olds don't believe in Santa and at high school most would ridicule them for thinking this.

FFS she doesn't believe in Santa, we were playing around and having a laugh that she walked back into the room as DH and I were finishing off the stockings.

I couldn’t sleep one Christmas as a child. I went downstairs and caught my parents red handed. They both froze them told me to go back to bed, in the morning I says ‘I saw all this, I saw you!’ My mum said ‘you were dreaming!’ But I knew I wasn’t

When I was 3 I asked mum if Santa was real and she said no. I didn't care and still enjoyed Christmas. I think I assumed that all kids knew he wasn't actually real but just enjoyed the spirit and fun of it all. I thought talking about santa bringing presents was just part of Christmas, im the same way that I thought talking about Jesus being the son of God was just part of church, even though I didn't actually believe it was real.

I can't really explain it exactly but what I do know is it never ruined Christmas for me.

Two identical stockings are the secret, one empty for the bed , one packed ready for the quick swap at night time.

Years ago my oldest's bedroom was an add-on to our home and had a window through to the bathroom (which had previously been the back of the house). She woke up while the gifts were being brought out and had to go to the bathroom - we made her climb into the bathroom through the window!

When I was young (maybe 6 or 7?) I set a trap for Santa. Rigged up some string to my bedroom door to make a racket when someone came in. It worked perfectly, and I woke up and heard someone rustling around and leaving a stocking. But - I was too terrified to open my eyes in case it really was Santa 😂

@Electriccircus

Two identical stockings are the secret, one empty for the bed , one packed ready for the quick swap at night time.

genius!

i thought the santa-only christmas paper (also learned from MN as I am Jewish so christmas was not a big thing growing up [understatement] was genius too.