To think parents who do this are hypocrites

[Cazzovuoi]

I'm so sad for all the kids who will miss the magic of Santa because parents don't want to lie to their kids.

It's a bizarre concept to me that you think letting your kids believe in a wonderful magical, mythical person is lying yet, if you are religious, you actively teach them to believe in a malevolent, omnipotent, all powerful, cruel being so controlling that he takes attendance on Sunday.

At least Santa was a real person.

Father Christmas isnt a lie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Father Christmas may not be a man with a beard in a red suit - but Father Christmas is more real to my family than god. Father Christmas is the tingly feeling you get around Christmas time and Christmas time s love ad family and winter and giving and lovely.... father christmas isnt a lie - so I never lied to my children and in time they never felt lied to, they just grew up to understand the whole picture.

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i love this - what i kind of thought but couldn't articulate this well..

Haven't RTFT but my youngest at 11 still believes. When she asks, I say "what do you think?" and she quickly talks herself out of it.

Her sister, at 12, knows the truth and take great delight in helping out (along with the tooth fairy).

I'm ready for it to end! But I want the magic to wear off by itself, when she's ready. She'll learn her loved ones were creating magic for her (as my mum and grandparents did for me) and magic is much needed in this world.

I have to agree that Father Christmas is more of a feeling and it's about the Christmas spirit. I don't make a big deal about Santa but my 8 year old still believes.

I remember being 7 when friends at school told me Santa wasn't real and my dm told me the truth. It didn't ruin Christmas but it really sucked the magic out of, I wish she had lied and let me believe for a few more years!!

Why should mothers toil, save, and do all the work of Christmas so a magical man in red suit who breaks into the house gets all the credit? Too many parents and adults take Santa far too seriously.

Also, every time you start decorating the house before 1st December, an elf becomes mortal.

Oh they are the same. I know both. Parents who tell the kids about Santa and ones who don't. All go to the same Church.

And this is therefore a Universal Truth.

I actually think Santa is what Christmas is all about

I have adult children and since they found out that Santa wasn’t real Christmas it has slowly died a death in our household.
To the point that whilst we might buy a couple of random gifts and we stay in and watch tv and can’t go anywhere because there is nothing open. Like I presume a lot of people do.
It has got to be a very boring day

Usually we go away every other Christmas which does make it bearable but Covid and being stuck in this country put paid to that.

I do have a problem with parents who don’t want to do Santa because they want to make sure that their children know who bought them presents..It seems sort of off that you can’t share what you bought with a tradition

Fwiw I am from a non Christian immigrant family and I embraced doing Santa.
The rising excitement in the run up to Christmas that young dc had no matter what they were given by Santa was something no amount of expensive and wanted gifts beautifully wrapped could ever get to that level
The excitement at unwrapping anything even as simple as a Milky Way that “Santa”had delivered was something you couldn’t get from them even if it was the latest
toy they had requested and you had handed it to them

I hate the lies.

I don't subscribe to the 'better watch out' approach to presents. Santa Claus is the embodiment of the idea of a benevolent universe.

It's a good concept to present to children, and presenting it in a way that is tangible and memorable greatly enhances the message that there is such a thing as unconditional love.

My kids enjoyed the excitement of Christmas and Santa...however, we didn’t have the Elf and Christmas Eve boxes at that time, thankfully!!
I taught my kids that there were millions of children in the world and so “Santa” could only bring one present each for them, all other presents were from us, their aunts and uncles and grandparents etc.
That way they could thank them and enjoy knowing who had brought them whatever gift.
They were never greedy kids and knew we would try to buy them things within reason, they also knew we didn’t have lots of money, so learnt to choose what we could afford.
They have now brought their children up in similar ways with the added Elf etc that weren’t around when my children were young.
I think some people buy their children far too much and children become overwhelmed with too many presents.
Going into debt because the children “must” have the latest “whatever” isn’t good for families.
Everyone wants their family to have a brilliant time at Christmas, but it isn’t just how much is being spent on each child, but it is spending time together, having fun, playing games, relaxing and enjoying seeing relatives etc.

You were doing well til you mentioned religion.
Both my parents were Christians.
We still had Santa, the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny.

I think this is just your specific circumstances. The ones I know who don't do Santa aren't necessarily religious.

Father Christmas is really very little to do with Christmas. Christmas is about The birth of Christ. St Nicholas Day is earlier in the month

The birth of Christ is very little to do with the more ancient December winter solstice pagan festivities it piggy-backed onto. It didn't even happen in winter.

yabu

christmas can be magic without 'believing in santa'.

My atheist friend doesn't let her children believe in Santa as she says it's the same as lying about there being a God. I also have religious relatives who don't have Santa because they want their children to believe in God and don't see how they can lie about Santa and then expect their kids to believe in what they tell them about God.

Many cultures don't have the jolly man in the red suit and perfectly happy and well adjusted.

@TwoMuchTwoYoung

Father Christmas is really very little to do with Christmas. Christmas is about The birth of Christ. St Nicholas Day is earlier in the month.

Completely the other way round in this house, seen as both are make believe we go with the more fun option.

Same in our house. Although we end Christmas when we go back to work after Boxing Day and have the decorations down by New Year ready to start afresh rather than drag it out to early January as some do.

Morning!

My Year 1 DS wants to be a scientist. He’s forever watching experiments, doing coding, and loves number puzzles. He’s worked out that Santa isn’t real and has told us so. Yet he will rejoice at Christmas and enjoy the lights and presents.

He’s half Indian and looks foward to Indian festivals. He doesn’t for a moment believe in any of the 180+ deities but will celebrate Diwali with great spirit.

His life is full of magic - a simple Lego marble run fills him with glee and he can spend hours watching a caterpillar wriggle around the garden - there’s no lack of magic for him Thanks.

I've never really understood the Christmas magic thing. DS is 19now, I don't remember him believing in Father Christmas. I find it all a bit daft.

Are you feeling quite well op? Why do you care so much how others parent their dc? Your rant about religion is a little ignorant, are you feeling ok?

We did do the whole mince pie and brandy for father Christmas and carrot for the reindeer thing with ours but always tongue in cheek, they knew it wasn't real but we all played along. This is what we do too.

@Blackalice

Lying to your children about Santa seems a good way to break their trust in you, make a mockery of teaching them to be honest and make it hard for them to resist the bribery and threats many people use regarding Santa. My 3 kids have had wonderful and magical Christmases and all state they are glad we never lied about Santa to them (they are teens now) We also don't lie about there being gods or anything else so definitely aren't hypocritical. I think that you are being very unreasonable.

And yet so many people who’ve been “lied” to manage to have completely normal relationships with their parents. How do you manage your children to not ruin the magic for other lids? The ones who’s parents weren’t miserable twats?

Why should mothers toil, save, and do all the work of Christmas so a magical man in red suit who breaks into the house gets all the credit?

I find this an odd take on it all. As a mother, I don't do things to clock up 'credit'.

However, when I eventually figured out how much effort both my parents put into creating this tradition for us as children, I was really appreciative of those efforts, trust me.

Plus I've always though the concept of Santa is rather creepy actually. Why should a fat guy in a weird red suit squeeze himself through chimneys to deliver gifts all night to millions of kids, in terms of myths it's a rather blunt one. Coco cola has a lot to answer for with their 80s Santa ad.

It is a weird thing people teach their kids by default - that if they're good, they'll get presents.

That is the whole concept of religion though. If you’re good, you’ll get heaven. It’s similar to the Santa myth but people don’t want to accept it because it’s one of those things that can’t be debased by comparison to a red guy in a suit who appears on a cola truck, but the essence of living a good life for reward is the same.

Their lives, their business. Each to their own.