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.

I feel sorry for those kids who spend their childhood believing that Santa is what makes Christmas 'magical'. Then, when they realise he doesn't exist, that 'santa magic' that their parents have gone totally overboard on completely disappears and they no longer have any real excitement about Christmas.

@HalzTangz

Well as this magical person doesn't actually pop round people's houses on Xmas Eve, then telling kids he does is lying.

We teach our kids not to lie, then go lie to them about Santa, Tooth Fairys, Easter Bunnies etc. It is hypocritical

Have you seriously never lied about how good your kids art work / singing / role play game is? About whether the dog or Granny was in pain when they died? About whether you are going to die soon toon? Or them?

We don't celebrate Christmas. Look up the origins, they are all pagan. The Romans brought in celebrations to appease the people they conquered and mixed the Christian and Pagan celebrations together. I'm not really fussed about my children celebrating some fake dude. We do present days at other times. My children are fine. But they do learn the truth about Jesus from the bible. What do children learn from Santa? Greed?

What do children learn from Santa? Greed?. So people who tell kids Santa is real raise greedy ungrateful children who just want more and ore toys, but morally superior parents who don't do Santa raise grateful and appreciative angels?

Of course 🙄

Kids getting this upset over Santa are absolutely fucked come adulthood

This is such a cop out. Far, far worse things happened to me both before and after finding out that Santa isn't real. Just because there are worse problems in life doesn't mean that we should dismiss very real feelings of distress.

Just because some children are maimed and killed by their parents doesn't mean that other children can't be upset about being merely spanked.

@fiveminutebreak

I feel sorry for those kids who spend their childhood believing that Santa is what makes Christmas 'magical'. Then, when they realise he doesn't exist, that 'santa magic' that their parents have gone totally overboard on completely disappears and they no longer have any real excitement about Christmas.

Why? I don't believe in Santa and Christmas is still magical. DD loves Xmas too and hasn't believed for a few years. It doesn't have to be either or. Generally at 10 when kids find out they are growing up anyway and the total excitement over Xmas where they can't sleep etc, tends to be younger kids anyway.

@Tilltheend99

St Nicholas is the ‘real’ person not ‘Santa’...
Santa Claus is derived from Sante Klaas, which means 'Saint Nicholas' in a Dutch dialect.

...but in England we don’t have ‘Santa’ we have Father Christmas.
Speak for yourself.
There are plenty of people in England who wait eagerly for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
Equally, there are millions around the world scanning the skies for Père Noël, Papai Noel, Pai Natal, Daidi na Nollaig.

We teach our kids not to lie, then go lie to them about Santa, Tooth Fairys, Easter Bunnies etc. It is hypocritical

What's the difference between lying and throwing a surprise birthday party, lying vs. presenting a child with a surprise on Christmas morning?

This bloody Christmas magic has a lot to answer for.

Growing up in the 80's there wasn't talk of magic, it was the getting the crappy plastic tree out, seeing the same ancient Christmas decs every year, getting presents and a selection box that was brilliant. Visitors. Parties. The sameness of it each year became a ritual, became the 'magic'. And everyone's was slightly different.

Now all this talk of 'Christmas magic' has a desperate, try hard aspect to it. Must 'make memories', people talk about their DC's last year of believing. And all of it seems more about the parents rather than the kids. I loved Christmas way beyond the age of believing - and Santa was only ever really a small part of any of it.

Excellent post @Nayday

@Mymycherrypie

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.

There is a Christian train of thought that goes contrary to those assumptions:
We are all human and therefore inextricably imperfect.
Therefore nothing we do could possibly merit eternal life in heaven.
The only way we could possibly attain eternal life is the love of God and his immense mercy.

Not really, minimal effort has been made to keep the magic alive so children work it out easily very quickly. My DS told me it’s people playing dress up 😐

I think I ‘believed’ in Santa tillI was about 11…then it dawned on me. I didn’t feel lied to or cheated or embarrassed, but I kept it up as I had a much younger sister and it would not have been fair to soil it for her. My own children were the same, and kept up the pretence till their younger siblings cottoned on.
At school, a year 6 boy couldn’t understand why others in his class believed in Santa. I told him he was now a keeper of the magic, and that he should try to let those that still believe continue till they figure it out and also become keepers of the magic! Well, it certainly seemed to dawn on him,and he stopped shouting others down.

I don’t see it as lying, but I do think we should go back to Santa just filling stockings and maybe one gift, rather than huge piles of presents which seems to be the norm…..unfair to children who are not from such well off homes.

Have you seriously never lied about how good your kids art work / singing / role play game is? About whether the dog or Granny was in pain when they died? About whether you are going to die soon toon? Or them?

A bit harsh but true

Now all this talk of 'Christmas magic' has a desperate, try hard aspect to it. Must 'make memories', people talk about their DC's last year of believing. And all of it seems more about the parents rather than the kids

Yes, it's all a bit hysterical nowadays

My typical Santa inclusive childhood Christmases were certainly not magical. Weeks spent being bullied by my narcissistic mother with 'youll be getting nothing from Santa if you don't do exactly what I want' (you'd have to be a mind reader to know what that actually was), then up at the crack of dawn to greedily wrip open a pile of presents, turkey dinner (that noone actually liked) eaten in front of the TV, at least one huge family argument and the rest of the day spent sitting about watching the same films every year. Boxing day usually involved lots of being made to feel guilty about 'everything she had done for us'. Once I twigged Santa wasn't real at about 7 even that tiny bit of 'magic' was gone. Christmas was really just a stick for her to beat us with.
Then I met my Danish stepmother and discovered the real magic if Christmas - a whole month of crafts, baking, day trips to markets, singing together, chopping down and decorating a real tree, movie nights, roast duck and thoughtful gifts that I was never made to feel guilty for. My own children have an incredibly magical Christmas every year. Probably more so than many of their friends because we spend so much quality time together. We don't do Santa at all - he's just a fun story. What we do is celebrate family, food, music and the season (as has been celebrated since long before Christianity or Santa existed)

Growing up in the 80's there wasn't talk of magic ... Now all this talk of 'Christmas magic' has a desperate, try hard aspect to it. Must 'make memories', people talk about their DC's last year of believing

I can't say I agree with this at all. Parents definitely talked about their DC's last year of believing in the 80s where I'm from.

And there was plenty of magic in my 80s childhood. Leaving the snacks for Santa and reindeer's, waking up to the crumbs. Soot marks on the fireplace. Listening for the sleigh bells. I loved every second. As do my own children, though we do slightly different things.

I can’t help but find this a little ironic. You seem to have taken issue with religion whilst simultaneously talking about the magic of a Christian Celebration. The origin of the day is quite literally the celebration of the birth of Christ. I’m not suggesting you have to be a Christian to celebrate it by any means, but I can’t help but smile at the whole idea that you find the teaching of Father Christmas hypocritical and the idea of God offensive and yet obviously enjoy this Christian Holiday very much.

yet obviously enjoy this Christian Holiday very much.

It's only a 'Christian' holiday because it was appropriated by the church. A yule festival has existed for many centuries before that.

It's only a 'Christian' holiday because it was appropriated by the church

Incorporated rather...If it hadn't been 'appropriated' by the Christians, hardly anybody would have any idea who Santa is

I think this is less AIBU than CIDSATTBTTN.

(Can I disingenuously start a thread that's bound to turn nasty)

@mustlovegin

It's only a 'Christian' holiday because it was appropriated by the church

Incorporated rather...If it hadn't been 'appropriated' by the Christians, hardly anybody would have any idea who Santa is

What a world that would be.

What I find sad is that anyone should object to a little story telling. Feed their imagination while you can.

@GrannyRose15

What I find sad is that anyone should object to a little story telling. Feed their imagination while you can.

We do tell the story. We don’t go all out to convince DD that it’s real.

(The DD who, aged 3, on arriving at Disneyland shouted loudly that I shouldn’t worry, the characters are just people dressed up. And who couldn’t believe that if fairies existed they would want manky baby teeth. And who clocked at 7 after an evening with Prof Brian Cox that Santa couldn’t be real because he’d have to break the speed of light to deliver presents all over the world in one night. Some kids are just too scientific.)

@mustlovegin

Have you seriously never lied about how good your kids art work / singing / role play game is? About whether the dog or Granny was in pain when they died? About whether you are going to die soon toon? Or them?

A bit harsh but true

It is, but I do wonder where the "any lie to your child is wring" crew draw the line. When DS asked if Nan would die soon because X's Nan had (he's 6) I didn't promise him she'd live forever but I wasn't honest about the chance she'd die before he's grown up. And I tell him repeatedly his singing is great - a proper lie 😂😂😂

@Tootsweets84

My typical Santa inclusive childhood Christmases were certainly not magical. Weeks spent being bullied by my narcissistic mother with 'youll be getting nothing from Santa if you don't do exactly what I want' (you'd have to be a mind reader to know what that actually was), then up at the crack of dawn to greedily wrip open a pile of presents, turkey dinner (that noone actually liked) eaten in front of the TV, at least one huge family argument and the rest of the day spent sitting about watching the same films every year. Boxing day usually involved lots of being made to feel guilty about 'everything she had done for us'. Once I twigged Santa wasn't real at about 7 even that tiny bit of 'magic' was gone. Christmas was really just a stick for her to beat us with. Then I met my Danish stepmother and discovered the real magic if Christmas - a whole month of crafts, baking, day trips to markets, singing together, chopping down and decorating a real tree, movie nights, roast duck and thoughtful gifts that I was never made to feel guilty for. My own children have an incredibly magical Christmas every year. Probably more so than many of their friends because we spend so much quality time together. We don't do Santa at all - he's just a fun story. What we do is celebrate family, food, music and the season (as has been celebrated since long before Christianity or Santa existed)

But that's a difference of parents, not what is being celebrated. I'm glad you have your step mother