That Santa doesn’t exist.

[Elf25]

When did your DCs stop believing in Santa and whilst they did believe what was your rhetoric about how Santa works? E.g. Santa brings presents but parents give him money etc..

I saw another related post and it made me wonder what people do..

I have an under 1 year end of so will be there soon

Wash your mouth out. Of course he exists 😉

Daughters 11 now and she knows he’s not real now (started secondary). Although I’m not sure if she just said she believed the year before.

Santa brings all big gifts. He’s Santa so of course he gets all the magic things she wanted. We don’t set a money limit so Iv never said we give money to Santa. Kids just put stuff on there list and we buy it (from Santa) or relatives buy it.
All gifts from relatives are labelled from them.

ours we’re always told that Santa comes as long as you believe. So, they believe (27 and 19 🤣)

He definitely exists! (Although we call him Father Christmas in our house). i am 34 and I still dash downstairs on Christmas Day and shout ‘he’s been!’ to my parents.

We never told ds that FC was a real person who brought presents. We still did stockings - still do and he's an adult now!

When I was growing up Santa would bring the stocking with small gifts and the main present would be under the tree from my parents. DD is only 1 but I think that's what we'll do too. DH was never allowed to believe in Santa 😔

I taught DD that Santa / Father Christmas was a representation of the spirit of Christmas, not a person.

it means that, even as an adult, I can state with hand on heart, Father Christmas is real.

Santa brings stockings only here. Not sure when they stopped believing but it was not helped when they realised the Santa that came into school was actually the bus driver! From then on I just said we keep the magic going for others. Ds 15 and 22 still have stockings and they say it is the best but of Christmas!

My eldest is 9YO and I'm not giving him the truth about Santa. He's a smart lad. He goes to school with a lot of non-Christians. I'm sure he's worked it out by now. But I'll be dammed if I tell him!

FC only brings stockings in our house which goes some way to explain why different children might receive very different quantities of presents.

Father Christmas brings the stocking.

The downstairs presents are from us (unless they're from friends or family). They usually get a "big" present then I wrap two or three others in white paper and make them look like a snowman.

No idea why I do that.

My son who is 9 just worked out the tooth fairy is not real.. because I still have his older brothers first tooth.

Before he could think about Father Christmas I changed the subject and ran off 🤣

DD6 still very much believes. In our house Father Christmas brings a stocking of small presents, the big presents under the tree come from us.

I never said he was real or not, just let them make their own minds up. We've always liked the idea of Santa around Christmas but I think they've always known it was just for fun.

It just happened naturally. Never told her he existed, never told her he didn't. I think she was quite late (about 8) when she said "mum, I know all these presents are from you"

My son has never believed. He’s 8.

We never really pushed the “Santa brings the presents” stuff tho. In our house Santa is only responsible for spreading Christmas cheer.

In general I think kids figure it out on they’re own and if they don’t so what. Personally I don’t understand the need to spoil it.

My DC1 believed until he was 11. We told him the summer before he started secondary school, as we were worried he might get teased. People on MN seem to think it's impossible for an 11yo to believe, but he definitely did!

I'm not quite sure about DC2 and DC3. I think they worked it out a bit sooner.

We also did “he exists as long as you believe” with my three so I am not sure when they actually stopped believing but with ten years top to bottom our eldest was happy to keep the magic going for his younger siblings. We still do stockings for the two living at home (19 and 24) and a very tongue in cheek (large) glass of baileys and mince pie is left by the fireplace for Santa/mum. There was always a decent “ Santa present” as well as stockings when they were younger but it was clear that the main present/s came from mum and dad. I think we said Santa knows what you like so will bring you a surprise but your “Christmas list” is for us. It worked well tbh as there were never any unmet expectations. If we couldn’t find/couldn’t afford what they asked for we could say so.

DD1 asked the question last year aged 7. I channelled my inner politician, avoided giving a proper answer and replied with lots of questions eg "But then who fills the stockings? They were still empty when I went to bed... 🤔 Who ate the carrot? It had giant tooth marks on it! It could have been the cat I suppose, but we all know what a vegetable dodger she is!". She seemed satisfied. The questions have already started this year. I went with the same tactic, but she'd obviously been mulling over solutions from last year's bounced-back questions and I think she knows TBH. I will continue to fein ignorance and let it become one of those things that once you realise, you join the 'wink wink' fun of pretending. DD2 is 6yo and a strong defender of belief in FC - I can't see that changing any time soon. She actively wants to believe in magic even when she knows it isn't real, whereas DD1 prefers bluntness, facts and truth (DD1 is definitely my child 😂).

We do stockings only from FC. That way credit for tree gifts is given as it should be, and there is no confusion why their best friend got more/less. I always pop something into the stocking they know I disapprove of (for DCs their age) to throw them off the scent of who really fills it eg mini real perfume, nail vanish, or the Harry Potter jelly beans that I had been refusing for months and saying were an absolute rip off and waste of money for the palty amount you get (it's true!).

I’ve never admitted to my mum that I knew the truth about Father Christmas and I’m 34.

For my children we leave a snack and drink by the fire and hang stockings, which get filled and left with one present ‘from Father Christmas’ on the hearth. They write him a letter suggesting something they’d like, but do get warned that Father Christmas might bring something different. Everything else is under the tree and labelled with who it comes from.

Our eldest stopped believing at 6. Youngest still believes (4)

They’re told he brings the stockings only too.

Id have personally told them myself if they got to 9 without cottoning on

Mine is 3 and he already knows there is no Santa. I won't even try to convince him otherwise.

Ds is 7 and didn’t believe last year but let me think he did. He has outright said that. He’s a practical boy though and doesn’t believe in what he can’t see

Dd is 9 and still believes.

Santa only brings stockings with small items left in bedrooms in this house. Socks, pens, book, chocolate coins, puzzle etc.

Everything else under the tree and from family.

Mine knew by about age 8/9. They're teens and still get stockings.