Did you believe in Santa as a child, even for a short while?

[Pavementworrier]

Yabu for yes
Yanbu for no

We never did the mince pie and glass of sherry thing for Santa in our house and my parents didn't confirm or deny his existence but we did all the usual Christmas stuff. I'm not sure I ever believed in him as such and my suspicions were confirmed by school friends at around 5 years old. This was the 1960's and it would've been unconscionable for an 11 or 12 year old to believe in Santa back then. Anyone that did would've almost certainly have had a learning disability.

No. The whole thing was ridiculous to me.

No, Santa was just a tradition but never a thing I was led to believe in. And my parents have never been very good with celebrating Christmas anyway, one year we put tinsels on a ficus because they forgot to get a tree.

I was still very excited by Christmas though. because it was the only time of the year with my birthday when I had new toys. And my catholic school was big on celebrations, choirs, charity bake sales etc...

I was living in Paris as a child, so beautiful lights and decorations, but fake Santas everywhere in the streets and we also had a hit comedy which title roughly translates as "Father Christmas is a dickhead" so I guess my generation of kids was not really led to believe.

Yes, Father Christmas.

I absolutely believed until I was about 6. Loved the excitement. I asked my mum then if it was true and she said no. I was a bit sad it wasn't true but never annoyed at my mum.

My younger half-brother cried a lot, and was angry with his mum for liying to him

Turns out he's been diagnosed autistic at 15, which explains why he was very literal, especially as a kid.
But if I'm honest he's the only one I know who had such a strong reaction.

I'm not sure if you posted provactively for a reaction but I’m honestly stunned you’d say something like that.

I was born a decade later, have no learning difficulties whatsoever, and still believed in Santa at 11. Magical times.

Your comment about older kids “almost certainly” having a learning disability if they still believed, is not only outdated but incredibly crass and plainly untrue.

Childhood experiences vary, and reducing them to stereotypes like that says far more about your assumptions than anyone’s level of learning.

It's not assumptions, it's my genuine experience. All of my peer group knew about Santa at around the age of 5 or 6. I personally didn't know anyone who still believed in Santa much past that age except for 1 girl and 1 boy (not related) who continued to believe up to around the age of 11 or 12. They both had learning difficulties and sadly were the subject of teasing. I was 5 in 1963 and still believing in Santa at the age of 12 would've been consider extremely odd. Don't forget that young adults often started work at 14 back then.

Seems like you're overlooking context and peer influence.

I'm in Ireland and it's common for children to believe for a longer period, particularly more sheltered children in more affluent areas. Parents in my circle would be very disappointed if their child stopped believing at 5.

I think we underestimate the power of magical thinking in children and their ability to hold logic and fantasy in their heads simultaneously. That's not indicative of low intellect at all.

Well this was a rural area in England. But I am talking about 1963. Children grew up a bit quicker then. As I pointed out to another poster, a lot of kids started work at 14 back then, so to still be believing in Father Christmas at 12 would have put them very much on the back foot.

Like I say, context.

If your whole circle stops believing at 6 then you will too. If it's normal to believe at 10 then that will have a big impact on whether you do too.

Suggesting those who believe later comes down learning difficulties is obviously going to be a statement that people will push back on. You can't be surprised at that.

Yes, only he was Father Christmas - I still prefer that to Santa. I used to be incredibly excited on 🎄Eve, and even on the 23rd, since it was Christmas Eve-Eve!

I was probably 9 or 10 when my DF told me it was him and my Dm, but by then it had dawned anyway. But at least I knew not to spoil the magic for younger siblings or any other children.

I can’t remember when I stopped believing in Father Christmas, but I have a clear memory of running into my parents bedroom saying ‘look what he’s left me’. Remembering where we lived then, I must have been about 9 or 10 years old, which seems old but I have that very clear memory so must have believed!

Never, even when I was very young. I found it a ridiculous concept.

I'm also autistic and didn't have that issue, but my mum was absolutely fantastic in the way she explained it to me when I started to question it.

Yes. I remember my little brother and me sitting on the stairs trying to wait up for Santa and telling our mum we heard him. Did ye aye 😂

Yes, and pretended until I knew my younger sisters no longer believed. My parents and grandparents and teachers were conspicuously truthful about other things, why would they lie about Santa?

My oldest daughter realised that there was no Santa when she was 7 or 8. She decided her younger siblings needed to know about this, and told them. Her 5 year old brother said, "Don't be stupid, of course there is."

I said that was my experience. However, I really don't think parents are doing their children any favours by letting them believe until they are 12 years old.

What's the issue with that if it's the norm within their social circle?

He’s not real? 😞 🎅

No, never. We weren't brought up to believe it was anything more than a lovely story.

I think it would be a fairly unusual social circle if all the 12 year olds still truly believed in Father Christmas. Surely their parents would have to go to extraordinary lengths to keep up the pretence?

I don't think I ever did. Just didn't find the idea convincing.

I did! I believed until I was about 6 or 7, which was about normal back then. I remember the gentle realisation that it wasn't real. It was a gradual realising, so not a huge shock. I loved believing though, and it did feel very real to me, and very magical, thinking that Father Christmas was packing his bags and flying towards us. I never questioned how he managed it.

My parents never made a big thing of it, and once I realised, I noticed the bags of presents going in the car (we were always away at Christmas) and wondered how I'd never seen it before. I don't think I wanted to see tbh.
We got the presents in the stocking, but they didn't particularly make an effort to hide them and we never put cookies out or anything.

My brother was told aged 8yo because he'd started saying things at school like "I know he's real and you won't get any presents if you say he isn't." He had a massive strop and refused to believe my parents!

Unusual, but not totally unheard of where I am.

But like I say, what's the harm?