To want son to continue to believe in Santa?

[claw3]

Driving to Argos yesterday, ds who is 4 asked me "will you buy me a go diego go toy" i reply "no, its almost Christmas, you will have to wait and see what Santa brings". He then tells me "but Santa doesnt bring the toys you do"!! I say "of course i dont, what makes you think that". He says "I know you are lying, ive seen go diego go toy on top on your wardrobe"

The go diego toy IS on top of my wardrobe, in a black bag, apparently he climbed on my dressing table to see what was inside!

How do i get out of this one? Do i think up more little 'white' lies to tell him in order to have him believing again? 4 seems too young to NOT believe in Santa anymore?

HELP

My DS knows he has to express a belief in Santa or he won't get any presents

He is nearly 14.

Thanks for all the advice. I have told him that mummy and daddy buy him some of the presents and go diego go, was one of them. He seems happy with that explaination for now!

Thanks again

Oh good. Glad all resolved. Sad to think of losing Santa at 4!

Lulu - Thanks, i dont know who would have been more upset me or him tbh!

oh lie away.

I begged my sister and parents to tell me the truth when I was 5. I can still remember everything about it. I was desperate to know. When they told me I cried and cried and shouted 'you could have pretended'. My sister still feels guilty!

My DS started asking questions last year (age 8) and is now asking more this year. My standard answer is "Santa only comes to children who believe in him". I don't think she does believe, but she can't bring herself to tell me .... The lies parents tell

Noonki - Exactly, i remember my two older boys driving me mad, to confirm what they already knew. When i told them, they were really pleased to be 'right' for all of about a minute, then disappointed!

Even now at 15 and 12 they always tell me they wished they still believed.

glad you sorted it, 4 is so young

Bloody hell, this really bores me, all this "you shouldn't lie to them about Santa crap.." Poor kids.
Let your children have a bit of magic FFS. There's not much of it around.

I genuinely believed that Santa just bought the stocking and the 'big' toy (bike usually) and the rest he farmed out to mum and dad to get for me.

DD is 8 and believes in FC and writes letters to the tooth fairy, it's lovely,we should let them be children, and have the fun and magic. They should not be little adults too soon. Waking up and feeling for a full stocking on the end of the bed was still lovely when I was about 12 (and in the know)

Interestingly, among DDs friends, its the ones who DON'T believe in FC that have the highest expectations/longest list, the ones who do believe seem happy to have a list and ask for something off it, not expecting everything.

If they're old enough to ask, then they're old enough to hear the truth.

KATIE!!!

We do the "Santa brings some, Mum and Dad give some" in our house.

I have a rule...well, 2 rules really.
Christmas Rule#1
If You Go Looking For Presents and You Find Some - The Presents GO BACK!!!
Christmas Rule #2
If you don't believe in Santa, then you don't get presents from him.

SO, it encourages my dcs (9 and nearly7) to pretend....makes it nice for me

My 9 YO TOTALLY knows, but he knows - in the interest of receiving presents- that its best to keep schtum

BTW, my mum stopped all pretence when I was about 16, and I was SO annoyed. It was the one thing they did as parents that was fun, and child centred..

We all still got stockings until mum died. And SOME of us were 40!

Santa only brings the Stocking/pillowcase and the presents come from other friends and family. Otherwise how can you take the kids Christmas shopping, put the wrapped presents under the tree etc

My DD worked out why there were different santa's in grottos (age 5, when she was sceptical but doing the infant version of Pascals Wager).

There's one real santa, the others are retired ones who are too old to go on the sleigh!

My DD blew the Santa thing when she was 7 and got up and walked in on me and her dad knee high in wrapping paper . I think I was more upset than she was! I still try to sneak in with her stocking when she's asleep though (she's now 16) because I remember still finding it magic to find the stocking mysteriously filled, even when I was 30 (thank you, Mum! )

Westill pretend in our house and our D's are 21,18 and 16. They love getting stockings and still put stuff out for Father Christmas?

My grandparents let my dad beleive in Santa until way too late. I can't remember how old he was but his mates at school took the p. out of him for still beleiving in it.
My dad never led us to beleive it and I don't think I missed out.

Kids can enjoy the idea of santa without believing the literal truth of it (sorry if I sound a bit Richard Dawkins).

My neice was obsessed with christmas and santa like most small kids, but when christmas eve arrived she actually got scared becuase she didn't want santa to come into her room. So my mum gently explained that it would only be her who would come into the room and there would be no strange men in beards involved. Neice was about 3.

She went to sleep happy, then woke up the next day saying 'santa's been!!'.

She repeated this pattern of believing/ not believing for a good few years. IE she wanted to believe, but was frightened of the reality, so she believed when it suited her.

If you think about it, it is ever so slightly odd to tell small children that a big strange guy will be in their bedroom at night.

Christmas was not one iota less magical for me once I realised 'the truth'. It remains magical to this day and I'm 37!