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Christmas

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Original poster

DD just found her "santa" presents

180 replies

MrsMerryMent · 18/12/2021 11:01

I only have myself to blame but help me salvage this Sad

Dd is 5 and very very excited for christmas

We dont have alot of money this year I managed to get 2 playsets of a type of toy she likes on marketplace brand new in boxes and my plan was build them up and they would be sitting out 'from santa'

Picked them up this week been very busy and hid them in a cupboard in a room she never goes in...well somehow curiousity overcame her and shes found them!!!

Santa should have been making them ib his workhouse!!!

How do i resolve.... buy new gifts from santa and those ones she found are from me!?

My own fault and I probably feel disproportionatly sad about this Sad at least she is getting nice gifts but have i spoilt the magic...(yes...)

Dont know what i am looking for help me feel better!!!!

OP posts:
Straussful · 18/12/2021 21:35

My saving excuse was: santa is so busy on the night he sometimes drops off to parents before hand. I also fobbed off small presentsvas Santa only bring the big gift. Mum's and dad's supply the smaller presents.

Fwiw my eldest was 11 before finding out Santa wasn't real (last in her class so she was CROSS!) But ultimately she was so relieved to realise a stranger wasn't coming into her home that she was (ultimately) delighted he wasn't real. So maybe knowing it's by prior arrangement might be a surprise blessing to your child!

Trinacham · 18/12/2021 21:40

I would say they are from you. My parents used to give some from Father Christmas and some from themselves, which made it all the more believable for me!

Inchagoill · 18/12/2021 21:50

Not too late to change the tradition - she won't remember that Santa didn't always give her a stocking full of cheap tat, bath bombs, chocolate and a satsuma and her main presents from the family were under the tree.

Thefuturestory · 18/12/2021 22:20

@NoSquirrels

Good opportunity to reset that Santa brings stockings and just one gift you’d like, the rest from parents. So yes, I’d give from you and put something that you were going to give her as the surprise Santa present.
Yes this.

It also teaches her that you pay for the more expensive stuff. Santa just does stockings here

Mrsmch123 · 18/12/2021 22:43

I wouldn't change the tradition.

Goldbar · 18/12/2021 22:52

If you decide to buy new santa presents, I'd go for bulky but inexpensive things that can be used up so you don't have extra junk around the house - so e.g. one of those huge colour-in playhouses, a chocolate-making kit, face paints, cake mixes, a Christmas balloon.

BendicksBittermints4Breakfast · 18/12/2021 23:06

Jeff Bezos as a Christmas Elf ... shudder

I'm sure we could find a nice place to put him!

Carpetsareforflying · 18/12/2021 23:27

Mums are human elves and you have to help wrap presents because there's so many extra people in the world these days that Santa has to delegate work. You never wrap for kids you know though.

LunaAndHerMoonDragons · 19/12/2021 00:30

Santa could bring something small instead. Santa brings little presents in our house. I read an article years ago that made me rethink Santa presents. Too tired to articulate it well, it was along the lines of because some kids get very little in the way of presents, if they see other kids getting big Santa gifts that could be really upsetting, so Santa brings something special but not expensive.

DappyApple · 19/12/2021 01:07

In our house both as a child and for my own dcs, everything was from Santa, was easier that way than trying to remember which were Santa’s presents and which ones were from us. But on the very rare occasion when dcs stumbled on the presents or saw the “Santa” wrapping paper.

We said we had to help by sending some presents (or wrapping paper) to Santa because he was so busy, he may not finish in time to deliver to all the children on Christmas Eve!

1WeekTillChristmas · 19/12/2021 01:42

Please don't bring Covid into it

Covid is depressing enough!!!!!!

JimCarreysMask · 19/12/2021 03:57

Aw don’t say Santa came early. That would be the magic of waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve gone!

IdrisElbow · 19/12/2021 04:30

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IdrisElbow · 19/12/2021 04:30

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IdrisElbow · 19/12/2021 04:31

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sashh · 19/12/2021 04:49

Father Christmas likes to test children in December, he has elves hide toys to see what happens if a child finds them. If they are good children they don't touch them then they are added to the gifts on Xmas day.

If they open and play with them the elf tells santa and they get a potato/carrot/aubergine (whatever is in the fridge, this being mumsnet it's probably organic Waitrose hummus) in their FC presents.

The elf has taken them away for now because other children need to be tested before the big day.

MyOtherProfile · 19/12/2021 04:50

Another vote for big presents coming from parents / grandparents and the tat in the stockings coming from Santa. Why should he get all the glory?

sageandbasil · 19/12/2021 04:59

It always makes me laugh seeing these threads because I was so incredibly naive. I came downstairs to my mum and my dad building my sisters go kart when I was 8 and believed them when they said Santa was in the playroom hiding because he heard me. Also caught my parents filling my stocking and believed some feeble excuse then too. It was years until I was told Santa wasn't real. I had absolutely no clue! I really hope your DD is like me op, for a couple more years anyway!

Mrsmch123 · 19/12/2021 08:05

Why do people hate it so much that Santa gets all the credit?surely it's only for a few years?

MyOtherProfile · 19/12/2021 08:13

Because it's unnecessary and it's good for children to know who to say thank you to. Plus the main reason is that thing that floated around on Facebook last year about how if you tell your children the presents all come from father Christmas some children are going to know they got an awful lot less from him than others.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 19/12/2021 08:15

@mrsmch123 because there are an awful lot of children who don't get piles of presents from Santa, and because Santa is linked to being good or bad.

Samuel has rich parents (or parents with good credit as seems to be the case a lot of the time) goes back to school and tells the whole class how Santa got him a PS5 and 6 games and X and Y etc etc.

Toby only got a book, an action figure and chocolate coins as that's all his parents could afford.

If Santa brings all the gifts why didn't Samuel and Toby get the same? Toby has tried his hardest all year and is always kind. It must be because Santa has him on the naughty list and Toby is bad, at least in the eyes of a 6 year old.

ZoBo123 · 19/12/2021 08:16

@1WeekTillChristmas

Please don't bring Covid into it

Covid is depressing enough!!!!!!

Also at 5 most of her life that she can remember has been about things not happening or things can't do because Covid. Leave it out of Christmas. It is bad enough as an adult being told "because Covid" as an excuse. I go with saying they are for a friend's child, one she doesn't know.
IdrisElbow · 19/12/2021 08:21

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Mrsmch123 · 19/12/2021 08:21

Surely the children can say thank you at other times of the year. Christmas is supposed to be magical why take it away from them?many children won't know the monetary value of their presents so how is it an issue?i never recall as a child thinking I was bad due to my presents.

JimCarreysMask · 19/12/2021 13:30

@Mrsmch123 I agree. This seems to be a new thing and it takes the magic of Santa away a bit! And I’d go with it if it did help other kids not feel bad about theirs but in real life I’ve never known that to be a thing. Other people got way more from Santa than us I’m sure but it was never an issue. And the giving credit to the parents thing seems strange. There’s plenty of time for that when they stop believing in Santa. They’re only little.