How many "magic years" do you get?

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So, your child is old enough to understand that the big man is coming and the years they truly believe? I'm guessing 3/4-8/9? So maybe 5 years?

I just love Christmas and I always tell the older one who doesn't believe any more that tbh it's a harmless comforting idea one can daydream about and watch Santa movies. Can't wait, I'm such a child.

Yes sounds about right. DS is 9 & there’s been chatter in his class for the last couple of years 😢 I feel I never really created the magic for him and were only getting into traditions now :(

I hope it continues for years though, I had to confirm with my mum when DS was a baby that it was actually the parents who bring the presents (OBVIOUSLY I knew but it was a joke as I had never actually admitted it so as far as we were all concerned I still believed 😄)

Mine never believed in Santa. They are teenagers now and they love Christmas and it's more fun as we can play board games and watch TV together. Also they help with the cooking.

Mine were about 10 when they definitely figured it out (undoubtedly suspected before) - the relief of NOT having to do Santa and make everything perfect means that no-Santa Christmas is WAY more fun for me. Takes so much pressure off!

The magic never stops. Mine are now 22 and 24 and we still have the argument every year as to who is going to put the Baileys and mince pie out before bed.

They argue between themselves and always go to bed (or out partying!!) straight after knowing I am going to drink the baileys and grimace whilst taking a bite out of the mince pie as I don't like them. But they will not give up the tradition!

From 3-10 for my DCs

My DS still pretends. He lets slip occasionally just to let us know he actually doesn't lol. I just remind him to keep quiet so DD8 still gets that magic.

Believing isn't the magic, though. It's the excitement and the bubble of daily life stopping for a bit.

Personally my magic is when Christmas is over. 😂

I'm 42 and it's still magical for me. I love the Norad Santa tracker and I still stare at the sky before I go to bed on Christmas Eve.

This is the first year my son will really get it and I'm so excited for him.

Nothing wrong with a bit of magic every now and then!

I assumed my DD knew when she was 11 as she had been questioning for a couple of years but she looked truly shocked when I mentioned something. So I haven't said anything to younger DD who is 11 now.

Ah, love this😊

I was 5 when I found out at school Santa wasn't real. I still had wonderful childhood xmas up to 12 when my life changed and xmas became shit.

My oldest came in at 6 and announced Santa wasn't real, that he heard it from kids at school. He then came back at 7 and 8 and insisted he was real because he teacher taught it lol.

See I don't understand this... nothing has changed between Santa/no Santa here or in my childhood.

Surely Christmas is just Christmas.

I mean the only thing that 'might' stop is a visit to Santa and honestly my mid-teen still enjoys that (we got for the younger ones but my oldest gets more into it than them, he absoloutly wouldn't go with out siblings though as it would be 'uncool' lol).

My youngest believed until she was 10.

I think we only had about three years of 'Santa' - the concept wasn't really understood as an infant and then deep suspicion had already set in by age 7 - so I guess ages 4, 5 and 6 were the ones for us.
Tbf we had never really gone all-in and made no attempt to deny anything once questioning set in.
We still put out a stocking that gets filled and expect that to carry on at least through the teens.

29 and 21 so far 😁

This is us . We always did FC as a fairytale , we went to see various FC at lots of places . Mine are now adults and both still love Christmas , love buying presents for people and love all the Christmas traditions that we’ve had over the years - which change and adapt regularly .

I'm devastated because my son is in year 1 and has been told by his friend. My daughter is in year 3 and believed also but he told both of them at playtime. I'm absolutely gutted.

DS guessed in year 1. He was so delighted with himself and that he had a secret from his little sister and he wasn't bothered about there being no "magic" so nor was I.

I made sure he knew not to tell his little sister but didn't think about his classmates as I didn't know year 1 was particularly young to guess or how big a deal it was to some people. So I did get told in a bit of a panic by someone else he was telling others.

This will be the 4th year now I have to remember to tell him not to tell his classmates.

It made no difference to us though. He still gets a stocking, he still likes playing along. I don't get what the big deal is.

The last Christmas I spent with my parents (before I met DH) I was probably in my mid 30's. DSis and I were both at home, tracking Santa, arguing over who was leaving the sherry and mince pie out.

We all raced up to bed when Santa arrived in France.

DDad woke us all up blasting Christmas tunes yelling "He's been!! HE'S BEEN!"

We are a family of believers even though we know

The magic has lasted a very long time for us due to big age gaps between the kids, so this will be the 17th year of Santa in our house. My eldest believed from ages 5-9, DC2 believed very strongly from 2.5 right until 11 (had to be told to prevent embarrassment at secondary school), and DC3 from 3 until 11. Those years when they truly believe are so special.

We never ‘did’ Santa but didn’t tell DD explicitly he wasn’t real - she worked it out for age 4 anyway. We’ve had a more relaxed experience than a lot of our friends: it’s still lovely now she’s 14.

For me the magic never stops. It just changes a little. My boys are all grown but we still talk about Santa coming lol. I loved the years when they were little and believed but the later years aren't bad either. And so much easier without all the sneaking around. When my boys no longer believed I didn't have to go crazy trying to keep everything hidden. My youngest who still lives at home knows where I put the gifts. I told him in his teens if you choose to peek it just ruins the surprise for you not for me. And I honestly think he has never snooped and we still have so much fun on Christmas Eve and Day

Yep! We didn't do it as pretending it's real, just as a story, and my eldest is 15 now and still gets excited about her Santa sack. Magic is what you make it.

Ahh..

The REAL Father Christmas can only come to a house where the child believes in him.

If a child doesn't believe in Father Christmas then the parents put presents in their stocking so that there isn't disappointment on Christmas morning.

But... if you believe... it's the REAL Father Christmas who comes...

I thought along these lines but last Christmas was so amazing. Dc were the best and made it magical. They still all do the Father Christmas bits - dd1 was 15 and dtds were 12. It was so so special. You don’t need to put a year on it, just enjoy each one.