How to explain budget when they still believe in Santa?

[purplespink]

DD is 7 and still believes, but I think that this will be the last year as kids at school have already said about Santa. She has been very lucky to have lots at Christmas in previous years but that's because she gets sent two sets of grandparents presents as they live in another country, plus me and DH, plus two aunties, plus Santa gifts. However, her list is much more expensive this year. A few things she wants are: switch lite plus games, instax camera with film, baby born doll with accessories. Plus lots of things at the £20-£40 range. How do you explain Santa's 'budget' when she just thinks that Santa can make whatever?

We do small stockings from santa with one item from their list. We tell the children that santa looks at their list and chooses what he thinks they would enjoy the most.

All presents downstairs are from family.

We say Santa still buys it but he gets a bulk discount, only one present comes from him and is not the main present.

Losingthewill2live that’s awful - so cruel

That's why Santa always delivered the presents at our house and added one gift in but they knew we paid for them. I brought the kids up knowing that we paid for the gifts. And that gifts given from grandparents were paid for by them.

We also didn't do the whole 'naughty children get nothing'.

I am not NT, so maybe it's me, but I have never understood why someone would want their kids to believe the presents don't come from them or aren't dependent on budget.

This. And it is a football sock, so nice and long and stretchy, but there is a limit to what can go into it. It never has expensive gifts.

we always placed one gift at the bottom of the bed for them to wake up too.. this was from santa... usually something small and designed to keep them in bed and entertained for a little while. they knew all the presents under the tree were from 'people'

My mum always put it that the letter to Santa was a wish list, you wouldn’t get everything on it and maybe not anything, but he’d have a look at it and see what he thought you’d like. I’ll do the same with my child. Most presents will come from the people who give them as otherwise it’s unfair. I’m not sure why some parents think the idea that all presents come from Santa is more “magical” than knowing that many people love you and have thought of you and got you nice things.

He only fills the stocking in our house and he has lots of children to bring presents for and also we only buy what we think is reasonable or in budget and not everything they want.

We were always told as children that our parents had to pay Santa for the toys, also if we made a list we usually got one or two things from it - not everything.

Usually we got one bigger present, and a surprise. I never remember feeling hard done by at Christmas.

Possibly too late if your DC has always been told Santa brings all the presents, but we told our child from the start that Santa only brings stocking presents so that she would say thank you to everyone who bought her gifts (including us!) I also chose that route because I read an article many years ago suggesting setting it out like that would be better for children who are less privileged - children whose parents had little money would ask if they had been “naughty” and that’s why Santa hadn’t brought what they had asked for - that just broke my heart. So Santa now brings cheaper gifts, parents and grandparents etc buy the big ones.

I wonder if there is a way you could make that happen, even now? Tell your DC that actually this year Santa is only doing stocking gifts and that the big ticket items have to be paid for by the adults in her life?

Mine are still small but we do one big gift from parents and just small gifts from Santa. You can ask Santa for whatever but you'll have to wait and see what he brings.

We’ve had the same problem this year and on the spot we panicked and said we have to send Santa money for the elves to make the toys and some things cost too much.
Reading the responses here and some time to think I wish I went down another route. I was just brought up with Santa brining all the presents and was keen to do the same with my kids

I always told my dc to put what they want the most at the top of the list. Along with other things you would like to give Santa ideas of what you would like. You won't get everything on your list but santa will pick what he thinks you will love.

I thought you meant the 'actual' budget that Rachel Reeves is preparing .... 🙈

Santa only brings stockings
Big presents come from family/parents

My son (7) asked for a VR headset & I said no,& explained that Santa has all the children to give gifts to & if he got him that then other kids would have to go without which is unfair & he got it.

Santa was always the main gift giver but as the DCs got older and understood more we explained that Santa actually only brings some and we bring the rest. My youngest just turned 7 knows this, she gets to put 4 things on her Santa list but we tell her that Santa can’t always bring everything she wants, he has a lot of children to get gifts for, we say he will try to get your most wanted gift.

They also get to put 4 things on the parents list, this is were we can say there is no way we can afford that.

Over the years the story has now become that Santa always talks to parents to make sure they are ok with what he brings. In our house us parents vetoed a lot of gifts our DCs asked for, expensive tech, ponies, ride on cars, phones etc…

During covid we actually reduced santas list to 2 things because Santa and the elf’s were also at risk of covid and working restricted duties 😂

I think my story has worked as I head my 7yo telling her friend not to get too excited about the monster high Wednesday doll as it will be really popular so Santa won’t be able to give everyone who asks for one, one and she should put something else on her list in case.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't think Santa can just 'make whatever'. Then she'd have seven ponies! Lol.
Just say 'Santa has to make a budget, just like other grownups, to make sure everyone gets a present. So sometimes people can't always have everything they want. But he makes sure everyone gets something nice.'

It was a mumsnet thread like this, a few years back, that gave me the idea that just one small present comes from Santa/FC. Otherwise magic is limitless and that way madness lies.

My kids are still showered with presents from the whole family, but last year FC just gave them a jigsaw and a comforter (3yo and newborn), presented by the Elf. My 3yo was genuinely astonished and delighted at the magic so that just shows the magic is what makes it, not the quantity/price of FC's gifts. She did not question the logic that the sleigh can only fit one small present per child.

Also, they appeared by the downstairs fireplace rather than in the bedrooms for two reasons... my DD would absolutely get spooked by the idea of a stranger in her room at night. Secondly we didn't risk her waking up and seeing us place the gift there!

the elves can't make electronics

I love this, I'll be using this! It works too with the image of elves sewing and hammering, I'll say they can only make wooden, paper or cloth type toys

What formed organically over the years is that we send money to Santa because Santa runs a recycling program for second hand toy deliveries.

Santa does leave a few little things in a sack but they are only vintage type toys that the elves can make (Dominos, Yoyo, Football, Whistle, Jigsaws etc...).

Not that it helps you particularly but like other posters father Christmas only brings a modest stocking to our house (fun bits, food treats, couple of presents but nothing over £5/£10 max!)

I didn’t want dc to think that whatever they asked for they could get just because Santa is magic etc etc; we want them to know anything expensive comes from us and it curbs expectations and is still as magical!

Plus a list is just a request not a demand, so just because they may want everything on their list it doesn’t mean they get every item. We pick and choose and a few surprises thrown in too.

Santa doesn't take the credit for the big ticket presents in out house. He brings one small present and a stocking. Even now my DC are way beyond believing (but still love the magic of stockings).

Santa brings one gift in our house, and it’s never the main gift, plus he fills your stocking. I can’t bare the thought of my child telling someone Santa got me an ‘iPhone’, ‘Xbox’ etc when the other child may have got very little.