What do you tell your kids about Santa & who the presents came from?

[shinyshilling]

What do you tell your kids about Santa & who the presents came from?

We want our little girl to beleive in the excitement of Christmas. We're both drama teachers so are happy to go along with the role play and sense of suspended disbelief and don't see it as misleading...It never harmed us, but we're both debating what we tell her about various aspects of Christmas.
Don't really know why we're worrying as we're also expecting our second child who is ten days late in arriving and may well turn up on Christmasd day...then who brought it? Santa or us?

Do you tell the kids that Santa's in shops etc are Santa's helpers? Who do you say the presents are from? We want her to be polite and thank the people who gave her them also. I'm sure I remember my parents saying that they were Santa's helpers and that family etc, chose presents to send to Santa who then delivered them?

Anyone got any other angles on it all?

Just to let you all know...it was just an ironic joke about Santa delivering our baby! Our mid wife (who is small, slim and beautiful and resembles Santa in no way whatsoever) is on stand by for a home water birth delivery any day now that our two and a half year old daughter is fully intending on being present at. She knows that babies come from Mammy's womb and the placenta and not some rosy cheeked man's hessian sack...(on second thoughts maybe that's not telling lies lol!)

We still have a Christian Christmas in our family, I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. We don't have any presents from FC (apart from, as I said before, the grotto) and we were always told to make sure we knew who presents had come from - either keeping the tags or making a note.

shinyshilling, I thought it probably was a joke, but you never know, and the baby as a present concept used to be quite common. Your home birth plans sound lovely! I hope it all goes to plan. Can't think that anything Santa does will top that really

glad to hear, shinshilling! Best of luck

These FC threads have really made me laugh, as I have realised what a completely gullible child I was, and amusingly how DD1 is following in my footsteps.

During my childhood, friends and relatives brought presents which were put under the tree till Christmas (followed by dutiful thank you letters, often on Holly Hobbie paper - it was the 70s /80s!) Never questioned once that all the rest came in the night from FC - and nothing from my M and D!

We do just the same with DD1 (4 1/2)- there will be enough years in their teens when it's us buying stuff. Having said that I still had a stocking at my parents until I had DD when it was passed on to her.

I wasn't gullible, I think! I couldn't understand why go to all the effort to send everything to FC for him to bring it back. I did think that eventually people would realise it was a stupid idea and stop doing it. I think I was trying not to think about the obvious!

TBM - the reasoning is that only Santa knows if you've been naughty or good all the time cos Mum and Dad can't always be watching you but he can. So then when Santa sees you being naughty he can take a present away and put one back if you are good again.

Every time I read these threads I wonder why the OPs didnt have their own childhoods? Our kids do what we did. Dh and I had to compromise on a few issues, but basically they're having the same tradtions we had. 'Father Christmas men' in shops are fakes put there to keep children entertained, we tell our kids this as that's exactly what our parents told us. Only stocking presents are from Father Christmas, we tell them this because thats what our mothers told us etc etc etc ad infinitum.
Why the need to ask what other people you've never met do it?

Fc brings stocking presents but we have to pay towards them.

Other presents under the tree are from us.

Other presents from friends and relatives are labelled and the necessary thank you noted sent.

I really don't think you can say Santa brought the baby. I know he has a big tummy but hopefully you do too.

Ah NappyAddict, it all makes sense now!

stocking from santa everything else from whoever's name is on the card.
We had a very moving sermon at mass this evening about children being a gift, I had a lump in my throat.