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Original poster

Do you believe in Santa?

36 replies

peachandpear · 01/12/2005 14:12

I do the Santa thing with my kids and am frowned upon by some people in my church. They say it is considered lying to them. I think it is harmless and part of childhood. When they get old enough to actually ask me outright if Santa is real then I won't lie to them but at the moment I feel like I would be robbing them of part of their childhood if I took the Santa magic away. What do people think?

OP posts:
nailpolish · 01/12/2005 14:13

FFS, what is the world coming to

when they are old enough to know santa doesnt actually exist they are not bothered, and they understand. they usually figure it out for themselves anyway and feel all smart they have!

GemgleBells · 01/12/2005 23:34

They have to be kidding?!

Santa is a harmless childhood mith that makes even adults smile. I can't think of one single person who is tramatised because their parents told them Santa existed.

followthestarlover · 01/12/2005 23:37

eh? santa isn't real?

essbee · 01/12/2005 23:39

Message withdrawn

Kristingle · 01/12/2005 23:40

like a spacebar essbee?

essbee · 01/12/2005 23:43

Message withdrawn

hana · 01/12/2005 23:43

there was a lovely story I remember reading when I was a preteen about a young boy called Nikolus......he was an orphan boy and was taken in by the local villagers for a year at a time and at the end of the year he would make little presents for the children he stayed with and when he bacame an adlut he carried on making gifts for the children adn their children etc etcit was such a lovely story,( it spinned on to the myth that is is today ) and would love to get hold of a copy for dds when they are older

Kristingle · 01/12/2005 23:52

yes essbee, i got your letter. And as you have been such a good girl this year you can have everything you asked for. Except George Clooney (because Mrs Santa wants him for a toy boy)...or was it Brad Pitt? I get confused.....

Tortington · 02/12/2005 00:17

have got to admit the amount of times i talk to adults emotionally scarred by the lying caused by the outragous santa story is unbelieveable, i mean, why would anyone want to create that kind of magic only a child could believe in only innocence can create and involve us in.

MistleToo · 02/12/2005 00:20

he must be real - he always answers my letters

Tortington · 02/12/2005 00:28

i know him intimatley actually i am married to him, yes i am mrs santa this year as my dh is being santa for a community event. i sh*g santa.

Socci · 02/12/2005 00:50

Message withdrawn

nightowl · 02/12/2005 01:51

i have no problem with lying to my children. when ds asks me if his picture was brilliant, i lie because i say yes every time even if its not. times when ive been upset and he asks if im crying, i lie and say i have a cold. when he was being bullied, i said it was because they were jealous of him (not that they thought he was strange because he has some learning difficulties). we all lie to our kids at some point. better it be a nice lie to make them happy. he can believe in whatever he wants to, and dd when she's old enough to understand. (as it happens, his grandad told him last year that santa wasnt real which really annoyed me, wasnt his place i thought).

best take away the fairytale books too? i still have a beautifully illustrated one which i treasure. what would life be if no-one had any imagination? it carries on to adulthood. fiction books are just that, made up, a lie. its an escape to a different world, we all need it sometimes even as adults.

nailpolish · 02/12/2005 08:31

at shagging santa

Kristingle · 02/12/2005 08:56

I think that by the time children suspect/understand that santa isn't real ( about 5 or 6 ???) they are old enough to understand the difference between lying and pretending.

i am sorry to hear that you were upset by it, socci, but I think you are in a tiny minority and that most kids are Ok with it.

Hulababy · 02/12/2005 09:05

We also we do father Christmas and I can't imagine Christmas without the magical pretence of it all. Christmas is meant to be magical surely?

I have never followed the whole "it's lying" line of though and depsite many threads on here and elsewhere the arguements have never persuaded me otherwise.

I had no complex or issues when I found out the truth. Infact as I had a baby sister 9 years younger than me, both me and my brother were more than happy to keep the whole thing up and going for her.

Myabe I am lucky, but I know noone in RL who has been bothered about their parents "lying" to them. Infact the opposite - all have loved the magic enough to continue and pass on the magic to their children or to children of family and friends around them.

I agree that for most children, by the time they know the truth - they also know the difference between a lie and pretence. They are two very different things IMO.

katzglitterytree · 02/12/2005 09:10

but father christmas is real, all that happens aas children get older is that they realise he is mummy and daddy.

i just felt gutted when a snotty little boy at school told me, but i never let on for fear that he wouldn't bring me toys anymore!

I think children grow up far too quickly as it is.

DD1 believes in fairy's, we have sprinkled her room with fairy dust to keep the monsters at bay, is this lying too, it has worked for her no more monsters so no more distrubed nights for us.

CliffRichardSucksEggsinHell · 02/12/2005 09:27

My standpoint on this is that the idea of Father Christmas encourages greed in children. It all centres around presents and "what are you getting for Christmas?" which isn't the point is it? To me FC symbolises capitalism and encourages the "I want" mentality amongst children.

Dd knows that he does not exist, yet Christmas is still magical for her, we've told her that it is a day when 'special' things happen, magical things. The whole Christmas story is a very magical one, I don't think she needs FC to elaborate on it.

But this is just my opinion and I realise that I'm in a minority.

katzglitterytree · 02/12/2005 09:35

The Real christmas story is central to christmas here too but father christmas has his place aswell.

Hulababy · 02/12/2005 09:39

Father Christmas is not what installs greed.

DD will get an awful lot for Christmas - only child, only grandchild on both sides, so also only niece too. And we have a pretty big family. At 3yo she is just getting the dea of adverts and yes she will see thinks like "ooh look mummy; that's nice; do you think I could have that?" My answer is either maybe or no. Sehe knows that things can be expensive and we can't have everything and she is happy about that. But DD is not spolt when it comes to all this - she is generous, hapoily shares, loves to give as well as being appreciative of what she recieves - she knows that we always say/write thank yous after we recieve presents.

Tv and media install greed. Indulgence by adults install greed.

Original poster
peachandpear · 02/12/2005 09:39

katzglitterytree - I do fairies too..... glitter gets everywhere! Toothfairy, Christmas fairy, fairies are coming soon to put up the decorations! That way I can decorate the tree how I like it and the kids don't wreck it! Am I bad!?

And Cusardo - I do hope you are gentle with Santa!!! He will be needing all his energy soon you know!!!!

OP posts:
katzglitterytree · 02/12/2005 09:46

to true hula, agree totally

CliffRichardSucksEggsinHell · 02/12/2005 09:46

Yeah the media too, but FC is played up big time now, he's more important than Jesus! Ask any kid what Christmas is about and I'll bet FC gets a mention, whereas Jesus probably won't even figure!

Plus I struggle buying the kids one present from us, never mind another from an imaginary man. It puts pressure on parents to fork out for other presents. I remember at toddler groups they all did Secret Santa and I felt forced to join in even though I didn't believe in it and I had very little money to buy presents. They said to contribute a fiver for a present, but in those days a fiver was what I would spend on dd for her Christmas present! It was quite a lot to me!

It just adds pressure to buy more presents for your children and the whole Christian message is lost, replaced by an advert for Coca Cola.

Socci · 02/12/2005 10:59

Message withdrawn

tortoiseshell · 02/12/2005 11:11

We don't do Santa. The magic is still there - I've been harping on about this for months - last year ds dressed up as Santa and delivered the presents - to him the concept of Santa was real, but there was no 'belief' in a man who came down the chimney having flown on some reindeer! He really didn't miss out on the magic of Christmas. And he is much more focussed on the real meaning of Christmas, i.e. it being Jesus' "birthday".