What do you do about Father Christmas

[eidsvold]

As you know dd1 has down syndrome and therefore some intellectual impairment. We have decided that we do not want to go down the father christmas road. Basically dd1 will be 25 and still believing that Father Christmas is real cause that is what we told her and led her to believe.

What about dd2 and 3? Father Christmas is everywhere - people are asking what 'santa' ( as he is called here in Aus) is bringing them for christmas etc.

So I am just curious as to what others have done?

We just don't talk about it BUT you know he is everywhere come christmas time. They know that all their presents are from mum, dad and each other.

SO.....

Difficult. I guess you could use bits of the real historical story of St Nicholas, the 4th Century Bishop with a long white beard who had a reputation for great kindness and giving secret gifts to the poor,and who inspired the whole modern Santa Claus thing? www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38 gives a bit of the history?

That way at least they'd know about the real man behind the legends and could enjoy the legends as just a story if you wanted them to? But maybe they'd have to understand that other children believe he's real and so it would spoil the surprise for them if they found out he wasn't, which is quite a difficult concept for children anyway (and me, for that matter )

Hmm, thats a hard one. Its so part of the tradition of christmas that I would never have considered not telling my kids about Santa - that said I completely understand where you are coming from with your dd1.

The problem we have here is trying not to let DS1 (who is AS and sussed out there was no Santa when he was about 18 months old, as an imaginary man who flys around delivering pressies to the whole world in one night is completely illogical and irrational!!), telling DS2 and DD, who still believe there is a santa!

Sarah, we have that problem too. Ds1 has no dx but some definite AS traits. He insisted last year (he was 6) that we tell him the truth about Father Christmas, so we did ( he said
'I'm too scientific to believe in Santa' .Now we have to stop him telling all the other kids in his class (they are Y3 and many of them still believe). Luckily DS2 (ASD) doesn't give two hoots!

However, getting back to Eidsvold's OP, we've never really pushed the whole FC being real thing. We've always talked about him with a bit of a 'twinkle', as if it's a wonderful story, and wouldn't it be great if it was true, iyswim. I distinctly remember as a child simultaneously knowing that my mum and dad put the presents in my stocking but believing that I might just see FC flying through the sky if I sneaked a look out of the window. This might work for your younger children?

Would she understand if you told her that he only delivers presents to children up to (you select the age) as the sleigh can only hold so much?

Ds1's interest in Father Christmas amounts to "Santa have a beard!" .
Last year I got a book which was aimed at very young children and which said what Father Christmas does. We looked through it together many, many times. Ds1 could point out presents and reindeers and Father Christmas. He learnt that "Santa deliver presents at Christmas" (although he did forget later on and say that he delivered reindeer ). I told him on Christmas Eve how he would find presents in the living room the next day which Father Christmas would have brought.
Christmas Day happens and we all go downstairs. Ds1 is mildly interested in the presents, but no mention of Santa or Christmas. I ask him what the day is. He doesn't know. I give him a choice between Easter and Christmas, he chooses Easter.
He is very interested at the moment in a Bear in the Big Blue House Christmas dvd, so I am hoping that this year he will get a little excited about Christmas. He doesn't hate the day, it's just another day to him.