I don’t feel moved to post very often, but this post did it. I totally agree, and I have to wonder if this upbringing causes kids to reject logical thinking.
Upon expressing this view to my sister, regarding her sons, she says “That would be robbing them of their childhood”. I reminded her that her children are excited and stimulated by playing and pretending with Transformers, while being fully aware that they are “pretend”. They would be quite adamant that I was silly for asserting that they are “real”. This dynamic does not “rob them of their childhood”.
Her response… God works in mysterious ways. WHAT!?
Sorry if have taken this thread into great debates territory or something.
What I don’t get, is why so many adults are so invested in their child’s Santa belief. My other message board is a parenting board, 'nuff said, some folks there are absolutely loopy on the subject.
I had Santa sussed from an early age (my grandmother, who always addressed the Santa presents, also used to give presents from herself and from the family dog, so this wasn’t hard). Didn’t stop me using my imagination. I can remember right up to nearly my teens making elaborate plans of what I’d do if Doctor Who stepped out of his TARDIS in front of me and I had to run away from a Dalek invasion - sure, I knew that was just a TV show, but who cares? That was WAY more exciting than Santa and - bonus! - you can do it ALL YEAR!
(well, at this point I feel like we’ve been doing Christmas all year too, but you know what I mean)
The Christmas I was 8 was the last year I believed in Santa. But, oh, how I believed that year. When Santa came to my house, in person, and gave me my stuffed Charlie Dog*, the number one item on my list, I was so happy. This was no mall Santa, my friends, he was as real as a Santa can be. To this day, I do not know who my parents got to be Santa that year. They don’t remember or won’t tell. We never had Santa come in person any other year, which is part of why it was so memorable.
Sometime after that Christmas I quit believing in Santa–I don’t know why, but when I was 9 there was no more Santa. My brother is two years younger so he only got Santa til he was 6. My memory of losing my Santa belief is hazy, though, so maybe my brother is the one who quit believing first. It would be just like him to steal Santa from me.
Our presents from Santa were always wrapped differently. One memorable year, the Santa gifts were in tinfoil. With my kids, I told them I wrapped empty boxes and Santa magicked the gifts into them on Christmas Eve. Of course the elves couldn’t make everything–there can only be so many elves. Some items must be puchased from stores that carry items the elves can’t make.
This year my grandson is 8 and seems to still believe. I am pretty sure that will end by next Christmas, because I heard parents at the school talking about which of their kids are figuring it out and how they have been told to keep a lid on the truth for the ones who still believe. But I have a 1 year old grandson, too, and I know the 8 year old will want him to believe in Santa for as long as possible. He will help keep the story going.
Those of you who worry that believing in Santa as a child impairs one’s ability to think can relax–I do not believe in supernatural entitites or homeopathic medicine. As a kid, there were tons of things I believed in or wanted to be true. Being a kid can be fun, yo!
Kids are told that Santa Claus doesn’t leave presents to kids who are bad. Did you ever know of any real life kids that were punished that were punished for bad behavior in a certain year by having “Santa” skip a visit, leaving nothing under the tree?
I don’t remember when it dawned on me that Santa wasn’t real, probably about the time I learned to read and realized that Santa had my mother’s handwriting.
I lOVED Christmas as a kid, I loved the magic of it and the suspense. I kept that love through to my adult years, remembering my childish anticipation. It was FUN, dammit! And it wasn’t the loot I got, it was the tree and the food and the decorated house, and the pretty packages piling up under the tree, and going caroling in the park, and lights on the shrubs covered in snow. I loved it all.
When my Santa, my Mom, died, well…the fun and the joy went out of the season and I still haven’t gotten it back. This world is so full of dreary things, the news is full of horrors and day to day living and growing up can be so hard. I think letting kids have that beautiful fantasy is not a bad thing, I think they need to use their imaginations far more than they are allowed to these days. Figuring out that the red-suited Santa isn’t real can be a growing up milestone, it doesn’t have to be a disillusionment.
I see no harm and a lot of good in letting kids believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny (which is a really weird one if you think about it) and the Tooth Fairy. They are fun, they do no harm to anyone, and they don’t have an agenda. I wish I could say as much about organized religions…
When I stopped believing in Santa I didn’t say anything because I wanted to keep getting presents. A few years later, after that obviously wouldn’t work anymore, I pretended to believe in Santa because I had a younger brother and I thought telling him would be a dickish thing to do.
It always boggles me a little when people talk about that, or how they wondered why Santa used the same wrapping paper as their parents. In our house, Santa stuff was never wrapped. Never, ever, ever. It was either sitting there under/next to the tree ready to play with, or in a stocking. Of course, Santa never brought all that much stuff, either. Just one or two big things (often things that would have been a huge pain in the ass to wrap, like a doll cradle) and the stocking. We were allowed to play with the Santa presents (but not get into the stockings) before Mom and Dad got up, provided we kept it to a dull roar.
I got to be phone-Santa for both my nephews this year. It was fun.
I think having an imaginary, yet omniscient magic man that will give presents if you follow the parents’ rules is useful for obedience purposes. Just like God.
For young children Santa is a good way to present behavior-consequences. Later it serves to teach children that adults don’t always tell the truth. Both are valuable lessons.
Same in my house - no wrapping, all toys were assembled and ready for play sitting next to our stocking. Santa only brought one or two “big” gifts and filled our stockings with goodies. All presents under the tree were to and from relatives and friends.
I distinctly remember debating Santa’s existence with my best friend in maybe 4th or even 5th grade. She was Catholic and we theorized that if Jesus could be born of a virgin and come back from the dead, surely Santa could stop time for one night. Also, he’d really have a full day to deliver gifts as he travelled through the different time-zones.
Being fed religious tales of magic really paves the way for kids to believe magic such as Santa. The concept of God and the concept of Santa are really quite similar. We are atheist and I know my kids have a harder time believing in Santa because they can’t equate it with any other magical being. I just tell my kids “if you believe, you receive!” I’m happy to let them continue to believe for as long as possible. Magic is awesome.
I don’t know why my parents wrapped our Santa presents. I guess I did it out of tradition.
We didn’t have stockings when I was a kid. My first introduction to stockings was with my first ex-husband’s family and his mom wrapped the stocking presents. She told me she did it to extend the unwrapping part of Christmas. So now I wrap most of the stocking presents I give my kids and grandkids. Its a good way to use up scrap paper, I tell myself as I wrap lip balm, pencils, and little cars. Perhaps I can end this one, though. I didn’t do stockings for my kids and the grandkids didn’t seem to care that much about that. I am sure they will be happy to just dump out the stockings. I will ask the 8 year old.
