I was inspired by the thread on motherly warnings. What did your parents tell you about Santa (or Easter Bunny or whatever), or what have you told your kids?
Here’s one of mine:
I was a very sensitive child. When I was little, I got really upset one year when I realized that:
Rich kids got lots of stuff for Christmas.
and
Poor kids got diddly.
So, I went about hounding my mother about why Santa was such a jerk and couldn’t bring the poor kids a winter coat for crying out loud, and why he gives spoiled brats all kinds of stuff when they probably don’t even deserve it, etc…
So, finally, she tells me that they (my parents) have to reimburse Santa for a lot of stuff. See, Santa pays the store for the toys, the store pays the manufacturer, etc. So parents have to pay back Santa so that all these hard workers can get their paychecks. Which is, of course, why there are “Toys for Tots” programs and such…so people can help Santa spread joy to the poor.
Years later, I told this story at a party. My mother said, “I said that? Geez, I was good.”
I have never told my kids that Santa was real. (Enough other people are out there doing that.) I haven’t gone out of my way to say that Santa was not real, but I refuse to push that line. When my son has asked for toys that I knew he would never get, I have used a line similar to your mother’s: Santa may bring toys, but parents have to pay for them.
“If I pinch my nose with my fingers, close my mouth tight,
and blow real hard, I can make my ears bleed. It’s
not as cool as Superman’s X-ray vision, but it’s my own
special talent.”
mmm… glad I’m not there yet. My little one is only 16 months. Lots of magic still left in Christmas.
I was 5 when I found boxes a few days after Christmas for some of the presents from Santa. My Mom decided not to keep up the charade. I was fine with it. She was really pissed, though, when I told my 3 year old brother the old man isn’t real. We still played out the whole night before Christmas thing for many years.
I’m getting some ideas on dealing with the situation when the time comes. Thanks guys.
I am large,
I contradict myself,
I contain multitudes.
~Walt Whitman
My son is 20 and Santa still comes. The routine is downpat and we follow it every year and will continue to do so until I’m no longer around. It’s a harmless gesture to me. I never told my son there wasn’t a santa, I just told him that santa is a small part of the spirit of Christmas. He knows the real meaning of Christmas so there was not that much emphasis put of Santa to begin with. Santa only delivered the presents.
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
I was too distraught to make myself clear. I didn’t mean that you’re mean, I meant–
'…you mean there isn’t any Santa?
Know what I mean?
“If I pinch my nose with my fingers, close my mouth tight,
and blow real hard, I can make my ears bleed. It’s
not as cool as Superman’s X-ray vision, but it’s my own
special talent.”
We never discussed the reality of Santa Claus with our daughter. We’d just tell her that Santa came and left her presents. She did believe, though.
One of the most wonderful moments of my parenthood occurred when she was six. Lisa had been a big believer (at five, she wanted to turn her friends in to the authorities because they said Santa wasn’t real), so we were thinking this might just be the year she stopped. Nope. It was Santa this, and Santa that the entire Christmas season.
On Christmas evening, after everything was done and all the presents were opened, I was tucking her in to bed. She was talking about all the things that Santa brought her, etc. Then, just as I was about to turn out the light, she got a very worried look on her face and asked, in a very small voice: “Is it OK to pretend to believe in Santa Claus?”
I smiled and told her it was perfectly OK. I still smile when I think of that moment.
“What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet.
Mom always said she was supposed to thank Santa since he brought all of those presents, but if you ask me, those sounds coming from her bedroom were more like wrestling.
Voted Rookie of the Year in MPSIMs and the Pit, along with Best One-liners.
And I don’t plan on keeping this as my sig for long, just until the winning buzz wears off.
They always told us children that you should set a plate of goodies out for Santa because delivering gifts was hungry work. They should’ve been more explicit about what “goodies” were. I guess we should’ve gone to the kitchen instead of the medicine cabinet. Nyquil and chocolate Ex-Lax just don’t make the grade.
Christmas was okay, but Dad slept on the toilet most of the day…
“It’s only common sense,
There are no accidents 'round here.”
I remeber my parents pulling off elaborate schemes to keep the belief of Santa alive. The christmas we got bikes, they somehow managed to set them up in the den while the family was eating in the dining room. At one point, one of the grown-ups screamed there was someone in the den. The whole family ran in to find fully assembled bicycles adorned with huge bows. All the kids screamed and ran outside, hoping for a glimpse of the sleigh. I’m sure this provided the adults with the opportunity to laugh and admire their handy work.
Considering my parents and their stunts, can you blame me for believing in Santa until I was almost 11?
Hehheeee… in my family, we always left out Christmas Cookies and a shot of brandy. I never thought this was odd until I got older and people looked at me strangely when I mentioned it. I guess in most places, you leave out cookies and MILK, not cookies and liquor…
My daughter busted me doing the Easter Bunny thing one year. She didn’t say much about it, but the next year before she went to bed she said, “Mommy, this time let the Eater Bunny do it!”
Can I just say that that made me cry? God, am I getting sappy in my old age…
Zette
(praying to get pregnant so she can have these kinds of moments)
“If I had to live your life, I’d be begging to have someone pop out both my eyes. Just in case I came across a mirror.” - android209 (in the Pit) Zettecity
Voted “Most Empathetic”- can you believe that?
My parents never even suggested that Santa was a real being. They always made sure that I understood that it was all just a story. Let me add, I’ve never felt cheated or that my childhood was less than it could have been. In fact, that is one of the plethora of things that I love my parents for.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I was over 30 that I found out the truth about God.
Now with 1000 posts of pure wisdom!
(or something)
I always that the Santa story was fishy. I remember telling my mother(she died when I was five so I was very young) there was no way a man could go to everyone’s house in the whole world when it takes so long just to get to Grandma’s house.
My kids also were quite skeptical. My husband would lie and lie, but they never really believed him. I was so proud of them.
Teacher, my red crayon tastes funny – Ralph Wiggum
Xmas of '98, my oldest was seriously doubting Santa. The kids at school said there was no santa, he doubted the logistics etc. He was 7, and he wanted proof. I bought a big red sleigh bell, and had someone paint a fancy S.C. on it.He found it in his stocking xmas morning.
He almost shit his pants.
This was the ‘proof’ he needed to keep beleiving. And he is certain that I cant afford to give him presents twice … d’uh!
