I have always been a great believer in pretend and imagination. As my husband and I have raised our kids I've relished my role as Head Elf, Resident Leprechaun, Tooth Fairy, Easter Rabbit, Great Pumpkin, and any other imaginary, gift-bearing being.
When my son was about five he noticed that I have pointy ears (I don't, by the way). Since it was around Christmas I didn't miss a beat and said, "That's because I'm an elf." For six years my kids thought I was an actual elf that could tell what people are thinking and what they are about to do. How else could I know my daughter had to go the restroom?
This summer while we were on vacation, my daughter (who is eight) pulled me into the bathroom and sat me down on the toilet for a serious discussion. She put her hands on my shoulders and said, "Mom. Are you Santa?"
"Uhhh." I am nothing if not brilliant under pressure.
"I'm old enough to know. You're Santa, aren't you?"
"Did your brother say something to you? Where is this coming from? Why do you think I'm Santa?" I asked.
"No, he didn't say anything. Why? Does he know too? I was just thinking and it seems like you might be Santa."
At this point she looked me deep in the eyes and smirked. It was clear to me she was already sure of the answer and whether I verified it or not, the jig was up. So I verified. We now live in a Santa-free zone. The Easter Bunny, Leprechauns, Great Pumpkin, and Tooth Fairy are known fakes.
Knicol found out from her son a little too early that There is no Santa at My Mundane Existence (Yawn...):
Jack announced “Mom, there is no Santa. Reindeers can’t really fly. That is just silly”. I was so surprised! I thought we had another year or two till he figured it out. Chris and I were torn on the whole Santa Clause thing from the beginning. We do our best not to lie to him about anything. We debated if telling him about Santa was a lie. It kind of is but the best Christmases that I remember were the ones that I believed in magic and thought anything could happen. I did not want to deprive him of the special feeling and excitement. . . . We both came to the agreement that when he figured it out we would not come up with elaborate lies to convince him that Santa was real. I did not tell Jack that Santa was real but I did not tell him he wasn’t either.
How is it at your house? Were your raised believing in Santa? Do you raise your kids with or without the tradition of Santa?
Christina at Momology writes:
I wasn't raised with Santa. I knew from the very beginning that he wasn't real, and I never wrote Santa a letter, strained to hear sleigh bells on Christmas Eve, or awoke Christmas morning to find presents bearing Santa's name.
But we've decided to raise Nadia to believe in Santa. I want to watch her face light up with wonder. I want to let her have that precious, innocent part of childhood. I want to give her the magic of Christmas.
Heather at Autumn at Oak Hollow wants to know, Can you hear the bells?
After Autumn went to bed that night we talked about how nice it was to see her get into [The Polar Express]. She found it just as magical as we did, though she sees Santa as an actual being who’s going to bring her that dinosaur on Christmas Eve. Nathan and I talked about that, too. How does a parent prepare a child for the reality of what Santa is and what he isn’t?
I had a plan. I’ve had the plan for many years and thought my idea was a pretty good one. We’d simply tell Autumn that Santa can only bring presents for the really little children and that at some point the mommies and daddies take over and put the gifts under the tree for him. I figured it would be a good way to ease her from one phase to another and hopefully spare her from feeling completely devastated.
Heather changes her mind, though, after she read Myra's I Still Believe post at We Make Three:
I know that at six, the magical years are coming to a close. It makes me sad, and I hope he isn’t unbearably disappointed when he learns that his vision of Santa today is different than what I understand him to be. But I do believe Santa is real. Not in a jolly, chubby, man sort of way. But I will tell Jake that the dream of Santa lives within each of us. The spirit of giving, love and sharing. He lives when you feel the joy of surprising someone you love on Christmas morning. I will always savor that, no matter how old I am.
Finally, I love this town's tradition of a visiting Santa Claus. Sioban at Ittybits & Pieces explains:
We live in a town where Santa actually visits each and every child in their own home.
A Christmas elf from the community arranges it with parents beforehand, gets all the fact-finding information the big guy needs for his visit and tells you 'round about what time to expect his horse-powered "sled" to pull up in your driveway.
If you take the time to read the entire article, you can see how wonderful this tradition is for the town families. I would have loved to have had a memory like that from my childhood Christmases.
So tell me: Do you or don't you Santa?
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