[*Greenbag*]

My parents did Santa but came clean as soon as any child asked outright. I think I was about four when I asked, and was told the truth but that it was still a fun game to play. Playing the game still had me thinking that he 'might' be real for a bit longer. There was certainly no elaborate stories about how, exactly, Santa manages to defy the laws of physics and we still got presents from "Santa". Now as adults we still give each other presents under Santa's name.

I just don't think you have to insist that the myth is real for the game to be fun or for Christmas to be magical.

[mandarins]

I just don't think you have to insist that the myth is real for the game to be fun or for Christmas to be magical.

Yes, this is what I have been wondering about.

[Zephie Chugger]

.....

This post has been edited by Zephie Chugger: 17/12/2012, 04:24 PM

[AvadaKedavra]

DS1 has worked it out at 3. I never wanted to 'do' Santa anyway, but it's been taken out of my hands. His paternal grandparents are horrified, LOL!

Anyway, this year we've gone into the city, visited 'Santa', DS1 decorated our Christmas tree all by himself (and he is proud as punch about it!), has helped choose and wrap presents, and was thrilled to find presents with his name on them under the tree which he has thus far picked up, shook, stroked, smelled, listened to etc to try and guess what's inside. He knows he can't open them until Christmas which is when 'the chocolate runs out' (in the advent calendar his favourite uncle bought him). We went to the ILs extended family Christmas last weekend and will be decorating Christmas cookies with his friends on Friday. We have bought and wrapped charity presents for those who aren't as lucky as him. And we'll spend Christmas Day with our best friends and Boxing Day with his paternal grandparents and cousins, both big Christmas meals/events.

To see the excitement and fun DS is having, I honestly don't think Santa would have added anything.

[howdo]

Although we do Santa, it's such a small part of things that I assumed those who didn't Santa simply omitted putting out food for Santa and hanging a sack/stocking? When I was 12 that's what happened at our house. It was identical except I didn't unpack a sack of school supplies and lollies at 6am

After all we currently do three simple things:
Get Santa Photo
Feed Reindeer and leave bikkies and milk
'Hang' a Sack

Apart from that it's the same.

(P.S. None of them still think he's real, they are all pretending. We'll do it for a few more years until DS is about 12 I suspect)

This post has been edited by howdo: 17/12/2012, 02:11 PM

[Angelina Balleri...]

It's pretty much the same. We told DS 3.5 that Santa is imaginary and we pretend about Santa because it's fun.
To be honest, I'm pretty sure he's forgotten that Santa is pretend.

[roses99]

As DH and I both grew up in families where we didn't 'do' Santa, it was natural for us to continue the non-Santa tradition.

As a child, I still remember putting out our Santa sacks and we may have put out reindeer food too, but we always knew it was make believe. For me growing up the most wonderful thing about Christmas was putting on plays with my cousins on Christmas Eve and staying up late chatting excitedly. We'd watch the Carols on TV etc and then on Christmas morning, we'd open our presents and then go to church.

We're not anti-Santa with our kids, and we're perfectly happy for them to visit Santa at the shops, receive a present from Santa at daycare etc. But we don't tell them that Santa is real.

Our focus for Christmas is on giving more than receiving. Specifically that 'it is better to give than to receive'. We do the Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes and the KMart Wishing Tree, along with gifts for our sponsor children and other things.

Tradition-wise, we have a spectacular Christmas lights display throughout our town's botanical gardens, so we always do that several times. We go to Carols by Candlelight and we go to church on Christmas morning or Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, the kids follow a long streamer that's been tied at one end to the end of their bed. The streamer weaves through the house (sometimes you need several streamers!) to their main present. DH grew up with that tradition and we've kept it for our kids.

If I think hard about it, I actually don't like the karmic nature of Santa. The whole idea of having to be good to be worthy of presents is contrary to what we try to teach our kids about grace and forgiveness. But that's not why we don't 'do' Santa.

[No girls here]

We still have presents in a Santa sack, waiting for them when they get up, but they just know they're not from Santa. Honestly the only thing that is different from when they did believe in Santa is that we no longer put out food for Santa the night before.

DS1 is a very logical thinker (maths/science type) and not arty at all, and he has mentioned that he's glad he knows Santa isn't real than pretend something that isn't true. I wonder if more creative personalities might value the "magic" of the whole Santa thing more?

[mandarins]

DS1 is a very logical thinker (maths/science type) and not arty at all, and he has mentioned that he's glad he knows Santa isn't real than pretend something that isn't true. I wonder if more creative personalities might value the "magic" of the whole Santa thing more?

That is a very good point. One of my children is very arty and has a very wonderful imagination. I don't know if its good to encourage the belief in fairies and santa etc or not. Is it good for creativity or is it setting them up for false expectations of life?
A whole other post could be discussed about this.

[cameo]

Our parents never did Santa for my brother and sister and I. They didn't want to lie to us so never did it at all.

Christmas was still completely magical and gorgeous and meant to me, lots of presents, and family celebrations and food and playing with my cousins. Mum made us all buy presents for our cousins and Aunts and Uncles too so that was a big deal for us.

As I had never done Santa as a child, I never really did it for DS. I half heartedly put cookies out, showed him Santa at the shops but never took him to one, put up stockings but only put little presents in.

DD is really into Santa and anything Christmas so I have done it more for her. Santa photo, stockings the works. She loves it and is swept away by the magic of it.

So I am very happy to indulge her in that, and I love her face when she sees and Santa, it'c completely gorgeous and it feels very Christmassy to me with Santa.