Follow-up: For those with children, do you continue the ruse with your own children, or simply tell them it’s you who gives the gifts? Why or why not?

  • superduperpirate@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I think I was around 10 when I first realized it.

    What clued me in was my dad, whose favorite meal was a tuna sandwich and a diet coke, insisting that Santa didn’t want milk & cookies, Santa wanted a tuna sandwich and diet coke.

    • EleventhHour@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      When I was very little, and we put cookies out for Santa, my mom would always let me eat one because she “didn’t want Santa getting fat“.

      My father happened to be on a diet at the same time. I figured it out when I was six.

      From that point on, my “punishment” was to be the chief gift wrapper. I suppose the one good thing that came from that is, after many years of wrapping gifts for my whole family, I am now an expert at wrapping gifts.

  • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    My six year old has begun to plaintively declare his belief in both magic and Santa, unprompted. I think he fears children who do not play along are not as well rewarded.

    I’m the kind of parent who doesn’t tell their kids what to believe, but I also don’t bullshit him. “You believe in magic. So, you’ve seen magic?” I don’t know why he’d think he needs to pretend. Maybe it’s just that he isn’t ready to face facts. I don’t argue, I just try to make him think.

    • EleventhHour@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      Congrats on teaching your kid critical thinking, but I must say, sometimes kids just want to pretend. It’s a thing they do, and I personally miss the freedom. I had to do that as a child. Let them dream.

      At the same time, I think it sounds like you’re doing a good job of planting the seeds of reason and logic that will flourish later.

      • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I’m not here to step on youthful wonder, it’s not my turf anymore…But I do feel a need to teach them that thinking involves more questions than proclamations.

  • Meltrax@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I was a skeptical kid. A fat man making his way down every single chimney in the country in one night? No way. Never really bought into it.

  • rhacer@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    What I wanna know is who are all these people claiming that Santa Claus is not fucking real!?

    Of course he’s real.

  • IzzyScissor@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    When I was 6 or 7, I realized the neighbors (who were absolutely AWFUL) received more presents than my family did and the only difference was that their family made more money.

    I started thinking about all the kids in my class, and the ones that got the most presents weren’t the nicest kids, they were the ones with the richest parents. Then it clicked.

    • EleventhHour@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      That’s a pretty depressing conclusion of your deductive reasoning for a six or seven year-old.

      Do you celebrate Christmas now?

      • IzzyScissor@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Lol, no.

        My husband and I agree that it’s just a marketing ploy and don’t typically exchange high-cost gifts. We’ll make food and enjoy the lazy day with a new videogame or puzzle, but rarely anything more than that.

  • insaneinthemembrane@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Around 10, I think… My mother thought she’d tell me about Santa and sex all in one car journey. Thanks for ending my childhood in one fell swoop!

    Our kids always knew it was pretend so we all pretend together and everyone has fun. They never say anything to the believers or even the adults because that would ruin the fun. We do cookies and everything.

  • Jimmyeatsausage@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I don’t remember how old I was when I figured it out, but I do remember being upset about being lied to about it. I’ve got 2 kids now, and whenever they would ask about Santa or the Tooth Fairy or anything like that, I would kind of turn the question around and ask how they thought it worked. Sometimes, I miss believing in that sort of magic, and I didn’t want to take that from them or lie to them, so that’s the balance I found. It seems to be working well. Our oldest had it pretty well figured out by around age 9…our youngest is almost 9 now, and she hasn’t straight up told me she knows it’s not real, but the kinds of questions she asks and how she reasons through her answers I think she’s figured it out mostly as well.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I was nine.

    Also went a step further and realized ghosts, god, and in general things we’re told exist but can’t see are mostly fake too.

  • De_Narm@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I don’t remember believing in Santa, so at the very least it wasn’t an important moment of my childhood. Writing letters isn’t a common thing where I live, instead we got a thick catalogue and circled everything we liked. I guess that made it pretty obvious from the very beginning.

    Whether or not I’d lie to my hypothetical children… I don’t know. I guess I don’t care either way and would leave it up to my partner.

  • LucasWaffyWaf@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Admittedly I don’t remember when I internalized it, but I remember one day during a car ride I’d told my mom, out of nowhere, completely unprompted, “Mom I don’t care if Santa is or ain’t real, please don’t tell me.” I don’t remember her response, but I was like 8, 9 or so I think.

    At that point in time though, NORAD’s Santa tracker is what convinced me he must he real lol

  • Dr_Box@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I dont think I ever really believed. We lived in a trailer when I was a kid so there wasnt a chimney and Idk why but thats always what stood out to me as a kid. Also at that point there were so many christmas movies where the plot was people not believing and I think that also caused me to think there was a pretty valid reason behind that especially when they pointed out “how does he make it to all the kids houses around the world in one night.”

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I don’t remember a time when I truly believed that he was real. I remember thinking that it was my parents, but I didn’t want to believe that. I wanted to believe that there was a magic dude who would hook me up with presents. But it was illogical and we kept up with the whole thing, because I wanted my parents to enjoy it too.

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I was about ten I think. Might have been 11. Figured it out.

    No kids but yeah I definitely would tell them about Santa and let them enjoy their childhood. Life sucks. Let them enjoy the first few years.

    Edit : I would not tell the truth that Santa is fake. I would tell them the Santa brings presents.