My daughter was teased at school today for believing in Santa and was told to "Grow up". I have been put in a position to have the talk with her sooner than expected. I was hoping to let her live the magic this one last Christmas. Kids already seem to grow up so fast these days as it is. I was hoping to hear of any tips or positive experiences anyone has had on how they broke the news to their kids. 

Oh no! I do not envy you! I had a difficult time doing what you are, and still not sure I did it the right way, if there is one! I just hate it when other kids can't wait to spoil the magic for others! I tell EVERYONE, young and old of my belief in Santa!

Santa is the spirit of giving and it is wonderful to keep his spirit alive! 

You mean there isn't a Santa?? :P



I hate when kids do that! How old is your DD?


I never told mine there wasn't a Santa. :). I love Santa. 

She's 10 which may seem kind of old but she is a bit delayed in her emotional development due to a disorder that affected her at birth. I had intentions of telling her anyway after this Christmas because I knew there would be some teasing if she went off to middle school still believing. I just wanted her to live that magic one more time. I respect parents rights in what they want to tell their kids or not tell their kids and at what age but it sure would be nice if those kids who knew the truth, could have some compassion and not spoil it for those who still believe.
I know I read an article one time on a gentle way to tell the kids. It had to do with "Santa" being in all of us and how Christmas was a time of giving to the less fortunate. If anyone knows where I can find this article, it would be great. Thanks! 

When my kids were young, THEY BELIEVED!
Christmas eve, at bedtime, they just wouldn't go to sleep......
I devised a plan one year to go outside and toss coat hangers onto the roof above their rooms... My wife would come in and check on them and then I throw a couple more coat hangers on the roof..... She told them it was the reindeer and Santa might be at the house......
I would run through the yard with a red flashlight (Rudolph's nose)......

I still remember the look in their eyes and the PURE EXCITEMENT in their voices......

The innocence of children is lost way TOO early these days! 

The innocence of children is lost way TOO early these days! 


So very true and so sad! 

There's a "Talk"? What "Talk"? I never gave a "Talk". I love Santa Claus. He makes me smile. I watched Santa at the Mall one afternoon as he interacted with the kids. It was so sweet, I choked up a little. Ahhhhh! The Magic of Santa. To be young again! 

10????? Seriously, you should have told her the truth a long time ago! Kids are mean and they will tease others.

When my daughter was 5 she flat out asked me and I told her the truth. I also told her about St. Nicholas and told we can all be "santa". I let her pick out toys for the angel tree. 

My kids have always known their dad and I were Santa and all other fairy tales, but you better believe they still "believe" otherwise they won't get gifts!!!

The other day my daughter was helping me wrap a gift for her brother and I asked her to write "from Santa" on the tag...she just shook her head and laughed.

I just could never wrap my head around lying to my kids - the magic is still there for them too, despite knowing a fat guy doesn't travel the world in just a few hours.

They know not to ruin it for other kids though, so shame on the kid who ruined it for yours. 

Snowprincess,

Did you read the rest of my post? Yes, she is 10 but she has emotional delays and is on the mental capacity of about a 7 year old. You don't know her story or what she's been through. She almost died at birth and was in a coma. She's spent most of her young life in a hospital. She was part of a 3 year study at Texas Childrens Hospital giving blood up to twice a month and got an investigational drug FDA approved so that others with her rare disorder, in worse shape than herself could have access to a less harsh medication with fewer side effects. So perhaps you should exercise some sensitivity before you judge me on what I should do and when. Her life is hard enough and she will continue to have challenges so if I wanted to allow her to hang onto the magic one more time, I believe I am within my right to do so. 

So perhaps you should exercise some sensitivity before you judge me on what I should do and when. Her life is hard enough and she will continue to have challenges so if I wanted to allow her to hang onto the magic one more time, I believe I am within my right to do so. 



I so agree! When kids do this it seems like they are just angry that they no longer have the joy of Santa and are jealous of others that still believe!

It is always the parents of the ones that don't believe or found out young that criticize those that try to let their kids hang on to the magic. 

I told my oldest in 5th grade because I didn't want her to be teased and I felt it was the right time. I just sat her down and told her the truth as gently as I could. I also included the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny in the same chat.

The next two oldest asked me in 4th-5th grade and I told them the truth.

The youngest two still believe and they're still pretty little. 

I never told mine there wasn't a Santa. :). I love Santa. 

I've never told mine he doesn't exist either. I just grin and say "If you don't believe, you don't receive". My oldest is 18 this week and I've never told her about Santa or the Easter Bunny.

 

I'm still upset with the Tooth Fairy. I had my wisdom teeth pulled at age 30. Teeth under the pillow while I slumbered thanks to my pain pills. Teeth taken but not a penny! 

My kids believe, and if I have anything to say about it, they will always believe. You never get to old to believe in Santa. Heck, I still believe, lol. The magic of Christmas never should fade, no matter how old you get.

One year I was given a parakeet. I still have no idea how my parents hid a live bird from me. So I still have that inkling of belief, lol. 

One year I was given a parakeet. I still have no idea how my parents hid a live bird from me. So I still have that inkling of belief, lol. 

I always wanted a puppy but Santa never brought one when I was little. lol. Jerk. 

I may not be Santa Clause, but I sure have funded him for a long time and he gets all the credit. 

I ask and ask to this day but my mom just shrugs and smiles. Lol.

My kids haven't gotten to the live animal requests yet. Thank goodness. 

My husband told my youngest dd a few years ago because she asked him. Worst Christmas of my life, totally ruined Christmas. :(( Never tell. 

When my daughter was 5 she flat out asked me and I told her the truth. I also told her about St. Nicholas and told we can all be "santa". I let her pick out toys for the angel tree. 

My daughter is 6 and she still believes/loves Santa.

I think I was 6 or 7 when I told my parents that I didn't think Santa could travel all over the world in 1 night. (we just bought our first globe) 

Santa left the Beta fish in my closet one year. Good thing Mom found it 2 days later! DD couldn't be more pleased! 

My mom went to her deathbed putting tags on gifts "love, Santa." She was 81 and I was 53! We knew she had a few weeks and my sister and were teasing her saying it was okay, she could tell us now. She made a gesture of a key locking her lips! Don't have the talk with you little girl. She will figure it out in her own time. Do have a talk about how to handle bullies and don't cave in her personal beliefs for others. 

So at an age when kids should be having sex education, they should believe in a magic man that comes down the chimney to bring them presents? 

Believing in Santa is believing in giving, loving, and sharing among other good things of the season. 

When my son was about 6, the kid across the street told him (preacher's kid that dad ran off the next year with his lady friend) I told him some kids just don't believe and he could choose to believe or not. We had a few more years to believe in Santa and our Elf, Sammy, that snuck in and left little gifts if he was good. I heard my son tell a friend, "I know it is not my Mom, she just couldn't be that magical. LOL 

My DD told us she knew there was a Santa because we (her parents) couldn't afford all those gifts they got! LOL 

The older kids at school told my 8 year old DD this year that there is no Santa.

She spent the weekend tearing up every time we tried to discuss it with her.

She says she still "Believes" because if she doesn't she will get coal or nothing but now knows mom and dad buy the gifts. She started going online to tell me where I can get her stuff the cheapest.

I was very upset about it. She didn't ask about the Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy. But I think she still believes her elf on the shelf so I'm a bit confused.

And Snowprincess...do you have no children? You are pretty rude and if you are discussing sex with your 8 year old you have a problem. She said her daughter only has the mentality of a 7-8 year old. Give her a break. When your child loses that little bit of magic it is pretty discouraging. 

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I did end up having the talk with her tonight because I know kids are cruel enough on their own, I didn't want to give them another reason to pick on my daughter. She took it surprisingly well but was a little in shock and disappointed but I told her how we are Santa to others when we adopt families through church or an angel from a tree and that we can continue to do so. She immediately wanted to give her Elf on the Shelf to a friend of hers at school who still believes. That just shows how genuine her heart is. I also made sure to stress the importance of not robbing another child of their beliefs or to take their parents rights away from telling them on their own terms.

Dotti, thanks for getting my back. I couldn't have said it better myself. Just because society, social media, peers etc. are growing up faster than they should, doesn't mean I should just accept it and not do what I can to preserve my kids innocence a little longer. I agree with the statement that I need to focus more on teaching my kids about bullies and how to deal with them. 

We don't teach our kids about Santa but they have learned about him in school so I tell the kids mommy and daddy do your gift giving and he gets to skip our house. 

My son is 9 and we have not told him Santa is not real. Last year he was told by a classmate and I told him he is as real as you make him. He was fine with that and said no way could we afford all those gifts without the help of Santa. Now if I could just remember if I put his Santa gift out on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and did I wrap it....lol 

Now if I could just remember if I put his Santa gift out on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and did I wrap it....lol

My daughter almost busted us. Two years ago "Santa" brought her a bike, and she noticed the same bike at the store when I took her to get knee pads earlier this year..

"I thought that the elves made the toys.." 

My daughter almost busted us. Two years ago "Santa" brought her a bike, and she noticed the same bike at the store when I took her to get knee pads earlier this year..

"I thought that the elves made the toys.." 

My dd (oldest) busted us by seeing the box from her stereo in the attic when she was 9-10. I told my husband to get rid of the evidence not walk up the ladder and set it right there out in the open....jeesh 

DW told felicity from day one that Santa was just pretend. DD is still filled with wonder at Christmas time though.
:)

We focus the narrative on Jesus and the nativity
-and yes, the Winter Solstice too-

;)


No Christmas lights this year though. Just a tree. and ginger snaps. and gingerbread bread pudding with rum sauce, and wassail.... now I'm hungry. 

My mom went to her deathbed putting tags on gifts "love, Santa." She was 81 and I was 53! We knew she had a few weeks and my sister and were teasing her saying it was okay, she could tell us now. She made a gesture of a key locking her lips! Don't have the talk with you little girl. She will figure it out in her own time. Do have a talk about how to handle bullies and don't cave in her personal beliefs for others. 
My mom went to her deathbed putting tags on gifts "love, Santa." She was 81 and I was 53! We knew she had a few weeks and my sister and were teasing her saying it was okay, she could tell us now. She made a gesture of a key locking her lips! Don't have the talk with you little girl. She will figure it out in her own time. Do have a talk about how to handle bullies and don't cave in her personal beliefs for others. 
My mom went to her deathbed putting tags on gifts "love, Santa." She was 81 and I was 53! We knew she had a few weeks and my sister and were teasing her saying it was okay, she could tell us now. She made a gesture of a key locking her lips! Don't have the talk with you little girl. She will figure it out in her own time. Do have a talk about how to handle bullies and don't cave in her personal beliefs for others. 
[i]My mom went to her deathbed putting tags on gifts "love, Santa." She was 81 and I was 53! We knew she had a few weeks and my sister and were teasing her saying it was okay, she could tell us now. She made a gesture of a key locking her lips! Don't have the talk with you little girl. She will figure it out in her own time. Do have a talk about how to handle bullies and don't cave in her personal beliefs for others. 

--love this! 

We don't teach our kids about Santa but they have learned about him in school so I tell the kids mommy and daddy do your gift giving and he gets to skip our house. 


LIFE RUINER!!! 

my 3 children ages 6-9 still believe. the older two have asked in recent months if Santa is real and I have just given them the same vague answer I always have... "I don't know, I've always been told if you don't believe you don't receive...".

I hate to have a frank discussion and remove all doubt of the magic, but at the same time I don't want them to be the butt of jokes at school. I have made a point to give them more hints that I'm doing the shopping for Santa- looking online and not xing out of the website when they walk up. I'm hoping the little hints will make it clear enough. As for the creepy Elf on the Shelf, they still love it- I can't tell how much they believe he's real or not. I guess we can carry on this weird charade for one more year. LOL. 

I pinned this in anticipation of having to have the talk. I know it's a little late for the OP, but thought I'd share anyway

Explaining Santa 

As for kids that go and insist he's not real to other kids- don't their parents teach them any manners? how inconsiderate!! i called out my neighbors kids for that yesterday- RUDE. 

I heard a kid at the playground tell kids Santa wasn't real. I punched him in the throat. Life ruiner.