Our children used to hang a small pillowcase on the ends of their bed for ‘Santa’ to put gifts in. These gifts were usually pencil and pencil cases for school, maybe an orange or a piece of stone fruit and some socks and undies. The big presents were from us or their grandparents and the cards on them said so. So our children weren’t too fussed about Santa being real.

I think Kids eventually grow out of it and realise that it’s not real so don’t worry too much about lying to them. Even if you do lie think of it as a beautiful lie as your kid are happy so I think its all worth it at the end.

Some kids and adults might think differently about Santa because they want to play the ‘Santa game’. It’s ok for people to think differently about different things. You can join in the game if you want to–it’s fun to use your imagination and pretend–or you can stay out of it. You don’t need to tell other people that ‘Santa isn’t real’ because everyone likes to pretend sometimes, just like when you play with your [dolls, action figures, video games, watch movies], and you pretend that they are real

We had questions about Santa because the children were told by others at school that Santa is not real. We sat down and had a sensitive and open discussion about what do you believe. They said they believe and they did not want confirmation from us. We went with the magic and fun of Christmas and going with the children still believing in Santa.

This is a hard one, but I guess my parents (and me) never went to a particular effort in making me believe these things were real and so as I grew older I naturally just realised they weren’t and didn’t accuse my parents in any way. We do the elf with my kids and I don’t think they have ever really believed it’s real, it’s just a bit of fun.
I think just explaining to your child that it is all just a fun game to make magic happen at Christmas. If you make it more about it being a game to create beautiful memories and your child can see and understand the effort that you have put in, they will understand and appreciate what you have done for them, rather than seeing it as a lie.

This is hard, and once they know the truth, it feels a little different.. well it did for me. We answered our daughter honestly when she asked as she was going into high school the next yr! We couldn’t have her in high school thi king Santa was real. We told her “you are now apart of the biggest secret in the world, and it’s your job to help keep the secret alive for the kids”.

Why do you have to tell them he isn’t real? How old are your children? If they’re young then why would you? I don’t understand. Kids grow up way too fast and keeping a bit of mystery surrounding Santa doesn’t really hurt. I wouldn’t do it unless my child was older and told me that there’s no Santa. But until then I’d keep the traditional story going.

My Mum told me that it was a grown up secret and the fact that I now knew the secret must mean that I was growing up. She told me that because of that I needed to understand that I had to keep[ the secret and not spoil the special magic of Christmas for other children. I loved that and said the same to my kids, Never had a problem.

I always told my kids that Santa is actually real and not far from truth at all. I shared that the legend of Santa Claus is based on the life of St. Nicholas, a 4th century Christian bishop who was known for his generosity and secret gift-giving and that we celebrate Christmas inspired by his example.

I definitely agree with the below comment to talk about what Santa symbolises for this time of year. And to explain that its important we make sure to keep the magic and wonder for other people going so she shouldn’t tell anyone, just to make sure other kids don’t get their bubble burst too early.

Many parents face this moment where kids start to question the magic of Santa and other traditions. Your approach sounds really thoughtful—explaining that it was about creating special memories and bringing a little magic into their lives can soften the reality. You could also highlight that while Santa isn’t “real” in the traditional sense, the spirit of giving, wonder, and joy is something you’ll always cherish together as a family. It helps transition from the fantasy to the deeper meaning behind those traditions. As others have shared, it’s important to acknowledge their feelings and reassure them that it’s okay to let go of the magic, but still keep the traditions alive in a different way.

Our children were more interested in the fact that they worked it out and how clever they were rather than why we did it. Maybe if they ask say it’s a tradition that’s everyone has done for years to make Christmas exciting, which is true. Don’t over think it, they’ll still be excited it’s Christmas.