Santa is always real, even if he’s not.

Difficult to answer but with time and a constructive talk, it’ll be helpful

Definitely a difficult question to answer. So hard to answer and not make yourself look like a liar

Isn’t it sad when they start asking this question? Even sadder when they stop believing. The magic just disappears when the kids stop believing in Santa

Thankfully my little one is too small for this yet

My son asked me this question this year, and I waited to see where he went with it. This year we’re safe.. next year is another story.

My son told my daughter that Santa wasn’t real but would tell us he still believed because he was worried that once you stop believing you don’t get so many presents lol

Have never encouraged belief in Santa because I think it undermines values like truth that I want to inspire. My children love Christmas and enjoy all the Santa stuff (like stockings and visits and photos at the shops) and know it is just pretend. Not one iota of the “magic” is taken away. Far better than the pretence and lies and disappointment when the truth finally dawns.

My eldest nephew doesn’t believe any more but he is 9 years old. I don’t know how long it took him to work it out. He saw a photo of a little one taken at a party and one of his Uncles was dressed up as Father Christmas. He told me “that is Uncle…..”. As long as he doesn’t tell his little brother (3 y.o.) for a few years all will be well.

Trying to keep this myth alive as long as I can.

Believing in Father Christmas is such a short special time in your childhood.

What a lovely article. When mine started to doubt that year my husband and I set up a camera and filmed Santa puting presents under our tree. Wow that conformation lived for many more years…
p.s. Can I suggest that Boarding students post their fallen tooth back to Mum to put it under their home pillow and Mum and dad can collect the Tooth Fairy’s Gift and post that back or buy something nice in their care packages.

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  • • GeoEllie replied
    • 31 Jan 2015 , 7:20 pm

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  Love the boarding school tooth fairy idea!

“What do you believe?” is a good one as kids think about and come up with their own answers.

I hope to continue the mystery of Santa for many years yet, even as the kids get older and they have younger cousins I hope that they remember that Santa can be anything or anyone, mysterious.

Yes I am dreading being asked that question

Im pretty sure my son knows but he plays along

my eldest worked it out for himself last year (aged 12 years). I was please that he believed deeply in the magic of Christmas – for the last few years he just told friends who didn’t believe that he did. He didn’t let them take that away from him and I am so proud

I remember it was other kids that destroyed my faith. But I kept pretending I believed because my mum said as soon as I stopped believing I stopped getting presents.

Although my daughter is 14 and my son is 11 I think my son still believes in Santa to a point – but just to keep it fun in the family we always say ‘what is santa going to bring you for xmas’ lol

In our house as the kids are getting older we say well if Santa is not real then he would not bring gifts so at this stage they all still believe

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  • • june11 replied
    • 16 Nov 2014 , 10:18 pm

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  I am 3 years older than my brother. The first time I asked Mum the question her reply was “I don’t know”. The next year I told Mum I knew he wasn’t real etc. She just told me not to tell my brother so it didn’t spoil his fun. Let them have fun – they grow up too fast as it is.
  I know somebody with 2 small children (the youngest was 17 months) who used red coloured chalk and cornflour mixed with some glue and water and painted shapes on the cement driveway that looked like reindeers’ paws. and some browny colour lines for the sleigh. They put out buckets of water for the reindeers and carrots with the tops still on them -they eat them with the skin on. The next morning all that was left of the carrots was bits of the tops. They left biscuits and a big bottle of cool drink in a bucket of ice and glass on the dining table for Santa. If he drank too much beer everywhere he went he would get too drunk, fall asleep and not finish delivering the presents.