Santa Claus is coming to town (or is he?)
By dorannmwin
@dorannmwin (36392)
United States
November 28, 2012 10:34pm CST
This year is a year of change for our family. You see last Thursday my daughter went with me to Wal-Mart for the Black Friday sales. While we were there, we purchased two nice new bicycles. There was one bicycle for Kathryn and one for Paul. As we were leaving the store, I had to tell her that Santa Claus was really Mommy and Daddy. Now she has asked me about this in the past, but I continued the lie and told her that Santa was real. However, I had to tell her now because otherwise she would have ended up ruining it for her brother as well. She is going to be ten years old next week.
I remember that I was in first grade (six years old) at the time that my first friend told me that Santa Claus wasn't real, but I didn't believe her. I probably should have because Kendra did have a sister that was seven years older than us. I actually came to the realization that my mom and dad were Santa Claus when I was ten years old.
How old were you when you realized or found out that Santa Claus wasn't real? Was it something that your parents just told you or did you discover it on accident? If you are a parent, what are you doing about the belief in Santa Claus and your children?
I know that Kathryn wasn't traumatized because she told me that she knew because I get far too many packages through the year that I will never let her and Paul see and Daddy and I don't give them that many presents. I also assured her that Santa Mom will continue to visit her as long as she maintains a belief in the magic of Christmas.
5 people like this
9 responses
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
29 Nov 12
I finally asked my parents when I was 12 years old and I am sorry I did. Lol. Christmas lost all of its magic after I found out the truth, I wish I never asked. But I did and Christmas was just not the same after that, not at all. =( I felt it was nice that my parents got us so much but I wanted Santa, the reindeer, the elves, all of it...
2 people like this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
You know what the really funny thing is, I was about the same age when I learned the truth about Santa Claus as my daughter is now and yet, it really didn't change a lot for me.
One thing that we did after both my brother and I knew the truth is that the two of us would play the Santa Claus role for our mother. We would save our money and make sure that she had an assortment of extra gifts under the tree from Santa Claus as well on Christmas morning.
@cynthiann (18612)
• Jamaica
29 Nov 12
What a lovely response you gave to her! I think that I was about 8 or 9 years old but didn't let on to my parents as I still wanted the gifts. My older sister must have told me I suppose but I don't really remember. Have a happy Christmas
2 people like this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
Thank you, I thought that I said it pretty well, if I do say so myself. You know, even though it has been a long time since I knew that Santa was make believe and yet I still completely believe in magic during the Christmas season.
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
29 Nov 12
I knew by the time that I was around nine or 10, but I didn't tell my mother for a few years. When I did, she didn't take it well.
I won't be confronted with the Santa Claus issue, since I no longer celebrate Christmas. I am in the process of converting to Judaism, and my future husband and I will hopefully raise good Jewish children.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
I can see why you will never be confronted with the Santa Claus issue.
Now for me, I don't think that there would be any reason that I wouldn't be able to tolerate it well if she had come to me because I do know that it is something that I would have eventually been faced with. I just didn't want her to ruin the magic for her little sister.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
29 Nov 12
I don't exactly remember how old I was, but I remember what was told to me. The story was that Santa Claus was a person who lived many years ago and he loved to help children, many children in his village were hungury and cold with no toys at all so he worked all year to give them special gifts on Christmas. This is why we remember Santa Claus each year and gifts are given in his name. To this day I don't know if this is a true story or not, but just the idea of remembering someone that wonderful stuck in my mind as a young child and I accepted the myth of
Santa all of my life. This same story I told my children when they were five or so. What I really hated was giving up the sound of raindeer on the roof, I still swear I heard them one year.
2 people like this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
I heard this story as well when I was a child. In fact, I think that it was before I was old enough to actually not believe in Santa Claus so in my naive little mind, I thought that the same St. Nikolas was still alive and working for us in the world when I was a child.
@sender621 (14889)
• United States
29 Nov 12
I was also six and in first grade when a classmate decided to clue me in about santa claus. i ws devastatated. i could not wait to go home and tell my mom and dad what this child had tried to pull on me,. omly to find he was rigt all along. i cried about it for a while. reLITY stikes a blow.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
I do believe that is one of the reasons that I did decide to tell Kathryn the way that I did. I didn't want her to be completely traumatized on Christmas morning and even more than that, I really didn't want her to blow it all for her little brother because that would have started a whole other set of problems.
@betty1989 (751)
• China
29 Nov 12
If we maintain a belief in the magic of Christmas, Santa Claus will be real. Santa Clau is always around us. I know that Santa Clau is my mother or my father when I was ten years old. That time I finally realize that all the gifts I receive in the Christmas is sending by my family not real Santa Claus. I am moved since my parents have tried their best. Go ahead, just tell your children the truth.
2 people like this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
Well, I don't want to ruin it for my six-year-old yet, but I know that my (almost) ten-year-old was old enough to know the truth. I also pointed out to her that she even helps play the role of Santa Claus for some other children that we will never know because of the fact that we do donate old toys to some of the charities that help to provide Christmas in our area.
@cutepenguin (6430)
• Canada
29 Nov 12
I was about 8 or 9 when I woke up to my aunts and uncles filling the stockings. I had suspected earlier so I wasn't too upset. I didn't tell my younger sisters and cousins so I don't know when they figured it out.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
I don't remember ever waking up to finding my parents filling our stockings and playing with the toys that they had gotten for us. However, I just got to a point when I was a bit older that I just knew that it wasn't possible, that is when I asked my mother about it.
@joliefille (3690)
• Philippines
29 Nov 12
Hmmm interesting topic. I remember being upset then that Santa wasn't real but I think I found out when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I heard the truth from my friends and classmates. I also noticed that, well, our socks would be filled with familiar stuff we really like and there was no one else who bought those but my parents. 
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
You know, I never even thought about the fact that the gifts that I had gotten were things that were very familiar to me because of the fact that I always thought that we were constantly being watched by Santa Claus and his helpers, so they not only reported to Santa if we were good or bad, they also gave him a complete outline of the things that we liked and disliked.
@devonavis (1854)
• Greece
30 Nov 12
Santa Claus is real. There are so many santa claus in our world. Even if they are not in costume, they are being a santa claus by helping other people.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Nov 12
Yes, the spirit of Santa Claus is very real. In fact, this was also something that I explained to Kathryn. I pointed out to her about the fact that we donate our old toys as we are coming close to the Christmas season and the reason that we are doing that is because of the spirit of Santa Claus, we are passing on to other people that might wake up on Christmas morning and would have nothing.
