Yes, Mellophant, but is there a Santa Claus?

[Myrnalene]

For those who celebrate Christmas -

Did you believe in Santa Claus as a child? If so, do you remember what caused the realization that he doesn't exist and what your reaction was? For those who have kids, what have their experiences been? If you don't have kids, what do you think you might tell your hypothetical children about Santa?

[What Exit?]

Sadly I stopped believing when I was 5. My friend behind us had older sisters and one of them ruined it for all of us. Myself, my friend and his younger brother and one other neighborhood kid.

We did the Santa thing with my kids. It last until roughly age 9 with both. My daughter definitely knew before that and I think my son did but he did not want to let go. He is 9 now.

[Exy]

I can't remember ever believing in Santa. I'm sure I did at some point, but I don't remember when or how I stopped.

If I had kids (which I won't), sure, I'd tell them about Santa. I don't see any harm in that, it's a nice little myth for the kiddos to believe in.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

Sure I did. Don't know why I stopped believing, just figured out that it didn't add up, I guess.

My eight-year old just stopped believing this year. He figured out no Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny first, then came downstairs saying "I've been thinking...you're The Tooth Fairy, you're the Easter Bunny...are you Santa". He's been a little bitter towards the "fake guy", but I think he'll get into the Christmas groove OK as the season goes on.

I'm actually a little surprised that such an analytical kid kept believing so long. He always had a bit of trouble rationalizing that the elves were so thorough that they copied the "Made in China" on the toys.

[Skald the Rhymer]

I never believed, NotLoy. My parents did not believe in telling lies. (At least, not things they believed were lies.)

[Myrnalene]

My sister and I received presents from "Santa" well into our adult years, but I don't remember ever not knowing that "Santa" was mom and dad. I remember walking in one year on my mom wrapping my E.T. t-shirt and her being upset, and me wondering what the big deal was.

I don't see anything wrong with wanting kids to believe in Santa, but I don't think I could tell them about him with a straight face. I am very, very bad at deception.

[What Exit?]

I never believed, NotLoy. My parents did not believe in telling lies. (At least, not things they believed were lies.)

...
I don't see anything wrong with wanting kids to believe in Santa, but I don't think I could tell them about him with a straight face. I am very, very bad at deception.

To me it is not deception or lies but a fun story. Also a compact between the kids and the parents to make Christmas more fun.

[Zuul]

I grew up believing in Santa and up until recently my mother was still giving me "Santa presents." I finally got her to stop it this year and we have an agreement that she, my sister and I are all going to buy one present for the each of us and leave it at that.

I lost my belief in Santa around the time I was ten, which was when I stopped believing in God, too.

[Taumpy]

I believed as a kid, and was probably late to the party of non-believers. I think I was about 9 or 10 when it hit me that Santa and Mom were using the same wrapping paper, so it's a good bet that Santa is Mom. I still got Santa presents until I was 12 or 13.

I don't have kids, and probably never will, but if I did I'd be really torn about the Santa issue (and the tooth fairy, Easter Bunny, or whatever else). I kinda see it as lying to the kid, but I don't really begrudge other parents for wanting to do it. And I'd rather not my kid be the five year old ruining Christmas for all the other kindergarteners.

[jali]

I'm still waiting and hoping to find that he really does exist. There's this magical Christmas Eve feeling when the house is dark and there's the faint sound of sleighbells coming from somewhere outside.

I still wish...

[Feirefiz]

I don't remember believing in Santa Claus. Perhaps that is because German Christmas mythology is a bit of a mess. The closest equivalent of Santa Claus is the Weihnachtsmann (lit. Christmas man) but his connection to Saint Nicholas, who gives little presents on December 6th, is ill-defined. In addition to that there is the Christkind, Martin Luther's anti-Santa (lit. Christ child, originally not Baby Jesus although the two have been conflated for centuries.)

Saint Nicholas is the most consistent and uncontested figure. His holiday involves putting a boot in front of your door where he can leave small presents over night. There was a time when I didn't believe in the supernatural figure but I thought that there was actually someone employed to go from house to house who left presents everywhere. I am a Social Democrat, born and raised.

[OneCentStamp]

I was either 6 or 7 when I realized that Santa's handwriting was the same as my dad's. Whichever year that was, the next year I used my home electronics kit to set a motion sensing "trap" that would make a loud noise, and ran down to catch him in the act of placing our "Santa" gifts under the tree. All this because of some sense of injustice that my parents were lying to my little brother Ken. I was clearly a little know-it-all brat.

[Orual]

I believed until I was about 9 or so. My family's ethnically German, so we had St. Nicholas Day too: we got a stocking full of candy and small toys, as opposed to the larger gifts we got at Christmas.

I thought that St. Nicholas and Santa were brothers.