Santa Claus

[Free For All]

How long (if at all) did you believe? I can remember the exact moment when my sister told me the truth, I think I must have been 8 or so. I remember it being one of the first loss-of-innocence reality moments (and disappointments) of my life. We always left cookies and milk, the whole routine. Do those of you w/young children go through this routine? I remember the thrill of standing in line to see Santa at the big department store. I wonder who these men unto whose laps I anxiously climbed REALLY were!

Ever have a friend or relative who regularly did the Santa routine for your family (accoutrements and all)? While a grad student at UT Austin I was hired to be Santa (through a music booking agent, another great moment as a professional trombonist) for the kids of the workers at IBM. There were A LOT of kids, many of whom were terrified, and it was a long, long day (and HOT under the makeup, beard and outfit).

I was a ho ho HO.

[Big Al]

There's no Santa?

[Big Al]

Seriously, my life was backwards. My mom forbade me & my sister from believing in Santa Claus. Even to the point where she told my gramma that SHE wasn't allowed to do Santa stuff with us.

I didn't realize how much I missed until I met my wife and her daughter (who is now OUR daughter ), and I saw how much fun it was. I don't know when my daughter stopped believing, probably early teens. I think my son doesn't believe anymore (eventually he figured out Santa's handwriting was mysteriously similar to my handwriting, no matter how hard I tried to make it legible), but we still do the "letter for Santa" and leaving milk and cookies every Christmas Eve, just for fun.

Since I've had kids, I now believe in Santa Claus. Not as a real human being who flies around every Christmas, but as a symbol of the good cheer and happiness that should be evident at this time of year. And I'll stop now before this turns into a real downer of a rant.

[Dan Gould]

I'm not sure when I learned the truth, probably about the same age as Paul. No one had to spill the beans; I was a brat who wanted to know what he was getting for Christmas and I found Mom's hiding place for gifts. Some were wrapped, some weren't, but the ones that were wrapped and said "To Danny From Santa" were clearly not from Santa at all, unless he was subcontracting to UPS.

[Elissa]

A few years ago, for the holidays, I was out West skiing with my mom, her husband, my brother, his wife. Christmas morning, with everyone getting the coffee and champagne etc ready, I asked if they'd heard something funny the night before. Because I had. It was like a boom on the roof or the wall or something, so I peeked out through the dark and could swear that right outside my big glass sliding doors I'd seen a really big, fat, hairy guy lurking around and traipsing through the snow. Sure they didn't hear anything weird? No? (All their faces go white and they make like a Serious Breach has occurred.) Cause I heard something, yeah it was right here on the roof and then I saw him again, a second time: a fat guy creeping around outside... It wasn't until I mentioned the red suit that they laughed. Well, not really laughed, but realized I'd gotten 'em.

[Aggie87]

I now believe in Santa Claus. Not as a real human being who flies around every Christmas, but as a symbol of the good cheer and happiness that should be evident at this time of year.

[jazzypaul]

call me a spoil sport, or an asshole, or both, but I really don't see the point in Santa Claus, and I don't know how I'm going to handle this with my daughter. Both of us grew up in Santa-less households for varying reasons, so it's not really a big deal for me or Christina.

[Free For All]

call me a spoil sport, or an asshole, or both, but I really don't see the point in Santa Claus, and I don't know how I'm going to handle this with my daughter. Both of us grew up in Santa-less households for varying reasons, so it's not really a big deal for me or Christina.

I really don't see a problem with this, because as Al said, it is (or should be) more about nurturing the concept of giving and generosity (which can become a part of the child's persona, not just a holiday thing).

Edited December 21, 2007 by Free For All

[catesta]

I must have been around 7 or 8 years old when I finally gave up. I'm the youngest of five children so I had my suspicions , but it was confirmed the year I found the polaroids left out on the table of my father, Uncle Vinny, and Uncle Dom assembling a Jackie Stewart Aurora AFX track for me. I think I lead on one more year.

[Dan Gould]

call me a spoil sport, or an asshole, or both, but I really don't see the point in Santa Claus, and I don't know how I'm going to handle this with my daughter. Both of us grew up in Santa-less households for varying reasons, so it's not really a big deal for me or Christina.

You remind me of a scrooge boss I once had. He told me that he and his wife didn't believe in giving gifts to each other - if they need something, they buy it. Otherwise - forget it. But they did decorate, and had gift-wrapped boxes they would put under the tree.

If you and your wife don't celebrate Christmas - or don't celebrate it with gift-giving - then raise your child accordingly.

[Christiern]

I never believed that there was a Santa Claus--in Denmark we called him "Julemanden" (the Christmas man)--simply because there were too many of them and I had enough imagination to be a realist. That did not, however, dilute my enjoyment of Christmas--I played the game and dutifully placed my slippers on the window sill for someone to fill with candy, etc. (we did not hang stockings in the old country). I also knew full well that it was not by coincidence that the Christmas almond always appeared in my rice pudding--it was supposedly a random thing and it yielded an "almond gift". Mysteriously, that gift also always happened to be something suitable for a boy of my age--I was the only child--and I joined the rest of the family in feigning surprise.

We always opened our gifts on Christmas Eve, after dinner (goose), and it was all a joyous reality. Of course the highlight was unwrapping the gifts, but I enjoyed just as much the pre-Christmas activity of creating ornaments for the tree. It, tree, was always slightly taller than I, growing with me each year.

That describes the wonderful Christmases I spent with a loving family, but--to be real--there were also years when it was difficult to generate the right mood.

Anyone who has not heard Dylan Thomas read his "A Child's Christmas in Wales" should correct that.

[BeBop]

How long (if at all) did you believe? I can remember the exact moment when my sister told me the truth, I think I must have been 8 or so.

Are you trying to tell me something?

Yeah, I still 'believe'. Maybe not in Santa, per se. More like in a benevolent force in the universe. The force of good, happiness and some form of justice-on-Earth. Someone who makes sure that the 'nice' have positives in their lives and the 'naughty' pay some price. And he's got a twinkle in his eye.

That's what I believe.

[DukeCity]

...a Jackie Stewart Aurora AFX track...

SWEET!!!

I was probably 6 or so. As the youngest of four kids, I'm sure I got the hang of what was really happening pretty early on.

It was a little convoluted, since we always opened presents on Christmas eve, and there were already some presents under the tree from Santa. Then, Christmas morning there were stockings filled by Santa, and we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

[JSngry]

http://www.amiright.com/real/inappartist/lorriemorgan.shtml

[ejp626]

I can't recall actually believing in Santa Claus, so I was probably 6 or 7.

We've decided to play Santa for my son (age 3), partly because it is fun and partly because there are so many Santa-themed shows (and songs) that you pretty much have to leave the TV (and radio) off from Thanksgiving to Christmas or you have a lot of tricky explaining to do. My personal favorite is Year Without a Santa Claus (Snowmiser and Heatmiser rock!).

But I do have a co-worker who is trying to explain to his own 3 y.o. that it is all a story (or a good-hearted fable if you will).

[rachel]

I don't remember ever believing in Santa as a child, either. I just couldn't fathom how it was possible for him to fit down the chimney let alone fly through the sky and cover the entire world in one night. I loved the story of Santa and we all played along with leaving the cookies and milk, but I always knew it was fantasy.

Either that or I couldn't figure how he could possibly move the piano that was sitting in front of our non-working fireplace.

[Tim McG]

I figured it out when I caught my parents putting gifts under the tree....I must have been 8 or so.

My own kids caught on the same way.

Kids are sure sneaky little critters

Edited December 22, 2007 by GoodSpeak

[Swinging Swede]

[jazzypaul]

call me a spoil sport, or an asshole, or both, but I really don't see the point in Santa Claus, and I don't know how I'm going to handle this with my daughter. Both of us grew up in Santa-less households for varying reasons, so it's not really a big deal for me or Christina.

You remind me of a scrooge boss I once had. He told me that he and his wife didn't believe in giving gifts to each other - if they need something, they buy it. Otherwise - forget it. But they did decorate, and had gift-wrapped boxes they would put under the tree.

If you and your wife don't celebrate Christmas - or don't celebrate it with gift-giving - then raise your child accordingly.

Umm, thanks dude.

We totally celebrate Christmas, but between Christina being raised by independent baptists and me asking way too many questions way too early for my parents to even try, neither of us really "did" the santa claus thing. If that makes me a scrooge, then this world is too fucked up for words.

[Christiern]

I don't think the "spirit of Christmas" has to be religious--in my family's later generations it came upon us annually with no bible strings attached. I don't think I became a worse person for it. In the English language, the holiday is named after a semi-mythical figure whose birth it celebrates, but look what has happened to it--whatever spirit there once was has morphed into gimmemas. It's all about making and spending money. A friend of mine received his two grand-nieces' Christmas list earlier this month. they are 7 and 9, respectively and the least expensive items on their list was $200! If people give in to that, I think they are doing the children (and themselves) a disservice. Whether we call it Christmas, Xmas, or Yule, this holiday will always have at least a symbolic tie to the carpenter, and a more real presence in a strenuously jolly fictional character with an unlimited gift budget. It will also not go away as long as there is money to be made, so I feel children ought to be leveled with at an early age and taught real values. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but he exists solely in our mind and we should look upon him as a non-secterian figure who symbolizes unselfishness.

To end this rant on a real hackneyed note, if children are taught real values, they will have a much healthier outlook and it will stand them in good stead as they become adults. If you celebrate Christmas with your children, use the opportunity to put it into a proper perspective--that, imo, includes unmasking but not eliminating the guy in the red suit who, btw, could be a gal.

[JSngry]

...the guy in the red suit who, btw, could be a gal.

Oh HELL yeah!

[JSngry]

Chris, you might be on to something!

http://whatsupdownsouth.blogspot.com/2005/...anta-woman.html

Is Santa a Woman?

Just think about it for a minute.

First, how many men do you know who think about gifts before Dec. 24th? And even then, seemed surprised to find there's little left on the shelves to purchase, I've heard, "I lik'ta never found anything that I thought you'd like," so many times over the years. Of course it took him an hour or two to get through the tools and hunting sections of the store to even make it to any other department. I figure if Santa were really a man, everyone would wake up with duck callers or a router saw under the tree.

Another problem for a he-Santa would be getting there. First of all, there would be no reindeer because they would all be dead, gutted and strapped on to the rear bumper of the sleigh amid wide-eyed, desperate claims that buck season had been extended. Blitzen's rack would already be on the way to the taxidermist. But say there was a reindeer or two that survived the slaughter, a male Santa would get lost cause he sure as hell ain't gonna be wimpy enough to ask someone for directions!

And the final reasons I don't believe Santa could be a male?

*Few men can pack a bag.

*Men aren't interested in stockings unless someone is wearing them.

*Being responsible for Christmas would require a commitment.

.

Hmmm....

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, Brenda's probably right - apart from the getting lost bit. When men congregate in pubs, the only topics of conversation are:

beer;

fags (in America cigarettes);

football (in Wales Rugby, in the US American Football);

birds; and

how to get from A to B.

(Unless the men are miners or civil servants, in which case they talk shop.)

With such endless and only slightly squiffy advice, even a make Santa could find his way anywhere.

MG

[AndrewHill]

I'm hoping this will be the year where both of my daughters will beleive in Santa at the same time. My older one is on the verge of discovering that he's not real. For example, she requested this year to sleep on the couch on Christmas eve so she can catch him in the act and she also saved the tags off her presents from last year from Santa so that she can do a handwriting analysis with this year's tags (see, what she doesn't know is that I also kept a tag so I can duplicate the tags this year ). But she's also a heavy sleeper so I don't have to worry about her seeing us putting gifts under the tree. But nevertheless, its just a matter of time for her. My younger one doesn't have a clue.

I think I found out that Santa wasn't real at 8. I stayed up all night and got a pocket mirror out and propped it under the crack of the door so I could see why the lights were still on at 3 in the mornng and saw that they were putting a bike together. I don't remember being that upset about, I mean I was getting a bike for Christmas!

[Alexander]

About two or three years ago, my daughter (who is seven now) confronted me with the fact that she knew that Santa wasn't real.

"Then who brings you the presents?" I asked.

"You and mommy." she said.

"You don't see any presents around the house before Christmas, do you?"

"You and mommy hide them and put them out when I go to sleep."

"But what about the notes? Every year you put out a note for Santa and ask him to sign it if he's real. If there's no Santa, then who signs those notes?"

"Come on, daddy. I can tell that you sign it. And all the tags on the presents are in mommy's writing."

"Ok. You got me. There's no Santa. Mommy and I are the ones who give you the gifts."

"I knew it!"

But then, less than a year later, she decided to hedge her bets and claimed to believe in Santa again. To this day, she insists that Santa is real (even though she found the "Santa" wrapping paper in the basement). I wonder...