[Closed] At what age did you tell your kids that Father Christmas.....

You don't ever tell them the truth!

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/what-age-did-your-kids-stop-believing-in-santa-claus

7 or 8 would seem a good age to tell them IF they are asking. You are lucky they are close in age as it's a stress to keep older ones from spilling the beans. As you've done they should be sworn to secrecy. My kids are all in their 20's now but if I'm honest Christmas is never quite the same once they don't believe. With ours Santa only brought the stocking and ate the mince pie and drank the beer, the main presents where always from us.

My 6 year old (just turned) was asking some clever questions about the existence of Santa this weekend. I kept up the lie...

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Mine is now, the others in his class are mostly 8...

We've been having Santa discussions this week leading up to Xmas but I've carried on with the Santa being real side of it for now... I do expect this will be our last year though.

No biggy, at least now he'll appreciate all the crap we've bought him instead of saying

"Well, it doesn't cost anything as Santa makes them all with his elves".

Hmmm lol

My 6yo still believes the real Santa exists, but has come to the conclusion that the one we visited the other day was a fake Santa dressed in a suit becuase a) he was wearing a fake beard and b) Santa can't be everywhere, can he.

Your kids need to wise up. Santa exists all the time he keeps delivering the goods 🙂

I had my haircut once by a woman who swore blind her 12 year and 10 year old sons still believed in Santa.

She felt it was the best thing ever and had, basically, indoctrinated them every year since birth to believe.

I tried to ask about whether she thought actively fostering a belief in an imaginary being like that was healthy but it quickly became clear I'd end up with a bad haircut if I persisted.

It was like talking to someone who was deeply religious and held a totally different world view.

Baffling and somewhat scarey.

Kryton57 - Member

My 6yo still believes the real Santa exists, but has come to the conclusion that the one we visited the other day was a fake Santa dressed in a suit becuase a) he was wearing a fake beard and b) Santa can't be everywhere, can he

I told mine that Santas as school, shops etc all go to Santa school to be trained up so they can all help out at this time, but the real Santa does all the work on the day.

He asked if he could write a letter to Santa to leave with the mince pie asking why Santa didn't shave his beard off.

My 10 year old has this week told us that Santa doesn't exist. I think the logistics of getting all of those presents out in one night have finally twigged with her.

I do wonder if all the kids know from an early age but agree not to tell their parents 'in case it spoils Christmas for them'?

Still haven't told mine (23,20 and 18).

I think they tend to cotton when they're about six. Questions can get an ironic answer "it's an old man who flies all round the world on a sledge who brings presents. Definitely not your mum and dad..."

That said, I'm vaguely recalling an argument with my youngest along the lines: "look I buy your presents! I go to the shop, buy them and leave them at the end of your bloody bed!" "No you don't - it's father christmas." In the end I gave in. **** it, maybe it is Father Christmas.

The question is - WHY would Santa do all this stuff? Has his motivation been discussed?

molgrips - Member

The question is - WHY would Santa do all this stuff?

Because he's a Saint

I still keep up the pretence with my 11 year old. I am sure she 'secretly' knows but I continue to smile when I ask her for her list for Santa.

Let them believe for as long as you can keep up the game, it's all part of the fun. Having said that my son's currently designing a 'booby trap' for when he comes next.

Mine, aged 6 and 8, were telling me that they knew Santa didn't exist and it was just the parents because someone at school had told them. They were so smug about knowing but looked quite shocked when we just said that was correct! Had to swear them to secrecy of course and guess what - the presents stopped coming 8)

Yeah, right.

I guarantee my nearly 11 and nearly 14 year old will be putting out a carrot for the reindeer and a bottle of stella for the fat lad by the log burner again this year. Tsall part of the magic ain't it...

My boys are 16 and 18, we have never told them anything other than Father Christmas is real and even last night, we were asking what our eldest son wants for Christmas and he asked if he could have a joint present from Nan and Father Christmas, little things like that help keep the magic and happiness in Christmas 😀

I remember my mum telling me at the age of about 10, my mum was crushed when I broke it to her that you figure it out at the age of about 7

and yet I'm going to do exactly the same thing for my two

I'm sure our 8yo girl has suspicions, but she can still be controlled by use of the Santa sensors (PIRs), and telling her that HE is watching her behaviour.
She's that clued in that she probably just plays along to keep us happy, and to get presents of course.

Whaaaat...?

Are you saying...?

Whaaaaaaaaaat...?

Noooooooooooo....!

You don't ever tell them the truth!

You could always tell them on Christmas day that Santa's sleigh strayed into Syrian airspace last night and was shot down by Isis and Santa was captured & beheaded so they won't be getting presents anymore.

That way they still get to believe he existed, you save a fortune on presents and they get to learn a bit about current affairs at the same time 😉

my eldest was 5 when we told him...the middle one is 3 and a half and knows also but she doesnt care

It's a coming of age thing innit..
PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS NEVER TELL THEM THE TRUTH...(about Santa)
they tell you when they're ready!

My 10 year old boy is on the cusp, but I get the feeling he still 'want's' to believe and that absolutely fine with us. I'm almost certain my 8 year old daughter will probably continue to believe until early adulthood.

People talk about the magic of Christmas for children and, religion way to the side of all this, Christmas is one event we can all stop pretending that we are something, and just be kids again. And that's the real magic. 😀

im hoping they'll last till 7 or 8. if they still believe when they're any older than that id start to worry they're a bit simple.

my mum never admitted he wasnt real tho, and neither will we...

if they still believe when they're any older than that id start to worry they're a bit simple.

FFS! They're kids.

yes, i would never shatter their illusions. but they should be questioning the logic by 9yrs, no?

They might start to wonder but still believe as they trust their parents, calling or thinking "they're a bit simple" is awful thing to say.

it was meant to be tongue in cheek. never mind

Why would you tell them? They work it out for themselves. My 9yo knows in her heart he doesn't exist but goes along with it just for the fun of it, the tradition of it and because she has a healthy imagination. Why do we want our kids innocence and childhoods to be taken away from them so early? Kids suss things out for themselves, no need to sit them down and tell them. If she asks I still say yes, he exists. Let them live out their childhood, they've got the rest of their lives to be 'sensible' adults and have all the wonder and fantasy sucked out of their world.

For any of you wanting to still convince the kids; on christmas eve show them "Nomad tracks santa.org" great fun!

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For those wanting to add to the Christmas experience there's always this again...[url= http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/internet/how-watch-international-space-station-santa-sleigh-pass-over-uk-christmas-eve-3592059/ ]Space station on Christmas Eve[/url]

Happened the same time last year and I was amazed!

it was meant to be tongue in cheek. never mind

You stay classy.

I was 38 when I told mine.

my eldest was 5 when we told him...the middle one is 3 and a half and knows also but she doesnt care

Wow, I bet Christmas is fun in your house. Why would you tell a 5 yr old Santa isn't real?

Our 15 yr old worked it out years ago no doubt about that, but still played along (and still believed a little) - probably still does. Mrs STR is 44 and still believes.

Give a little, get a little and rejoice. I love Christmas!

My 6 year old still believes but is struggling to answer my questions as to wear Santa fits in with the nativity. Apparently he is not Jesus' dad as that is Joseph or God, depending on time of year. Santa may have been one of the wise men (in disguise) leaving a gift.

Apparently I am stupid for suggesting that Frankenstein was also there to give Jesus a present...

Tell them the truth, that there is no God.

Drac - Moderator

Tell them the truth, that there is no God.

Why ? Why be so sodding miserable ? Can they not believe in the tooth fairy ? Or that they actually CAN be a fighter pilot/president of the US or whatever else ?

Childhood is about fantasty, about believing the cars are alive, the soldiers are being shot or Spiderman really is killing the Barbie doll and taking her to his lair....

Jeeez... some miserable buggers here.

We have friends who have two grown up kids and one 'unplanned' youngster.

They have always had a lot of fun at Christmas part of which was that Dad used to go upstairs to do a job, quickly put on the Santa outfit, climb out of the window on to garage roof and then be briefly seen through the window on the stairs by the kids. This went on way past when the kids got old enough to know, but as it was always part of the fun no-one ever wanted it to end.

When the youngster was a couple of years old and old enough to be aware and believe in Santa, Dad announced he needed to go upstairs to do a job, and Adam, his grown up son quietly but firmly told him that he was too old to be doing jobs on Christmas eve, he'd go and do it instead. Of course Dad had never seen close up the wonder in his kids eyes at glimpsing Santa on the roof but now he had the chance.

That's what Santa's about. That mouth open in wonderment - don't make it stop before it has to.

I think we dragged it out until Jr was 9 - had to use the NORAD thing and a message from the [url= https://www.portablenorthpole.com/en/ ]https://www.portablenorthpole.com/en/[/url] to extend it that one last year.

Actually, the latter produced one of his best facial expressions ever 🙂

No kids (that I know of), but I realised there was no such thing when I was 9 and woke up to see my father dressed up as Santa Claus putting the presents at the end of the bed.

That's about when the bullshit deconstructor logged in...

Wow, I bet Christmas is fun in your house. Why would you tell a 5 yr old Santa isn't real?

being the muslamic type...we dont celebrate crimbo, but that doesnt mean the kids dont get any presents...we still do that to show them that it is the season of giving.

anti-established religion type here 😛 I told them as soon as they could understand
I don't feel miserable, the world is pretty incredible without crassmas stories thanks.

P.S. I will point Little Bo Peep in this threads direction, I have heard she's looking for y'all. x.

She's not real.

being the muslamic type...we dont celebrate crimbo, but that doesnt mean the kids dont get any presents...

So Santa Claus visits your house too, eh?

Shhh! Don't tell everyone.. they'll start calling you miserable and telling you about the Little Bo Peep 'magic' Oohhh the look on little Timmy's face when Little Bo Peep lost her sheep, we convinced him to spend three weeks hunting for those little babee lambs. Don't let it stop till it has ta Drac, I beg ya..

Wow, I bet Christmas is fun in your house. Why would you tell a 5 yr old Santa isn't real?

I would have though that between he ages of 5 and 8 that most kids would have realised that Santa wasn't real anyway.

However pretending he visits can still be fun as there is something that humans are good at, which is telling stories about things that aren't necessarily true.

I would have though that between he ages of 5 and 8 that most kids would have realised that Santa wasn't real anyway.

You'd be wrong.

You'd be wrong.

Later being told one of these blokes didn't exist but the other one definitley did, [i]honest[/i], I should have probably questioned their logic a little more at the time.