Believing in Santa is for babies!

[starseed galaxy auticorn]

Do you still believe in Santa? Do you have kids around you that still do? At what age did you stop believing in him? Do you think parents should tell their kids he's not real? Or should they let the kids find out on their own?

I thought this would be fun because Christmas is coming so soon. XD

I don't really believe in him to be honest. However, I do pretend he's real when kids are involved though. I think I stopped believing him in my early teens when my parents said he wasn't real. It took me a while to accept it, being the developmentally-challenged person I am, but I started to see the facts and how he never brought me gifts anymore. *shrug*

I do think it's better for kids to figure out on there own that he's not real. Then again, it is probably best if the parents tell their kids. Still, the most hardest thing to imagine for a young child is knowing your greatest hero isn't real in my opinion. :/

 

[Mana1]

... ... ...

My parents have a lot of explaining to do this christmas.

 

[Alfieri]

I stopped believing in Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy and other such beings back when I was like 8 I think. There were times when I was 9 or 10 where I almost told younger kids that and the teacher stopped me lol. Once I figured out they were fake, my parents stopped playing along.

If I have kids, I won't lie to them about those figures.

 

[antemortem]

for a time i believed santa knew my family personally because my parents fooled me into hearing him on the roof when i was 8,,

 

[Yukari]

I believed in Santa for a while when I was little. I stopped when I was, like 7 I guess. I'm around some children who still believe in him though.

 

[Juno]

I didn't exactly "figure it out" so much as I "accidentally ruined it for myself" when I was like 8 or 9. Basically I had a disagreement with one of my anti-Santa friends that didn't believe in him, then went home asking my mom if he's real or not. I was honestly just hoping she would agree with me and back me up so I could be like "see, my mom said so and mothers are always right" the next day, but my mom just assumed I had figured it out when I asked that and caved instantly. :P Oops. And from that very Christmas on, I stopped getting Christmas gifts from my parents.

Anecdotes aside, I see no harm in letting kids have a little make-believe in their childhood. While Christmas is obviously still fun now, it's very different from the ones I had as a kid. Those first few Christmases were the most magical for me and I will always treasure my memories of writing letters to Santa and waking up early Christmas morning to open all my presents under the tree (my parents also had me believe that if you open your presents before Christmas day they will turn to coal, so even my presents from friends and other family would be unopened before Christmas).

 

[Alexander Nicholi]

I don't and haven't since I was... uh, I think 6? I'm not sure, but I know I was really young.

As far as kids go I'll begrudgingly hold the interests of the parents as far as what they want to do with their kids, but with my own I'm not going to make the error of telling them Saint Nicholis is anything besides a fairytale. That's not to say I would be downplaying gift giving or cultural to-dos, though. Not at all. :)

 

[Poki]

I stopped believing in magic a long time ago.

 

[Palkia]

No. He was invented by The Coca-Cola Company as a advertising tool.

 

[Astinus]

I was always just a little too smart to believe in Santa for very long. One of my earliest memories of Christmas is looking at a letter from Santa addressed to me and recognizing the handwriting as my father's. There was also the fact that I be given gifts at Christmastime that I'd remember picking out at various stores. So between those events and being a little insomniac who never heard reindeer hooves on the roof, I didn't believe in Santa for very long.

Doesn't stop my mother from still trying to keep the magic alive. So I pretend around her and any children that Santa is still out there bringing gifts. It's fun and keeps the holiday season a little more festive.

 

[Sydian]

I believed until I was about 11 I think? That might be considered long, I don't know. I think a part of me believe for so long because I've never been one to grow up, plus I was probably afraid I'd no longer get Santa presents. :P I still do though, as do my siblings.

If I have a kid in the future though, I'd probably make the effort to make sure he or she didn't figure it out too soon. Gonna require some outward thinking, but it'll be fun and I can make it work. By the way, major way to reveal it, but electronics, anything with a price tag, clothes, and underwear...if you're gonna do Santa for your kids...don't do those things. Just saying. Though without many wooden and handmade toys and crafts given for gifts anymore, I guess it's more difficult. Need to change it to saying Santa gets his elves to raid Walmart on Black Friday for gifts and doesn't make them anymore, haha.

 

[Hikamaru]

I used to believe in Santa until I was around 11 I guess. I'll always know he's just there to excite kids, which explains why you have these department store Santas that kids can have photos with, and well all those decorations and Santa hats. I do guess that without Santa, Christmas isn't as fun.

 

[Kyoe]

Believing in Santa is for babies!

Well, someone's getting coal in their stocking.... :p

 

[Lunaris Adamantine]

During the earliest Christmas in my memory,when I was 4 or 5 years old, my parents bought a bunch of stuff and signed it as being from Santa. I remember looking at these gifts and thinking, 'Why did my parents sign this as Santa?'. I didn't even think once that someone other than them bought the gifts, cause that was illogical.

I've pretty much always thought such fantasy characters were too unrealistic to actually be real. Like when one of my teeth came out, I would just walk up to my parents and demand my quarter.

 

[Skip Class]

I must have been around 12-13 or something because I was a lot older than most kids by the time I found out Santa wasn't real. Being an only child my parents always made a huge effort to make my Christmas days always the best. Santa didn't just leave a present for me under the tree, he left me clues and a special treasure hunt around the house to find the Gameboy or Playstation he got me for Christmas so it really got into believing into him more and more.

I only found out he wasn't real due to kids in my class talking about it which I guess was kind of a killer for me.

 

[Bellsprout]

I stopped believing when I was 7. I just knew it didn't make any sense and the next logical option was your parents. I do remember when I did believe, not only in santa, but also in the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny! Those times were so exciting and I can remember how thrilled I was.

As much as I don't like kids, if I ever do end up having any I would want them to be my little babies and I would want them to experience that same excitement!! I'd make it very magical for them. Idk why as a parent you would spoil things like that and tell your children the truth. You're only that young and thrilled for so long.

 

[SumGai]

I don't even remember when I stopped believing in the jolly fat man. Kinda miss those days though.

Now with the internet, I'm not sure it's even possible to keep the myth going past 5-6 year olds. But I'd hate to see the old fellow hang up his hat and retire from modern mythology.

 

[Dakotah]

I'm in my 40s, and I still believe in Santa. Not the mythical figure, mind you, but rather the concept. In my mind, everyone special in our lives, and who gives selflessly, is Santa.

 

[Meganium]

wait santa doesn't exist?!

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.












































in all seriousness and to be on topic, I was 13 when I stopped believing in Santa Claus. They didn't "sent me to bed" at 13, instead they were like "uh santa thinks you're old now so he's gonna stop bringing you gifts".

 

[Imperator161]

Hopefully we don't have young kids reading this thread. But anyway, I stopped believing in Santa as a physical person when I was 11. I had a very difficult time letting go of the concept, I suppose because I liked the idea of something magical being able to happen, and without Santa (or the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy, etc.), everything seemed so much more...mundane, I guess. I gradually let go of the idea of Santa, and then later of the Easter Bunny and the like, but I was very reluctant to do so. At a certain point, I knew that they weren't "real" in a physical sense, but I so desperately wanted them to be, because they gave me hope in a way my parents and the adults around me couldn't.

My parents presented the idea of Santa in such a way that they addressed a lot of the obvious contradictions that a lot of kids encounter, which I think allowed me to believe longer than I might have otherwise. My close friends also continued to believe until about the same age. (We were also all oldest or only children, which meant that we didn't have siblings to accidentally or intentionally spoil it for us.)

I don't think that bringing kids up with the idea of Santa is bad, and it surprises me that so many people seem to be upset with their parents for lying to them about Santa. While I did find it quite painful to let go of the idea of a physical Santa who delivered presents to my house, I fondly remember the joy of anticipating Santa's arrival when I was younger, of writing letters to Santa, and even of the time I recall hearing Santa approaching the little tree in my bedroom (and trying to be as still as possible so he wouldn't know I was awake). Santa brought a lot of joy and magic into the first decade of my life, and I wouldn't want to deprive any child of that if he or she wanted it.

I also don't think that parents should tell their kids about Santa, unless it gets to the point where a kid is getting bullied over the issue or something of that nature. Letting go of Santa is a good exercise in critical thinking and learning to question the world around you, and the ability to do that is incredibly useful.

However, while I acknowledge that a man does not dress up in a red suit and come down my chimney to deliver presents, I still believe in the idea of Santa, and I try to embody the qualities I associate with Santa as I give gifts myself. I've always liked the Miracle on 34th Street quote that "Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind." I think the same thing holds true with Santa. Santa isn't just a man; Santa is also a way of thinking about the Christmas season and approaching life in general.