I think this is my last Santa year for a while...

wilburbud · November 2011

Today is my lovely daughters birthday.. she just turned NINE!!! NINE!. Holy cow....I am pretty sure this will be the last year for Santa.. I just can't beleive that shes gone this long without someone ruining it for her, and that she'll go another year. She has already discovered that the Easter bunny isnt real (only because her dad was too broke to do a whole Easter celebration, so instead he chose to tell her its all fake). I've given him basically threats of death if he ruins Christmas for her...

Either way.. Im sad that this will be the end of that magical stage for her...

How old were you when you learned Santa wasn't real?

JSweetieXO · November 2011

I was about that age too. I was in 4th grade. I think it's still a great tradition to do though. My ex's mother STILL had special gifts from Santa as they got older. I think it's more about believing in the spirit of Christmas than some man coming into your house to leave you presents. I plan to do that kind of thing with my child.

Sidenote: I do think it's ridiculous when parents still tell their kids after the fact that every other kid knows and it's obvious that there is a real Santa. DH's youngest daughter who is 12 now was still believing in him. It's like really people...stop trying to prevent her from crying over something that isn't that big of a deal. It's like they try to protect her from the truth. I was shushed by his oldest when something was said about storks bringing babies in front of the youngest and I was all yo, seriously???????? I will never tell my kid that. I mean come on, she is 12, she has most likely had that sex ed part of school that tells them about reproduction. Jeez.

Lina1030 · November 2011

I don't remember how old I was....but DD now 10 still believes, not sure to what extent. A few years ago, she started to hear things from older kids in school and I was worried she was going to start not believing. I went and got Elf on the Shelf (book and doll) and she TOTALLY believed. I highly recommend that as a gift to your kids or friends/relatives. Such a cool book and tradition and way to "bribe" to get kids to behave! LOL He is "coming back from the North Pole" on Thanksgiving Day

mbrod · November 2011

I was a very analytical child - comparing hand writing samples at a young age, LOL. I figured it out around 7 but my sister was only 4 years younger than me so she was just getting into it. We kept it going till she was 10 or so. Although my mom still writes "From Santa" on some gifts, in her best chicken scratch of course.

TKx2 · November 2011

My sister and I were just talking about this over the weekend. My oldest nephew is 8 and she's pretty sure it's his last year. I was around 4th grade I think. That was the first Christmas Eve I was actually able to sleep!

Laouli · November 2011

I dont rmeember how old I was.. but My neice... didnt find out until she was 12... You never know.. you could get a believer!!

TKx2 · November 2011

What's really sad is I teach 1st grade and every year I have kids that question it or already know because their parents can't afford to do Christmas, so they tell them. Makes me sad for them. My sister teaches in a more middle class area and still has 5th graders who believe.

roxane · November 2011

Regardless of what we "knew" (I think my cousin told me when I was about 6, but I hated her anyway so I didn't put much stock in her ideas) my family kept it going forever. Eventually we were all playing Santa. My mom still does stockings "from Santa". I think there is something really special in the semi-anonymous giving Santa does. I may acknowledge it at some point, but I will never stop being Santa to my family.

KFCupcake · November 2011

mbrod:
I was a very analytical child - comparing hand writing samples at a young age, LOL. I figured it out around 7 but my sister was only 4 years younger than me so she was just getting into it. We kept it going till she was 10 or so. Although my mom still writes "From Santa" on some gifts, in her best chicken scratch of course.

I can clearly remember asking my mom why Santa had the same handwriting as her, and why he used the same wrapping paper as she did. Her response was that he didn't have time to wrap and make the tags so he drops the presents off and she does it for him.

I want my kid(s) to believe, so I will be using different wrapping paper and probably making elaborate tags for the gifts brought from Santa.

JSweetieXO · November 2011

KFCupcake:

mbrod:
I was a very analytical child - comparing hand writing samples at a young age, LOL. I figured it out around 7 but my sister was only 4 years younger than me so she was just getting into it. We kept it going till she was 10 or so. Although my mom still writes "From Santa" on some gifts, in her best chicken scratch of course.

I can clearly remember asking my mom why Santa had the same handwriting as her, and why he used the same wrapping paper as she did. Her response was that he didn't have time to wrap and make the tags so he drops the presents off and she does it for him.

I want my kid(s) to believe, so I will be using different wrapping paper and probably making elaborate tags for the gifts brought from Santa.

My ex's mom used Santa paper. So any wrapping paper that had Santa Claus on it was from him. I think that's a cute idea.

TKx2 · November 2011

KFCupcake:
mbrod:
I was a very analytical child - comparing hand writing samples at a young age, LOL. I figured it out around 7 but my sister was only 4 years younger than me so she was just getting into it. We kept it going till she was 10 or so. Although my mom still writes "From Santa" on some gifts, in her best chicken scratch of course.
I can clearly remember asking my mom why Santa had the same handwriting as her, and why he used the same wrapping paper as she did. Her response was that he didn't have time to wrap and make the tags so he drops the presents off and she does it for him.
I want my kid(s) to believe, so I will be using different wrapping paper and probably making elaborate tags for the gifts brought from Santa.

When we were little my mom bought multiple rolls of the same Santa paper...our Santa presents were wrapped in that paper every year. I haven't had to wrap DD's yet (she's gotten a climber and tickets to Elmo Live) but this year I'm going to go out and get a bunch of the same paper and do the same thing. She did a really good job disguising her handwriting too!

katieh1017 · November 2011

I remember in 1st grade looking for presents in my parents closet - the old stand by hiding place. But I don't remember if I stopped believing at that point. I can say by 4th grade I definitley was not a believer. Because I remember kids who did believe in Santa and I couldn't believe they still believed!

gisa886 · November 2011

My dad told me and my siblings all at the same time when I was probably 9. I was pretty sad, but I still believe in Santa because it makes Christmas more fun.

adamstodrake · November 2011

I think I was 9(ish). My mom made me her special "elf" and I got to help wrap the gifts for my siblings. I always thought that was a blast.

My niece was also 9 when she figured it out. She called me up to her room about a week before Christmas and said she needed to talk to me. I figured it was going to be a boy chat or something, lol. She proceeds to say, "Aunt Monica, is Santa Claus real, because I am just not so sure". I pretty much went running from the room yelling that I was going to get her mom!!! (I was not about to have the Santa discussion with her since my SIL and I had just talked about how glad we were to get one more year out of her believing.)

So I busted butt down the stairs and whispered to SIL what was going on. We both went back upstairs and had the chat, but let my niece do most of the talking. SIL then had to threaten her to not tell her little brothers about this, and if she did, there would be absolutely no gifts for her. She's done great for the 2 years since then :0) She even makes a big deal to talk about how magical Santa is when her brothers talk about it and really loves to "play along".

TjIzzy2009 · November 2011

I found out at 6, but what my parents told me was that santa helps the parents bring the gifts to the kids. So in a way I still believed.

lauranicole91 · November 2011

I found out Santa wasn't real in the 2nd grade. I went to a Private Catholic school so one day in class we were all told to write a letter to Santa that included the 3 things we wanted most from Santa.

A few hours later into the day I went to my teacher's desk to ask if I could go to the bathroom. Well one her desk she was stuffing everyone's letters in to envelopes labeled to our parents. At first I just kind of shrugged it off thinking maybe she was going to have our parents send them to Santa. Well I went home that night and insisted on being there when my parents opened the letter.

It all kind of went down hill from there. I don't remember being too terribly upset, but I do remember my brother(5 years older) being glad he didn't have to pretend anymore. He knew for about 2 or 3 years at that point but would still "stay up"(we always accidentally fell asleep) with me on the couch and wait for Santa each year.

My parents also took advantage of that situation as a good time to go ahead and tell me everything else was just s story too. However knowing it was all fake didn't change the way we celebrated holidays, it just changed how my parents prepared for them. Basically they didn't have to wrap presents or hide eggs/fill baskets at 3 am anymore. Haha.

bio-oesch · November 2011

I think I was maybe 12? Although I never really stopped believing, lol. Santa has always come to our house, even now. I have a little bro (8yrs younger) and a little sis (10yrs younger) so we kept the believing up for them. I was also afraid if I said he wasn't real I wouldnt get the presents anymore.

One year though I think when I was 13yrs old I guess my mom gave up trying to hide the presents that well and she had them all stacked up against the walls in the garage with see through target bags, lol. But I tried my best not to look at them, I love surprises

Patella1129 · November 2011

I don't really remember a specific time.

But I don't think that Santa ever has to be "over." Santa still brings my sisters and me presents at my mom's house. My mom has always maintained that Santa does in fact, exist, and that he brings gifts to us.

What I do think is funny, is that she only does a stocking now for my little sister. The first year my older sister and I had kids, we received a bag of goodies instead of a stocking with a letter from the "Head Elf," Bernard (yes, like from Tim Allen's The Santa Clause). He explained that once you have your own kids, Santa doesn't stuff a stocking for you anymore.

laurack · November 2011

There's no santa?!!

Confused

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