Do your kids believe in Santa?

??

Yes.

I rode in the town's Christmas parade as Santa this year. I didn't have any idea what to expect, but when the parade turned from the staging area onto the route, it was one of the best experiences of my life. Parents would bring little ones up to the sleigh just to touch me! To see the faces of the children who still believe was something else!

NO

Yes, hoping my 9 year old does a couple more years. For those with kids who haven't seen it yet, try this for your kids, it's amazing. www.portablenorthpole.com/tv. It's awesome!

I'm the only jolly ol' fat [censored] they believe in

nope. That was a fun *sarcasm* year, my daughter is way to smart for her own good.

My six year old - yes. My three old - scared of him, won't go near him. Guess he's getting a lump of coal

13 yr old--nope, but knows you have to believe to receive (and he had better keep the secret for little sister)

9 yr old--i think so, but not sure. This may be the year, but if he is smart, he will keep his mouth shut.

7 yr old--YES

My 14 year old knows that when she stops believing, she stops getting Santa Gifts.........

Yes and its becoming embarrassing because they are 21 and 30!

The grandkids really do love it!

Do my kids believe in Santa?


Why Heck Yes! I believe in Santa too!

Grandkids ages 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 and 4 = yes indeed. But who needs Santa, they've got Nana (and shirts that say that!) The older ones, 16 & 14, do not but they keep their mouth shut.

::Freak to AG::

So son, do you?

Do I what?

......sit on Santa's lap and linger just a little too long

Mine no longer do.

Text of "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus"

Dear Editor,

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say that there is no Santa Claus. Papa says "If you see it in the Sun, it is so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia,

Your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.

All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to our life its highest beauty and joy.

Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus? You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your Papa to hire men to watch all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?

Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.

Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders that are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, or even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond.

Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, maybe 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the hearts of children.

Written by Francis P. Church, Sept. 1897
The New York Sun

The 19 year old won't admit to anything.
The 12 year old says she still believes (to get presents).

Step-kids - 9, 12 - No
My kids- 8 - yes / 9 acts like he does but I suspect it is to get gifts!

19 and 21 year old boys, no, but still good sports about it

12 year old, no, but says she does, I suspect to confuse her dad

Hasnt since he was around 6. Boy asked too many questions!

Mine don't, but then they are 29 and 26. The 29 year old was in Korea last Christmas, and I think it was hard on him. He seems really excited about being home for Christmas this year.

I used to make "phone calls from Santa" when I was in an Optimist Club. We had info sheets submitted by the parents, so we knew all about the kids, especially when they had been naughty. If they didn't believe at first that it was Santa on the phone, they sure believed when you started in with the details like, "Are you keeping your room clean?" Are you being nice to your sister (insert name)?

What???? Santa isn't real??? He's supposed to be bringing a "Hunk" for Christmas so I have someone to snuggle with on a cold night.

My little Jewish girls know they aren't allowed to tell their friends that there is no Santa - don't even ask why they had to have that rule instated in our house, (but I will say they went to the Jewish preschool...)

I like to tell them that he is real for the goyim, but Jewish parents make it up to their kids by giving 8 nights of presents.

Not my kid, but...I talked to my mom this weekend and she told me how my niece un-friended her uncle (my Bro in law) because he commented on my nieces wall about Santa being Satan, and believing him Santa was invoking the devil. Then my BIL's church friends jumped on board saying how my niece would burn you-know-where for her heathen beliefs and attacked my mom when she tried bringing peace to the conversation [saying something like "let it go"] Well, my niece had just about of enough of that and told her dad (my brother) that she didn't care to communicate with the uncle anymore. Even though she is 16 and doesn't really believe in Santa, she was still upset about the tone of the adults on this matter.

Strangely enough, this niece looks just like me but I promise nothing ever happened with my SIL.

I think your tagline applies perfectly to this situation BaBo. Congrats to your niece for taking the high road and just ending the communication before it escalated further.

the post office recognizes him....

Well, the post office can, at times, be its own little h3ll

However, shame on the uncle for making those statements to her and good for her for cutting off contact with him.

I believe anyone is entitled to their own beliefs, as long as they do not hurt anyone else, and subjecting a 16 year old to those type of comments, in my opinion, hurts them.

OK, off my soap box. On another subject, BB, as a young boy, my one son was the spitting image of my brother, now he is the spitting image of his father's brother. Never did he look anything like either of us!

I was one of those annoying kids that figured things out around 5, and quickly learned that I'd cheated myself out of more presents. My brother (21) still proclaims belief, though obviously just for the gifts, and my mother still chooses to indulge him. Darn favoritism!

If I ever have kids, I'm sure they will be abnormally smart and will know better than to admit disbelief. Or they'll set out on an expedition to the North Pole to find him and hold him hostage. Depends on which of my personality traits they pick up!

I learned about age 7... Rodney Barnes told a bunch of us on the playground, the twerp. Held it in until after Christmas and asked mom during a Sesame Street commercial. She confirmed that in fact Santa was not real nor was the Easter Bunny, but we should keep it special for my younger brother and continue to believe, for him. All good.

I didn't break down and get upset until about a week later when I put all the pieces together and realized that the Tooth Fairy was a fake too. I suggested to Mom that we should keep believing, you know, so it would be special for my little brother too.

Ah, the banking and money has been in the blood from the start...

I hope Santa brings each of those "adults" a BIG candy cane and stuffs it!
What Jackazzes!

^^^that sounds like why I unfriended JJ^^^

Just after she turned 8, My daughter came out of her room one night right before bed time crying. We asked what was wrong, and is complete desperation she says "I want to believe Santa is real, but i'm afraid he's just you guys"- That started a whole 3 hour meltdown, where she went back and forth with yes he's real no he's not, "you lied to me", etc. She finally calmed down.

Strangely Enough, She has Never once asked about the tooth fairy, and she has only ever said anything about the easter bunny once- I made some comment about him and she goes "come on mom, if santa isn't real then the easter bunny isn't either"

A phrase a wise friend of mine shared with their kids "if you don't believe, you don't receive" I've always loved that and will use it when the time comes.

Have them watch Polar Express!

Great movie!

My daughter teaches Kindergarten and she showed it to them this week and served them hot chocolate! She said the kids loved it!

My five year old still believes but is very skeptical. He asks way too many questions and is too smart for his own good! Part of me just wants to tell him so that I can stop being questioned!!! Especially since I had to punish him for lying last week--all while continuing to lie to him! Parenting is so the toughest job in the world.

It is not a lie if you Believe.

My older son asked one night just as I was kissing him goodnight in bed. He was almost 11. He was so serious that I had to tell him the truth. He was so good about not telling his little brother. Unfortunately for me, little man found out by 9 from friends. Once Santa became a fairytale, Christmas Eve lost a little something for me.
My boys still expect the gifts to be hidden until Christmas morning. They love to wake up and being surprised at the gifts under the tree.
I never thought of it as lying to my boys, it's just a little special something to give them during their youth.

My children are 28 & 33 and yes they still believe. As do I. They were taught early on - when you stop believing, you stop receiving. (My mother also taught me this) Santa isn't necessarily a physically being, it's that feeling way down deep in your heart that the season brings. Doesn't matter whether a fat man in a red suit brings them or if Mom & Dad do it. It's all about that happy loving feeling you get on Christmas Morning. When you stop believing you can have that wonderful feeling, that is when you stop receiving that wonderful feeling. And for those adults who had the harsh words to say to the 16 yr old - they should be ashamed of themselves. If they are Christians who celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Day, then instead of Santa-bashing - they should be making sure that the real Christmas story is taught along with Santa. Shame on them!!!

At the age of 8 my son sat down next to me and looked at me with the most serious look I had ever seen on him and said, "If i ask you something will you promise to tell me the truth?" So i said of course what is it? He asked me if the tooth fairy was real. So of course in keeping with my promise to tell the truth I told him i was the tooth fairy. My son now thinks I am the tooth fairy for everyone.

!!!

At what age do you stop leaving money

Whenever they pull that last baby tooth.

exactly

It's not like they are going to get any more baby teeth.

What does a tooth go for these days?

gold?

no, bone enamel.

$5 a tooth! A far cry from the 25 cents i got as a child.

your kids are ripping you off!! my daughter gets gold dollars, fifty cent pieces, etc. At most a $2 bill. All that "junk" money that tellers hate to deal with.

My 14 yo asked me "If I live to be 95 will Santa still show up and put presents under my tree as long as I believe?" My answer - YEP.

My answer to Katie about Santa when she was about 10 or 11 - St. Nicholas was a real person who lived a long time ago and gained a reputation as someone who loved children, cared for them, and tried to make their lives more pleasant. Parents today try to keep that spirit alive by being Santa Claus for their kids each year at Christmas - and it doesn't even have to be parents - we can all play Santa for someone and enjoy the spirit of loving and caring for others at Christmas and throughout the year.

Thumbs up!

That's how my parents taught us to see Santa (once we found out). They never said he wasn't real, they said he WAS real, he just wasn't alive anymore, but his spirit was real and lived on in people who carried on his message.

My 6 year old definitely believes in Santa. So much so that when I created that personalized video for her from Santa on that portable north pole thingie, she got teary-eyed when Santa spoke to her and said she was on the "nice" list. LOL So sweet. I want to keep that magic alive for her as long as I can. And we'll have fun continuing it for our little one. She's only 4 months old now, so we still have years of Santa magic to look forward to.

Ok--I have to share the conversation I had in the car this morning with my three kids taking them to my parents so I could come to work.

My 9 yr old (almost ten) annouces that he is locking my husband and me in our bedroom on Christmas Eve to prove that we are really Santa--he figures that if he locks us in our bedroom and there are no presents in the morning from the big guy--that proves it's just mom and dad. If there are still presents--then Santa must be real. His 7 yr old sister annouces to him that OF COURSE there is a SANTA and OF COURSE there will presents on the fireplace on Christmas morning. The 13 yr old in the back seat (who knows the truth, but also knows you have to believe to receive) agrees with his little sister that there will be presents on Christmas morning.

Now my 9 yr is a very early riser, so my husband had been threatening to tie him to his bed on Christmas Eve so that he can't get up too early. So I asked him how was he going to lock me in my bedroom when Daddy was going to tie him to his bed? He comes up with--"later after you go to bed, I'm going wiggle out of my bed and come down the hall to lock you in."

Should be an interesting weekend.....

LMAO!

Had a friend who was a second grade teacher. She casually announced during class discussion that Santa wasn't real. She doesn't teach anymore!

My daughters kindergarden teacher told the class there was no Santa. She was very upset when she came home from school that day.

One day when my oldest was about four, I was getting us ready to go to Pre-K (in the spring I think) and he comes into the bedroom very worried and says "Mommy, if Santa can get in, a BURGLAR could get in! It took me a while to explain that God had graced Santa with magical abilities that the burglars definately did not have. He calmed down, but still looked a little nervous.

My older brother told me Santa wasn't real when I was only 5. When I started to cry, he laughed and told me the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy weren't real... they were just our mom and dad, too. I ran downstairs and yelled at my mom, "You lied to me!" and sobbed into my pillow, heartbroken. I can still remember how sick to my stomach and upset I felt. Ah, the loss of innocence. Then, we two were sworn to secrecy for the sake of our younger brother, who went on to believe until he was 11.

My ex had a son from a previous marriage; the Christmas that the little guy had just turned 3 years old, his mother was angry that we had him for Christmas Eve (we alternated years, per their divorce decree), so she told little man an hour before we arrived to retrieve him that there was no Santa Claus. We had a two hour car drive to listen to him cry and then when we arrived, I got to hold a heartbroken, clingy 3 year old until it was time to go to bed. All of us were miserable that year. I explained how Santa's spirit lives in each one of us and we create Christmas magic, but I think he was too young to grasp it all. I thought he was finally asleep when he crept down the stairs in his little footed pajamas and sobbed, "maybe we should put out cookies anyway... just in case." We put out a plate of cookies for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer. We elaborately left crumbs and a dirty milk glass on the table and on the snow, there were little chewed up pieces of carrot and "hoofprints" in the front yard when he awoke. He looked at me with huge shining solemn eyes and said, "maybe mom was wrong!"