You know I always like to point out that Santa is the same word as Satan.

Its all a lie. Giving gifts is fine.. lying and saying they are from santa is pointless.

If you lie to your kids for this, your kids will not have complete trust in you in later years. I think it is wrong to lie to your kid about it.

my parents told me from the very beginning that santa wasn't real, and i'm happy they did. santa should be like a bedtime story, he's fun and amusing, but literal belief can be harmful.

i've seen a lot of kids end up crying when they find out santa is a lie. they share the same fate as those who falsely believe in the cake. (it's a lie too)

Originally posted by calnorak
If you lie to your kids for this, your kids will not have complete trust in you in later years. I think it is wrong to lie to your kid about it.

What absolute tosh. It's done generations of kids no harm at all. Nor did it turn us into rampant consumers. Parents these days do that very nicely all by themselves.
What it did was spin a little magic around Christmas. And at the age of 61, some of it is still there for me.
What a dull, grey, politically correct world some of the posters here would have us live in.
There are more important things in this world to worry about.

I think there is nothing wrong in leading your kids to believe in santa to begin with, but as they age it becomes a bit of a problem.

Having said that, I am managing to get around the problem, by when my son doubts his existence, I simply say whether you believe in him or not, don't let onto me, because allowise santa doesn't come to you anymore.

It's kind of an admission, without spoiling the magic, more a game of lets pretend, for mummy's sake lol.

Oh and this year, we have totally embraced the digital age, by e-mailing santa, getting a santa video message, and earlier I had to explain to my 4 year old why we don't have to worry about having no chimney......Father Christmas can teleport in, just like on Star Trek !

I, personally, don't remember ever believing in Santa as a child. The first Christmas I spent with my parents that I remember (they're not my biological parents), they tried, but my mom has VERY distinctive handwriting, and I caught on. I pretended to believe 'cause they got a kick out of it. I had already lived a lifetime it seems by the time I lived with them... I wish I had a chance to believe.

My own children, at 9 & 11, still believe. I asked them about it this year. Because I believe in letting children have magic in their lives until they decide it's "not real." Reality hits them on a daily basis already. They told me they still believe in Santa. I asked why, and they both said that they know we have no money (true), and yet they still get what they asked for every year. They can't fathom it. Which means, I've succeeded, in my opinion, at keeping the magic going. I don't break the bank. I get used/secondhand, and I am one stellar bargain hunter. I refuse to go into debt for a holiday. And I bring back certain traditions year after year, which adds to the magic.

My thing is - I believe in the Spirit of Christmas. There have been many years when I didn't know HOW I was going to prepare a Christmas dinner, much less have any gifts, and plenty of Charlie Brown sad little trees - yet something ALWAYS happens that allows it.

If my kids remember being poor, and I think they will, but they remember the magic of Christmas happening anyway? I think that's a wonderful thing. I believe that there is magic, and goodness, and miracles to be found in this life. The Christmas season, and Santa, I think give personification to the concept, and make great teaching opportunities to kids if done "right." I feel that those who don't want to "lie" to their children, or only want to be "realistic" totally are missing the point.

So what is the point? We're discussing Christmas, after all, so I would definitely say Christ's birthday celebration. I have an advent calendar the kids get a kick out of keeping up with. I tell them the Christmas story each year, and after Christmas dinner, we have birthday cake - and even sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. I told them that since we can't give gifts to Him on His birthday we give them to each other. In addition, things we cannot explain can be real. They are a real gift to cherish and remember. And when they're older and really don't believe in Santa anymore, we'll tell them about those times that random things occurred so that we could give them Christmas.

My husband and I? Still believe in Santa. I think he just takes a different form for the adults. I like to call them miracles.

It depends on your perception of who Santa is. I did for a while as it is hard to burst beautiful little bubbles, and my youngest has quite the memory of very tall Santa from the Church supper, singled him out when he was 3 and made a big deal over him, even gave him an extra gift and carried him in his arms. So he was hard to let down, since he really loved Santa and said Santa was his friend.

But alas, all their evil Saturn coding in addition the Siberian Reindeer thingy found coded in most religious artwork. Anyway, I say, let them down gently.

When I was growing up, Santa brought my sister and I one present each, The rest were from my parents. The gifts with Santa's name were the biggest and only things we wanted. My very last gift from Santa was a puppy since this was the last year that I truly believed in him.

Prior to that Christmas, my parents told me if I wanted a puppy, I had to write a letter to Santa and ask him because they weren't going to get me one. Well, I wrote that letter and poured my heart out saying how much I would love and care for it. I didn't sleep at all Christmas Eve and the next morning, I found he'd brought my puppy.

Years later when we were moving, my mom showed me the letter I'd written to Santa. It was funny to be reading what I'd written so many years before.

So, in conclusion, the myth that is Santa is not only special for kids, but it's the same for parents, too.

I still get a gift from Santa every year, but it's just because it's tradition.

The main problem is when parents give kids everything they want and instill in their kids that that's what Christmas is about. There's a right way and a wrong way to do everything.

On the other hand, my great aunt still believes in Santa. About ten years ago, she was having some extreme financial problems. On Christmas morning, she found a package on her back porch. Upon opening it, she found $5000 and a note inside said "Merry Christmas! - Santa". She still has no idea who left her the money and nobody's ever come forward.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I got over the Santa myth a lot quicker then I caught onto the Jesus myth. They aren't equally as dangerous.