Santa Claus -- Do you allow your children to believe in him?

[Calideedle]

Originally Posted by Sweet_Fantasy_Fox we let santa stay alive! he is part of christmas and its fun! I will not tell my kids he is a myth unless they ask me, I wasn't heartbroken as a kid and I know my kids will be just fine too.

[greek4]

Yes, I will allow DS to believe and encourage it. It is such a fun part of childhood. I will be very upset with the parent of the child who ruins it for him.

[HadassahSukkot]

Originally Posted by Skittle I don't mean to offend or judge anyone who choses to let their kids believe in Santa As for my family, husband and I are devoted Christians and we don't believe that it's right to make up something like the Easter Bunny or Santa. Our child will grow up knowing there is no Santa. Sometimes it makes me sad because it's so much fun but we can't purposely lie to her. edit: I know that Santa Claus was real while Easter Bunny etc. isn't but I can' tell DD that it's Santa while it's the neighbors uncle :P. KWIM? DH and I aren't much into traditions neither and we do gifts whenever we feel like it. I remember when I believed in Santa and how devastated I was when I found out it was my aunt.

^^ something like this.

We're Messianic and do not celebrate Christmas. I know my inlaws are confused because I was raised Baptist, and at one time did celebrate the holiday at my parents wishes. However, we (Dh and I) do not now. We celebrate Hanukkah.

Saint Nicolaus was a very good saintly man, and I will eventually teach JD about him. However for now, no tooth fairy, no Carnival, no easter bunny (we do Passover, not Easter), no Halloween, no Weihnachtsmann / St Nick...

We will tell him how other people do and how people like to pretend, and it's ok, but we do not do this and why. It just is not our holiday, or our way of doing things.

My sister went through a severe crisis of faith when she found out Santa and the tooth fairy and the easter bunny were not real. I do not want that for my children. My sister figured if my parents lied to her about the fairy creatures and people that sure enough -- G-d could not be who He is/was for her.. He must be made up also. All at a tender age of 8.

[eco-baby]

We went to a church that was WAY against Santa when my DD was 3, after we left the church (because of other reasons) I said to me DD "do you want to believe in Santa and have Santa come to our house - it'll be Mommy but if you want to believe let's do it" She decided she did and she still does...

I think Santa, elves, flying deer, jingle bells ect... are all very important parts of our Christmas tradition, and being Christian doesn't change that tradition for us.

But it's personal, I wrestled with it alot, even before I was Christian and I'm happy to celebrate it, mostly because it's fun

[Skittle]

Originally Posted by HadassahSukkot My sister figured if my parents lied to her about the fairy creatures and people that sure enough -- G-d could not be who He is/was for her.. He must be made up also. All at a tender age of 8.

How terrible

[Skittle]

Originally Posted by greek4 Yes, I will allow DS to believe and encourage it. It is such a fun part of childhood. I will be very upset with the parent of the child who ruins it for him.

How long do you plan on telling your kids that it was Santa that brought the gifts? Do you plan on telling them yourself when the are ..... years old?
I'm mean sooner or later every kid will find out that it wasn't Santa. Every parent that decides to do the Santa-, Tooth Fairy-, Easter Bunny-thing has to get ready for this day. It doesn't really matter how the kid will find out. I just don't understand how you could be mad at child that wasn't raised believing in such things. They are just getting the fact straight. IMO

[susyec]

I am a Christian also and I will not do the Santa thing w/my kids. I grew up knowing that he wasn't real and that the true meaning of Christmas was Christ. I never felt like I missed out on anything. I still received presents and had lots of fun when the family came together and to this day Christmas is still my favorite holiday.
I do believe that the whole idea of Santa Claus takes away the real meaning of Christmas. We live in times now where you can't mention God's name everywhere or else there will be consequences. So I feel like this is society's way of slowly replacing God/Jesus. I'm not saying that it's bad to talk about Santa but I don't think that should be the whole emphasis of Christmas.
I also think I wouldn't be able to lie to my kids like that. The only thing that my mom let me believe in when I was little was the tooth fairy and I remember in 3rd grade I got in a fight at school w/a boy who told me that my mom lied to me and that the tooth fairy didn't exist. As soon as my mom picked me up that afternoon I made her tell me the truth and I was soo sad that I had been deceived and made a fool of myself in school.

[Mom24Babes]

We are Christians as well, and we let the kids believe in Santa. We also teach them the TRUE meaning of CHRISTmas, so they are not missing out on anything. When they are old enough we'll tell them the truth about Santa, but why rush it? I want them to enjoy childhood and have their dreams.

[geez0pete]

We're Christians and our LO's believe in Santa Claus and know the true meaning of Christmas. I remember lying in bed on Christmas Eve as a kid and believing with all my heart that I could here reindeer hoofs on the roof. It was fun and I never thought my parents were liers when I found out he wasn't real. I want my children to have that magic, too.

[nanatimes2]

I have 3 kids of my own. 1 is 25 and 1 is going to be 21 next week, I also have a son that is going to be 11 years old tomarrow. They all believed in Santa until they were 12 years old. It only matters what is in your heart as to whother you believe or not. Why take it away from them. It is something to believe in that is pure and from the heart. They are only young once. Keep believing yourself and they will believe also. God bless you and yours though the holidays.