A weird question

But can you get arrested for telling kids Santa isn't real?

With all these other silly lawsuits and charges going on right now, I'm just wondering if its possible it could happen somewhere. Not that I'm going to do it I'm just wondering. I could have been a lawyer with all this overthinking I do.

By the way, when kids get upset because somebody says there's no Santa Claus, I feel we should explain about the SPIRIT of Christmastime, of merryment & giving, & that the spirit of Santa is very much alive, encouraging music & happiness & love. And those Santas in the stores are the true Santa's helpers.

That’s exactly how we did it in our family, that’s a great suggestion!

Idk the answer Dewed, but there was a great fictional story Miracle on 34TH Street about a court case of a man who claimed he really was Santa, not the same as your question of course.

I LOVE that movie!!

@Mountaindewed

I guess it is possible depending under what circumstances you were going around saying that to kids. For example, if the parents of the kids felt you were harassing and causing emotional distress to their children, they might get the police involved and consider suing, sure.

No. Just...no.

You can’t get arrested. It’s not a crime. But if you go around bothering random children, you might be asked to stop harassing them.

MD, as far as I know there are no laws in the US that you can't tell kids Santa is not real. But why would anyone want to steal the fun of believing in Santa from a child?

My uncles kindergarten teacher told his class Santa wasn't real and my Grandma got super pissed. This was back in the 60's though. Some people are just jerks.

"Santa is for American kids, not you."

And people wonder why im so cynical?!

I told my son when he was in first grade about St. Nicholas being real, but not some Santa that traveled around the world in one night. Honestly, I just didn't feel comfortable making up tales after he got suspicious. Of course, he went to school and told his classmates. His teacher wasn't happy with me.

When my sister and I were in third grade, we found some toys that Santa was supposed to bring us in a closet. When we questioned our mom, she said she didn't want Santa to lose them off his sleigh. But now I wonder if that could have been a good time for her to 'fess up.

So, no, I wouldn't recommend telling anyone's kids about Santa. You wouldn't get put in jail, but you might get beaten up by some mad parent!

Actually I thought some more about this and realised I learned the truth aged 5 from my childhood friend and her Jehovah Witness mum. She too decided to tell her daughter the truth about the gifts origins. Actually JW usually don’t give gifts but this lady was new to it and pretty short lived as a JW as it happens.

So my friend showed me the hidden stash, and then I knew for sure, her mum explained. My parents were pretty sad about it but think they forgave this lady okay as they understood her motivation was good. Actually my mum is friends to this day with her.

So no danger of litigation or hard feelings but it certainly was a test of the friendship the mums had looking back.