[crystalrose]

how old is too old for a kid to see santa claus? I saw santa claus for fun when i was fifteen.

[Rhapsody]

I say until the child no longer wishes to see Santa....

[Yoda]

Not really sure. I said I believed in Santa longer than I did because I wanted Santa's gifts.

I remember once when I was a teenager at home with my family when somebody knocked on our door and when my dad opened the door in walked somebody in a Santa suit with gifts for my young sisters who were still young enough to believe in Santa. Not my mom or dad or me knew who was playing Santa and it was totally unexpected. My sisters were delighted to see Santa in the flesh and my mom, dad and I all sat there looking at each other thinking who the heck is this?

[crystalrose]

Yes i also used to pretend to be extra interested in santa to get an extra present. my friend and i have child alters who missed out on that stuff as kids and we are thinking of going as adults and getting our photo taken also.

[AAAAA]

I STILL believe in Santa. Never too old in my opinion.

[salukigirl]

I went to ccd (bible study basically) so they told me when I was very little that he used to be a real person but died hundreds of years ago. So I never really believed in him. I think most kids figure it out before the age of 10. I know my aunt and uncle refused to tell my cousin about santa and he still believed into age 13 and said something at school and all of his friends made fun of him for believing in santa. I don't think I would let it go past 7 or 8 but that's me.

[AAAAA]

Christmas is different once the secret is out. I kept my kids believing as long as I possibly could. My eldest son believed until he was 11. A friend really made me angry by telling my daughter when she was about 5. I was SOOO angry I can't even tell you, I still haven't forgiven her for it. Daughter was good at keeping a secret though, she never told (she's three years younger than her older brother). The older two helped keep the youngest two believing until they were 11.

The year they turned 10 the PS2 came out and was impossible to get. I think they believed that year because they wanted the game system so badly. They were absolutely positive that even if Santa couldn't get it in the store his elves could surely make one. My husband waited in line for over 8 hours for that PS2, he got the second to the last one and was offered $2,000 for it on the way out of the store. The smile on their faces and the conversation I overheard later about how Santa had to be real was worth it to have them believe for one more year.

[Sabrina]

My son believed in Santa passed an age where most kids know the truth. I held on to the fantasy for him. It was special.

[Sabrina]

Originally Posted by AAAAA

Christmas is different once the secret is out. I kept my kids believing as long as I possibly could. My eldest son believed until he was 11. A friend really made me angry by telling my daughter when she was about 5. I was SOOO angry I can't even tell you, I still haven't forgiven her for it. Daughter was good at keeping a secret though, she never told (she's three years younger than her older brother). The older two helped keep the youngest two believing until they were 11.

The year they turned 10 the PS2 came out and was impossible to get. I think they believed that year because they wanted the game system so badly. They were absolutely positive that even if Santa couldn't get it in the store his elves could surely make one. My husband waited in line for over 8 hours for that PS2, he got the second to the last one and was offered $2,000 for it on the way out of the store. The smile on their faces and the conversation I overheard later about how Santa had to be real was worth it to have them believe for one more year.

That's lovely AAAAA!

I agree, just keep them believing until they stop :P
I forgot when I stopped believing in santa...
but I used too for awhile...

[Rhapsody]

On the flip side of this question....

I was reading the last post and it just dawned on me to share that my husband and I never started the Santa Clause story with our kids (nor did we tell them there was a tooth fairy or Easter bunny - but they did receive xmas gifts, baskets and money from their parents) - in my heart I just couldn't live with the fact that I had lied to my children to only see their little hearts be broken when they found out the truth.

I wanted my children to know that they could always trust me and their father... to know we would never lie to them.

And if I think back to it I guess the entire reason behind not introducing fairy tells into our children life was due to the fact that I the "big sister" will never be able to forget the heart-breaking look on my six year old brother's face the night he realized Santa was not coming nor was he real... I so hated having to hold his trembling little body in the darkness of his empty room that sad Christmas Eve night as he cried himself to sleep (and) and I will always remember how angry this little boy was at the parents he had trusted when he realized they had lied to him.

PeAcE

Is it lying or is it make believe ? I prefer to think of it as make believe and think kids imaginations are fantastic and like to encourage it as much as I can.

MY twelve year old knows the truth as does my ten year old however my bright clever eight year old is in doubt lol while my five year old thinks its brilliant ! We have to leave out food for the reindeers and santa and had to convince him that no we didnt have to take the fire out as santa is magic and can sort that out for himself.....

We give them presents but there is always ONE that is from santa for each child in the house.

Yes the tooth fairy visits us and the easter bunny.

Again as for them 'finding' out the truth they are not hurt they see it as a bit of fun mum and dad had with them and see it as endering (spelling) and us trying to make childhood stretch just that little bit more.

[AAAAA]

I don't think it's either. We have been santa for several needy families. To me the Christmas spirit is about the joy of giving (whether it be time, kindness, or material things) not for any sort of recognition but because it feels good to brighten someone's day. To restore a belief in humanity.

Santa represents love, joy and giving. The year the twins learned the Christmas secret we started a new tradition of establishing a dollar amount that we spend on each child and spend a long weekend in a nearby town. This gave us family time alone for the holidays since we used to make a mad dash to both of our parents homes on Christmas. On this shopping trip I discovered I'd bought duplicates for my niece, my daughter asked if she could have the extras to give to an acqaintance of hers for her little "sister" (actually her niece). The mom/grandmother had been disabled and the little girl was five and the 15 year old sister was trying to make some extra money to give her a Christmas.

When we took the kids to toys r us so the twins could shop, they started throwing random "girl" toys in their cart. I was confused and when I asked them about it, they said they had so much, and this little girl had so little that they'd rather spend their Christmas money on her. If this is lying, I would prefer never to learn the truth myself.

I think there is a clear point though that reality needs to set in. I had a horrid phone call from the parent of a 12-year-old. She was livid that I had told her son there was no Santa Claus and she was going to get me fired (or so she said). The truth was that it was another student in class who had actually shattered her son's illusions. I mean, come on, really! Get a grip.

[AAAAA]

I think it's a shame that more parents don't teach their children manners. What kind of a person gets joy from shattering anothers harmless illusion? My 9 yro nephew tried to be clever and told my eldest twin he knew that he knew there was no Santa, my son replied that not was there a Santa, but he hoped he'd be more careful this year because last year his reindeer kicked our dish off the roof and dad had to go out there in the middle of a blizzard to put it back up.

[Jill326]

It's never too old to see Santa. Just believe until you don't anymore. Even though I know he's not real, I see keep him in my heart. So what if he's not real? Just thinking about him makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[Rhapsody]

Originally Posted by Jill326

It's never too old to see Santa.
Even though I know he's not real, I see keep him in my heart.

I agree 100% - and it is in the knowing that a "Saint Nickolas" (a man who once gave trees & gifts) did indeed live - that's what gives me HOPE.

My children were told of this story.... <3

[moonrise]

My three sisters and I would get our pictures taken together with Santa, up through high school. We never *really* believed, but it was fun.

As for my 3 year old, we're telling her it's make believe, like princesses and fairies, and we plan on setting out cookies and carrots and hot chocolate for Santa and his reindeer. I think you can do both, play pretend and still be honest with kids. I'm so excited for this year, because it's the first time she's really understanding what's going on, both in a religious sense, and the 'candy, cookies, santa' sense. It's lovely.

[Jill326]

I took my picture with Santa today at school and I'm in college!

[Locust]

I think some kids might see it as lying, and it might make them angry, hurt, or mistrusting if they find out it wasn't true. However, other kids can discover that Santa isn't really and still trust their family members, not feel hurt nor angry, and be happy that they believed. I think it's worse if kids are told Santa isn't real after being told he is real, rather than having them gradually figure it out on their own. If they believe it until they figure things out for themselves, I think it won't be so painful or upsetting, partially because it is gradual that way, rather than a shocking and sudden disillusionment. But you can't always control what they find out or when they find it out, and therein lies the problem.

I was taught about Santa, and I was never hurt or angry when I found out he wasn't real. I never lost trust in my family. I understood why they did it and knew that didn't mean they would lie to me about other things. It had been fun. And I hadn't suddenly been disillusioned. I just gradually realized it wasn't really fitting in with what I knew to be realistically possible. I continued to pretend to believe in Santa after realizing he wasn't real, because I wasn't sure if not believing would equal less presents. So I pretended to believe to keep getting as many gifts- and on a less selfish note, to keep from dissapointing my family.

I agree with Moonrise- you can play make believe and not try to convince your kids that Santa is real. But I wouldn't skip out on the whole thing. My friend was raised to believe Santa didn't exist and her family didn't even do make play believe with it. I always felt like she was missing out, even after I knew Santa was make believe. I don't know what I'll do if I have kids. I want them to have a sense of magic, but I don't like the idea of telling them something is true for years, when it isn't. I am afraid it could damage their trust. But I personally hold no grudges for being told Santa was real. Not in the least. I find it preferable to the no-nonsense approach my friend's family took.