We are a family that didn't do Santa Claus with our kids. We wanted a faith-based Christmas that focused on the Holy Family. We had issues with the in-laws who insisted on signing gift tags from Santa Claus. My parents thought we were crazy but went along with our wishes.

We didn't want our kids' faith in the existence of God to be shaken once the myth of Santa, et al was revealed. After all, if we perpetuated the Easter Bunny year after year, how is a child to discern that we weren't lying about God?

In my experience the people that have been so beligerent about it, are doing it so that they can feel "smarter." As if believing in Santa makes you stupid, but to them it's the whole idea of "haha, look at how doumb you are. You believe in Santa and eeeeeeveryone knows he doesn't exist." Instead of making them look smarter it just makes them look like a-holes, no matter the age.

One of my friends thinks her son is too old to believe in Santa, and she wanted to have the talk with him and let him know. She thought he would get picked on in school (i think her son is around 8) if Santa was brought up. I just told her not to tell him, and if that situation arises then handle it at that time.

Believing in Santa is one of the few innocent things kids have these days. I like DrPhil's (i still wanna call you Chaos lol) idea of Santa, and I think that is what I will tell my children when they realize Santa isn't "real." They will always know about Jesus and his birth, etc (i used to sing 'Happy Birthday' to the baby in our nativity scene before opening up presents...lol) but I don't mind them knowing about Santa.

I've always found the whole Santa thing irritating but always went along with it because the kids in my family love it and I teach kindergarten so I have to keep up the pretense. It doesn't bother me to smile & talk Santa with the kids because it means a lot to them so I just shove my personal beliefs aside & keep them smiling. It doesn't hurt me to do this so I don't see what the big deal is.

I never believed in Santa & it didn't affect me in any way. What's funny is that my mother-in-law has insisted on keeping the Santa tradition & still puts the presents out after we've gone to sleep & signs all the tags from "Santa". It's funny but always made me roll my eyes. This year was the first year she didn't do this and to my surprise, I kinda missed it. Go figure I didn't appreciate it when she did it but now that she isn't, I miss it. I'm an idiot sometimes. :o

You're not an idiot. Many people I know love to "play" Santa for others. It's fun, and exciting, and there's something completely childlike and innocent about it, even if the person playing Santa drives you up a wall most of the time. Perhaps your mother-in-law really really likes to play Santa and gets a kick out of it, and not doing it this year somehow diminished her Christmas experience, which is why you would miss it (because maybe she was a little sad).

I don't know her or the rest of her family, though, so I can't say for sure. My dad loooooooooved playing Santa, and it was a little sad for him when my brother and I stopped believing because Christmas wasn't as fun for him. He's mentioned that a lot recently, because this was his very first year at home with no one (his kids) there. It was also hard for him last year because he was here (at not at home with both his kids). I indulged him and got him a gift "from Santa" and then let him pass out any gifts to the three of us and our dog. I think he liked giving the dog gifts best.

FWIW, he spent a very lovely morning with his girlfriend, then had brunch with my aunt and cousins (who all have a mess of kids) which he said was great.

I never for a second, once I found out about Santa Claus, thought it had anything to do with the existence or non existence of God. Maybe you think about it that way as an adult, but that doesn't mean your kids do.

If you want to skip Santa and focus on the religious side, that's fine, but it's kind of like you're saying if they see Barney on TV and think he's real, not a person in a suit, once they find out they won't believe in God anymore. That's silly.

I can't quite remember when I stopped believing in Santa. I think I was like 8. I know I was snooping for presents and I found stuff that was wrapped and my parents had already written "from Santa" on it. Since it was before Christmas I was like "what the heck". I'm pretty sure I asked my parents who told me the truth. I obviously didn't mention anything to my brothers (who were 6 and 4) at the time.

Quite honestly, even today, we write "from santa" on presents, just for fun. We all are old enough to not believe in it, but when else can you do that. Plus, in a way, you get to claim anoyminity (didn't spell that word right, sorry).

I'm sure I'll do santa with my kids. I personally see nothing wrong with it. It just is a fun thing that gives them something to believe in. I don't think it harms them in any sense of the word.

But I respect the people who don't their kids to believe it, that is fine. I just don't feel that they should 'spout" the truth to others because they feel they are "right" and the rest of us are "wrong". If I'm going to respect your decision, you should respect mine.

I kind of picture this dialogue:

The kids: "So you're the ones who fill stockings and leave presents we find on Christmas morning?"

Us parents: "Yes."

The kids: "And you're the ones who put money under our pillows when we lose a tooth?"

Us parents: "Yes."

The kids: "And you leave the stuff from the Easter bunny, too?"

Us parents: "Yes again."

The kids: "And so did you also create the heavens the earth, and everything in them?"

Us parents: "Ummmmmmmmmmm, that would be a big no."

As a child, I was always really skeptical of Santa Clause and actually went looking for proof that he wasn't real. I was the same way with the tooth fairy and Easter bunny-never really convinced. I finally got that proof around age 6 or 7 when I found some presents in my mom's car that were later put under the tree "From Santa" (I think my parents just gave up trying because they knew I was catching on). Then I am pretty sure I told some friends at school that Santa wasn't real and their parents weren't thrilled. Oops.

AAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :D

I don't really want to tell my future kids that there's a Santa because I still remember the day I found out there wasn't one. I had heard it from kids at school and asked my mom, just knowing she'd tell me it wasn't true. I flipped out when she told me the truth--I gave her the "You've been lying to me all this time, we always promise to tell the truth to each other, how could yooooouuuuu!!!!!" speech. LOL, it was a very dramatic day. I don't want to go through that with my kids. If I can find a way to circumvent that, I'll consider it but I don't wanna just cross my fingers and hope they don't react the way I did. But, if I choose to raise them not believing in Santa, I don't want them rabbitting on about it either. There's nothing wrong with other children believing in Santa and my kids don't need to be the little Grinches who blow the whistle on every parent in the neighborhood!