How old were you?
 

Hi everybody. I just wanted to throw a question out........How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa Claus?

I'm asking because my 7 year old still believes but many of her friends don't. I was in Wal-Mart and there were parents showing the kids what they put on layway for them. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif Isn't that a part of childhood? These kids have to grow up way too fast as it is, shouldn't there be something for them to look forward to? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

THERES NO SANTA CLAUS!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!

THe Sphinxpoet

Santa Claus was not a part of my childhood, Jesus was. My parents believed that telling me that God was the true reason behind me being able receive gifts, was better than any Santa Claus. Instead of Santa Claus, I looked forward to celebrating Jesus at Christmas (and every other day), someone who loves me and takes care of me whether or not I was "good" or "bad". And, seriously, no offense whatsoever, but why would you deliberately lie to a child about Santa Claus?

Although I respect your opinion, and your parents choices, I was rasied believing in him and I feel I turned out fine. I'm carrying on a family tradition. I too was raised knowing the reason for the season and I agree that theat was the greatest thing about Christmas, but I think that adds to her excitement and I won't take it from her.

I think that I may have been around seven or eight also EX. We used to set out cookies and milk too, and what do you know, they would be gone in the morning!!!

I think I realized it was over for Santa when I saw my dad wrapping up my VOLTRON. (I never have liked dolls). It was cool though, but I never told my little sisters that there no Santa, no sense in spoiling it for them....

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The truly educated never graduate!

good question, i don't remember when but i know after we found out, we still had to keep it a secret for a while due to the youngest child. i've thought about the whole lying thing too, and although i like the whole santa clause idea, i will not lie and say some old fat white man/black man is buying presents for my child http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif based on their behavior etc. i will explain the concept so they'll be in on it http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif that in itself could be fun to know what the other kids don't know. i plan to focus on the real meaning of christmas Jesus and not get too caught up in the commercialization of it all, there has to be a way to do both sucessfully. i hope http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif

I was 6 yrs old when I stopped believing, and that was because my older brother killed it for me.

My husband and I have repeatedly told my daughter that there is no Santa, but because of society's insistance that there is, she won't believe us. However, I just continue to tell her that mommy and daddy provide the gifts under the tree. She even told me, that we buy the gifts, but Santa gives us the money back. I don't know.

For me, the excitement of Christmas never was in SANTA, but in the whole season. The togetherness of family, going to Midnight Mass, trying to stay up all night with my brother, opening gifts, that was exciting, Santa was just some old white man.

I do feel you on that kids knowing their presents, though. I got up WAY early the day after Thanskgiving, and went to Toys R Us, there were almost as many kids in there as there were adults. NOW THAT TAKES AWAY FROM THE EXCITEMENT.

Miss. Mocha

http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif

I really don't remember!

http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif

I believed in Santa Claus until I was nine. I also grew up knowing the true meaning of Christmas.

Also for the record, I did go trick or treating as a child, I believed the Easter Bunny left me baskets ever year, and I thought the Tooth Fairy really left me money in exchange for each tooth I lost. Did I miss anything?

I also think I was around 9 when I stopped beieving in Santa Claus. That was only because I was going to the bathroom and I saw my father and my oldest brother pulling my stereo out of the closet. You should have saw my face and even more funny were my father and brother trying to put me back in the bed. But I too was raised in a very spiritual home and my parent's made sure that I knew the reason for the season....BEFORE we opened any gifts, we sat around the tree as a family and read Matthew 1 with emphasis on verse 25, said a prayer and then opened presents. I thank my parent's for their practices and my siblings (who are older) for not RUINING the element of suprise for me. I think it is a part of a child's innocence when they still.........BELIEVE.

P.S. --> I am going to start posting more often...I want to be a Senior Member too http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/redface.gif)

I can't remember how old I was either, but I don't think I ever really believed in him, anyway. Too many discrepancies. Santa at the mall was white, but Santa at City Hall was Black, and came to town in a helicopter, yall!! I knew something was up with that. No one wanted to answer my questions, though.

Yeah, and how could Santa get in if you did not have a chimney?

Then, if you did have a chimney and it was SMALL, you know the one's for a woodburning stove? That's what we had, so how could his JOLLY OLE BELLY FIT?

Those questions ran through my head as a child.

There is still a gift under the tree each year from "Santa" for each of our family members.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by exquizit:
Hi everybody. I just wanted to throw a question out........How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa Claus?

Stop believing?!? No Santa?!? What are you people talking about??? What has happened to Santa Claus?!?!?

Just kidding http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif....I don't believe I ever REALLY belived in Santa....setting out the cookies and milk was just something else for us kids to do.
Speaking of cookies and milk....have any of you seen the commercial where the adorable little girl wakes her parents up and drags them into the living room where there's like tons of presents? The dad goes "Boy, honey...that must've been some cookies you left Santa" and she replies "I didn't leave him cookies...I left him Cheeeeese" I love that commercial! She looks so cute when she says Cheeeeeese.
Do you guys have any favorite commercials (holiday or just regular commercials)? Maybe I should start this as a new thread.....I also love the Dunkin Donut Halloween commercial where the girl walks into the kitchen and starts screaming to the top of her lungs because the donut box is empty and her brother goes "HEY! There's another box over there!" Ok, as you all can see I've been watching WAY too much television http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by Sexy Mocha (edited December 20, 2000).]

I was around hmmm....eight when I stopped believing in Santa....when I was younger I "knew" that there was only one Santa and all the others--prancin' around in the malls where just his "helpers" LOL....Besides my mom always threatened "if you stop believing, you stop receiving".
I think that the whole Santa thing was not only for us kids back then but also for the parents too.
I stopped beleiving b/c when I set cookies & milk out for Santa & woke up the next morning Santa had written me a letter thanking me BUT it was in my father's handwriting. >=( But even after that I pretended I still believed for at least 3 more years after that until my mom figured I was just fakin....

Still I don't know how my parents (especially moms) pulled it off. Yeah...I'll never forget nothing would be set up except a few decorations and the tree when I would go to sleep but when I woke up on Christmas morning...it was EXACTLY like that little girl in the "i didn't give him cookies...I left him CHEESE" LOL

I think I was about 5 or 6 when I stopped believing in Santa. One of the kids on my block told me. However instead of telling my mom that I knew I pretended for another year that I had no clue. Then the next year my uncle tried to spoil it for me and tell me but made me promise not to tell, so then I had to pretend for another year. Finally I said to my mom the next summer " when are you buying my Christmas gifts so I can help you pick it out" My mom was shocked. But hey all that lying was getting to a sistah.
Now my 5 year old believes in Santa but thinks that I have to pay Santa to deliver the gifts. And this year he told me that instead of milk & cookies he is putting out cheese! Cheese??? Now I know my baby watches toomuch dang gon t.v.

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"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful"

Around 6 or 7. Until I was 8 I lived in NYC. I don't think I ever truly believed in him either. I didn't have a Chimney, I knew he couldn't fit thru the bathroom window and I did not believe that this Caucasion guy (no offense)could be so smooth as to climb up the fire escape in the middle of Harlem and sneak thru any other other windows in the apartment -- unnoticed. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif And then I tore open my little piano that I got one year and found a cereal coupon inside. I knew they didn't make those at the North Pole. Now the tooth fairy was different... http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

My 5 & 8 year old busted our fascade this year by saying that they found a reciept last year (my 8 year old is incredibly smart and shared the news with his sister). So, we will continue to celebrate the real meaning of xmas, but w/o Santa. However, their gifts will still be a surprise.

Did you... Do you... Will You
 

I was watching "Divorce Court" this morning and heard the judge say that she never taught her kids anything about Santa Claus because she worked too hard to provide for them to have them thinking somebody else was giving them gifts.

Did you/do you/will you allow your children to believe in Santa Claus?

Do you remember when you found out he was non-existent? Did anybody find it traumatic? Funny, but I can't remember how or when I found out the truth.

Re: Did you... Do you... Will You
 

:( Yes I did believe in Santa. He was soooooo good to me. :D
He gave us everything (it seemed like it) that we wrote down that was in the BEST, SEARS, JC PENNEY, and SERVICE MERCHANDISE CATALOGS!:D

I remember it well, January 1983, after Christmas, sitting in Mrs. Buerker's music class talking about our Christmases. I was in the second grade. One of my classmates, Reggie Hardin, raised his hand and said, "I learned that there is no Santa Claus!" I turned around and said, "YES THERE IS!!!! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/sad/scrying.gif Then that BUSTA told me there was no Easter Bunny either!! I was pissed. I still don't like his azz.http://www.plauder-smilies.de/angryfire.gif

I remember all of my Santa gifts being lovingly wrapped and in mom's handwriting but thought nothing of it. I used to always write my letters and remind him to go to Granny's house to put my presents because that is where we would be on Christmas Eve plus she had a chimney. :D

Will I?? I think I will. I will EMPHASIZE JESUS' BIRTH but ironically before 1983, we only went to church on Mother's Day. However, I think kids need to be kids. I look forward to my kids writing Santa letters and BEING GOOD at least for a few weeks;). I want my kids to learn the blessing in giving but also teach them to look forward to the "magic of Christmas" and watch all of the movies together on TV and stuff.

Around this time, my mother gets a kick out of telling everybody how I never believed in Santa. I just thought that it wasn't logical...how can he be at every mall, everyday, and then have time to deliver all those presents on one night? My parents finally gave up when I was 6, and told me that it was all a hoax, but they made me promise not to tell other people at school.

I will not be telling my kids about Santa, to me, that has nothing to do with the true spirit of Christmas. A lot of people say that is spoiling the kids fun...but what is fun about lying to little children? Are we saying that making up a ficticious character is the only way that kids can get joy out of the holiday season? I was perfectly content, probably more so than my peers, sharing time with family, and by 12 I refused to give/receive material presents during Christmas time, I just didn't see the point. I personally believe this is one of the reasons Christmas is becoming more and more commercial, because we skim over the true reason and focus more on the fluff of Christmas. In saddens me to hear about how people go in debt over Christmas gifts, how we get mad if our loved ones don't get us what we wanted, that's not even the point. *stepping off my soapbox* Well, I think I answered the question.

:)

Great Topic!!!
 

Christmas was/is such a wonderful time. I believed in Santa Clause when I was little, and I participated in the normal Santa activities (i.e. milk and cookies, staying up late on Christmas Eve to catch a glimpse, etc.). I think these things only enhansed my childhood, and they keep the spirit of the season for me even today. I still enjoy the anticipation and the excitement that Christmas morning brings. I'm really looking forward to being able to share this feeling and idea of Santa Clause w/my children and family.

Happy Holidays GC,
Marie

Wow. In elementary school, I was the kid who ruined Christmas for those who believed in Santa. I guess I was the "Reggie Hardin" of my class. But I was taught not to believe in that nonsense because Santa was not the one born to save souls and Santa was not the one who died on the cross. So yes, I blabbed it to every kid in school I knew. I feel bad now:( My family didn't celebrate Christmas anyway because my mother does not believe Jesus was born on the 25th. We did however, celebrate Hanukkah.
I will teach my children the true meaning of Christmas which will probably not include good ol Santa. I will also teach them about Hanukkah because it's an important holiday in my family.

Ditto!!
 

I completely agree!! Me and my boyfriend were talking about this, and what we were gonna do when we had children. I don't think I'm going to do the whole Santa thing. I don't even know if we'll do Christmas. It's just TOO commercialized now, and I REFUSE to buy into that mess.

Did I believe in Santa when I was young? A little, I was always a little skeptical (I've always been too smart for my own good, lol). We didn't have a fireplace, so I wanted to know how he got in the house. My parents had an answer for everything, lol, almost. But something soon happened to let me know for SURE it was a hoax. We had two Santas: the White Santa at the mall, and then we had one at City Hall. Now, let me tell yall about the City Hall Santa. CH Santa came to Warrensville Heights in a HELICOPTER!!! And he was BLACK!! I told my father, "Santa's not Black!! And where is Rudolph? He came in a helicopter??" He didn't have a response for that, lol. He didn't say a single word, we just got in line. My mother's response when we got home? "I knew I shoulda took her myself." LMAO!! What would she have said, I wonder??? But that let me know, lol.

I forgot to tell yall, lol. That did NOT stop me from going to see the CH Santa every year. You got something free, I forget what it was, a stocking full of candy or something? CT4, do you remember what you got? Anyway, I went for the freebie, lol. Always been stuck on that word, FREE.

Re: Ditto!!
 

I was not a constituent of Warrensville Heights ergo us North Randallians had no invite to your City Hall.

Our City Hall was the bomb though. They gave us free trash bags once a month. Plus they plowed our driveways and other goodies.

Back to Santa. . .

This is rough. I may just forgo(sp?) telling them about Santa just because I don't want them to be dissapointed when they find out the truth that Santa is really a different name for their daddy. Then again, I really want to do the whole Santa suit thing and have an excuse for eating a plate full of cookies in the early morning hours, so I'll probably pretend with them for a few years.:p

What a coincidence!!!!
 

A friend of mine and I were just having this conversation the other day. She has a 3 year old daughter and she was telling me that her daughter doesn't believe in Santa Claus because she already told her that he doesn't exist. When I asked her why, she told me that she refuses to lie to her child and that she "works too hard to provide for her, just to let her believe that someone else provided". (She doesn't even WORK and neither does her "baby daddy", so I don't know what she's talking about!!!) But anyway.......I told her that I would allow my kids to believe in him because I don't look at it as lying to a child. I believe that it is just allowing a child to be a child. I believed in Santa and it was all in fun. When I found out that he didn't exist, it was still all good.


All parents have a right to raise their children the way that they see fit, but this particular girl is not allowing her 3 year old to believe in Santa however she feels that it is okay to let this same 3 year old walk around in pampers, drink from bottles (baby bottles, that is :confused: ) and suck on pacifiers. I was toooo through one day when she brought the baby to class and the little girl was carrying a purse with about 5 pacifiers in it. She just sat there sucking on pacifiers and when she got tired of one, she put it in her purse, pulled out another one and proceeded to suck on it until she got tired. :eek: .........So my point is, if you are trying to get your child on the right track, start with potty training and drinking from a child's cup. Deal with Santa later, because the stuff that she is allowing to go on seems a whole lot more serious in the scheme of things!!!!!!! ;)

Re: Did you... Do you... Will You
 

HC I'm LMAO because THAT episode, just went off! :eek:
That guy was trippin'!

Anyway, we were taught about Santa Claus, but my question always was...
how in the HECK did Santa Claus get his bigg butt in our house and we ain't even much have a fireplace, lel alone a CHIMNEY!?!!! LMAO! :eek:

I don't remember when I put it together that mom and dad were santa. I guess because my mother would always write our names on those tags and I knew her handwriting.

I think I will tell my kid(s) about Santa, the Easter bunny and all that, BUT they will know the TRUE MEANING OF THE SEASON.

:D

I don't have any children now but I know I will not teach them to believe in Santa Claus...I will be honest with my child about the existence of Satan...more importantly the true meaning of Christmas ~ to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

My mom has always told me that I diddn't believe in Santa Claus or even the Easter Bunny so why would I teach my children to believe in something that I didn't. Besides I'm NOT going to lie to my children.

If I ever have kids, I will not tell them about st. nick, and if they ask I will tell them the TRUTH that he is not a real person. I HATE lying to children and to me, that is one of the BIGGEST lies ever told.
I agree with FuturePhD,

Quote
"I will not be telling my kids about Santa, to me, that has nothing to do with the true spirit of Christmas. A lot of people say that is spoiling the kids fun...but what is fun about lying to little children? Are we saying that making up a ficticious character is the only way that kids can get joy out of the holiday season? I was perfectly content, probably more so than my peers, sharing time with family, and by 12 I refused to give/receive material presents during Christmas time, I just didn't see the point. "



Ninja poodle

Hmmmmmm...
 

I don't really remember when I actually found out about Santa but I believed in it while being skeptical when I was about 3 yrs old...

My sisters and I never really liked Santa (we thought he looked scary). My parents took us to take pics w/ him every year, and we hated it...We had these awful frowns on our faces, LOL...

I don't think I'll bother w/ the whole Santa thing...My kids will probably be like I was and ask too many gosh darn questions and figure it out as I did...

Now, SweetestDiva, did you do a search?:p

I agree with AKA2D on this one. I think it's all in fun and a part of growing up. However, as a parent I would have a responsibility to teach my children the true meaning of the holiday season.

i always liked going to "see Santa" because:

1. i'm vain and i like pictures of myself
2. if i was good THAT DAY (waiting in line) i knew i was going to rack up on gifts.

we were a military family so we moved around a lot, and it always amazed me that Santa could keep up withour changing address... but then again, my parents were always sure to claim responsibility for the good presents (bikes, barbie houses, etc.) and blame Santa for the penny-ante gifts (socks, underwear, etc.). So i guess i never really paid too much attention to Mr. Clause b/c he never broke me off with good gifts... but i still believe in the Tooth Fairy (big $$ for teeth in my house) and i actually SAW the easter bunny hiding eggs around the house and hopping off down the street! I'll teach my kids about those two. :D

Just for FUN
 

Because I don't believe this mess, but I like to mess with people who do, LOL.

Did you know that Santa and Satan are anagrams of each other? :p

Threads Merged
 

Re: Just for FUN
 

Yes this is something that I did realize...however, I don't know if it is just that an anagram or if it is truly "symbolic" in that it represents something. I'm sure some "biblical" scholar will enlighten society someday on that, if not done already. I'm a biblical scholar but as of now i don't have any evidence there is any symbolism/substance in it.