I was driving home one day, when the subject of Santa came up. My daughter was insisting that Santa was a real person. Her brothers were arguing with her.
“Santa doesn’t exist,” I stated matter-of-factly. “He’s make-believe, just like Peter Pan.”
“But Mom,” insisted my daughter, “I saw on a present at Grandma and Grandpa’s house: To Grandma and Grandpa, From Santa.” She stated this piece of evidence as the trump card of her argument, the irrefutable piece of evidence that in her 6-year-old mind made perfect sense.
“Sweetheart, anybody can write whatever they want. A person who was NOT Santa wrote down those words,” I explained.
“Oh,” she said, deep in thought.
It didn’t help this past week when Santa visited her Awana group. He was a perfect-looking Santa with a real white beard, looking mighty jolly. The next day I asked my daughter, “Was that Santa real?”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“Sweetheart, that was just a man dressed up as Santa. Santa doesn’t exist.”
“I wish he did,” she said.
“Me, too,” chimed in her 10-year-old brother.
We’ve had that conversation from the beginning. It’s one reason we don’t put “from Santa” on our presents. Which is funny, because we attempted to do the tooth fairy and failed miserably.
My kids still love Santa, despite his not being real. And this momma wishes he was real too. LOL
See, my kids love Santa just like they love Peter Pan. Both are fiction.
I’ve sort of evaded that question with the stories of the historical Santa…but we’re about to put the stop to the faint notion that he might be real…it’s altogether too confusing….
It is confusing. It’s better for children to know the truth. Otherwise how can they trust that what we say about God is true, if we lie about things that don’t matter?
Santa went away on Christmas day when my boys where very young. (5 and 7) My MIL wrote from Santa on a few of the gifts. They was fighting over a toy and I took it from them. They said I could not because its from Santa. I got mad and said no that is from Grandma Davies there is no Santa opps.
It’s hard when grandparents undermine what parents are trying to do with their children.
Amen and amen. So much more I could say but that is enough for now.