How would you handle Santa Claus with the lies and all?

Hi!

I know this is exactly what everyone just loves to hear about it on Christmas, Merry Christmas to everyone that reads this by the way because I'm feeling nice, but what do you think about the Santa Claus myth? Have you told it to your children? Have you specifically decided *not* to tell it to your children? I've been thinking about this recently and been doing some googling on it since I'm bored and read up on stories with how hurt children can be because of the complicated lying involved. Or they could not be offended at all like I wasn't, but being offended is a possibility.

In general, how would you handle Santa Claus?

Show a lot of Christmas movies about Santa Claus and being good, put presents under tree come Christmas. If the kid asks explicitly where the presents come from, reply with, "Where does (insert movie talking about Santa Claus here) say they come from?"

Therefore, I never TECHNICALLY lie, but my kid can still believe in Santa Claus.

@mitran said:

And you never like told other kids that Santa isn't real, or did your parents warn you against it?

I dont think i ever belived in Santa Claus and i'm pretty sure that i wont tell that myth to my kids but who knows....

@rouflex said:

Would you just not tell it or would you tell them it's all fake?

@mitran: You seemed to have gone through it the best way haha

If they ask me i'll say:Go ask your mom she's the brain :P.

@rouflex: XDD

Nah but i would just tell them, if you belive in him than he will exist somewhere (In his Heart and im not evan sure if i will say that lol...)... I will never show them any proof or say anything against/for the existence (Except the heart thing >.> if i feel like it) of Santa.

In other words i'm not sure...

@rouflex said:

I've been thinking about what I'd do too.

If I had kids, I would tell them the truth.

If I ever have a kid (and I don't ever plan to atm), I'm not going to bother with it.

I found out when I was about 5 or 6 because I snuck out of my room and saw my parents putting stuff under the tree. I don't feel like I was missing anything after I found out.

...I was mostly interested in the presents anyway.

WTF!!!!!SANTA CLAUS ISN'T REAL!!!!!!!!!! :'(

I would tell my children about Santa being real, because they are going to eventually learn about him eventually and I would want them to have a few special moments of wonder and gullibility in their youths. Sure I can realize at some point they are going to be hurt or confused or annoyed when they find out he isn't real, but they are also going to be annoyed and hurt and confused when I tell them they can't have any chocolate ice cream until after they eat their vegetables and clean their rooms. Children are going to be hurt, offended and annoyed a lot in their youths no matter what happens and they are going to be lied to by everything and everyone including their parents for lack of their maturity, experience and knowledge and just sheer capacity for some ideas that even adults struggle with.

That also being said I plan on teaching (when they are of schooling age) my hypothetical theoretical children about critical thinking and skepticism and about Odin, Saint Nicholas, Yule, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, Sinterklaas and how traditions and mythology are created and passed on and about the reasoning and purpose that goes into manipulation and deception, about coping mechanisms and just all manner of similar things. I think its important that children develop their own critical reasoning abilities to analyze the likelihood's and probabilities of the information they get no matter the source and be a bit skeptical about anything they are told to believe, and learning and realizing that they were once inaccurate about a belief is a nice reminder to filter information from sources, even if that source is me. I would rather have a patient, creative and reasonable child than an obedient child who always does and believes as I tell them.

Then my child's sense of wonder about a jolly fat man with presents can be replaced with a sense of wonder about reality and history and the quantum mechanics and physics about a hypothetical Santa accomplishing his mythical feats, and then about how they might possibly approach their own children one day about how to present Santa to them heh heh.

I don't have a chimney BAM!

@homicidalmaniac said:

WTF!!!!!

SANTA CLAUS ISN'T REAL!!!!!!!!!! :'(

Oh no! I'm sorry! D;

When I have kids, Santa will just be a fictional character to them. It's just a character in movies and TV shows, like... well, like superheroes.

My parents didn't do the Santa thing, and I'm glad they didn't.

@jedixman said:

Why glad?

@patrat18 said:

That actually never got me, because we didn't have one either...and I still believed in Santa the entire time.

Probably just thought he kicked the door down.

Not me. When i was 3 i knew Santa was a

Here's why:

1. It's a trust issue. If you bother to lie about a small thing, then kids won't trust you in the future.
2. Kids should know where their presents come from. It's not some benevolent guy in a suit with endless resources delivering gifts; it's people who have to earn money in order to pay for those gifts. Children should know the value of money and the value of possessions. They're less likely to mistreat what is given to them when they understand the source, and the idea of finite resources.
3. I'm Christian. It doesn't make sense for a Christian to talk about Santa, which isn't the reason why we celebrate Christmas. Yes, I understand the origins of Christmas and that Dec. 25th wasn't the actual date of Christ's birth, but it's more of a symbolic thing.

it won't be the first time I lie at my kids

I'll tell them when I have kids. Santa is fun

I will encourage my children to not believe in any superstition.

If I get children I'll teach them I'm santa so they can believe in santa and know you bought the presents

Oh I feel like a mastermind

@attatje said:

You're a genius

I don't remember a time when I ever believed in Santa and I grew up fine.

I never believed in Santa, and my parents never even brought him up, cause they knew I wouldn't believe such nonsense. As for my own children, I'd move into a house with central heating, no chimney, no Santa, I avoid the problem altogether.

You're going to have to do better than that!

Damn him, damn him and his evil holiday magics!!

Wait, what?? Santa isn't real??

@hbktimhbk:

I would say that Santa (and the myths of Christmas) was what made Christmas special to me. So...

d~_~b