Some of you have asked how a puppy purchased on November 15th is going to count as a Christmas gift when the kiddies run down to look under the tree.
Well, I'll tell you how. We have an agreement and my daughters are going to learn to stick to it. There will be stockings and a few of their small requests, but there WILL NOT be a pile of "My Little Ponies" "Littlest Pet Shop" products or or "Bratz Doll Styling Heads" wrapped and ready to be forgotten at the bottom of the toy box.
Catherine still believes in Santa. So I told her that I contacted him and told him that her big gift was Buddy the Pug. She accepted it without argument. I'm hoping she is as understanding on Christmas morning. I think she will be. (Yeah, I'm delusional.)
I think too much crap under the tree is overkill and like I said, half the stuff they don't REALLY want anyway.
Which leads me to my next subject. My 9 year old daughter Meg and Santa. For about 3 years she has been told by classmates that there is no Santa. She has been desperately clinging to the idea and claims to still believe, although she cornered me the other night and asked me to tell her the truth. POINT BLANK. I told her I didn't know what to say. (I'm such a wise woman. Maybe I should write a parenting book.)
It was almost as if she wanted me to tell her he didn't exist. (Or maybe she wanted me to convince her he does... Who knows?)
Anyway, she went to sleep, but I know it's time to tell her. Any suggestions?
Oh and no, I'm not going to tell her Santa is dead. I just thought this picture was funny, in a sick sorta way.
If for some reason she goes on my blog today. I won't have to worry about how to tell her, now will I?
24 comments:
Say that he was killed by the Easter Bunny.
Hi,
I've been a lurker for a while, but I saw this post and had to tell you my experience with oldest son and Santa. He's a very smart, very literal, very practical boy, always has been. At age 5 (yes, 5!) he confronted me with the question, and told me I had better tell him the truth, look him in the eye, and he will know whether or not I was lying, and he would never believe me about anything ever again if I lied to him! I about swallowed my tongue! And yes, I told him the truth. He said he knew it anyway because it was logistically impossible for Sana to get to all the houses in one night, and the toys he usually wanted and got were trademarked so he knew the elves couldn't have made them and not gotten arrested!
Michelle
I still haven't come clean with my two kids... 19yo and 15yo. (they both KNOW, but they figured it out on their own and we never had THE TALK.)
A friend of mine has kids that run the gamut of 4 to 18. She always tells the older ones that Santa will bring everyone presents as long as the littlest one still believes...that way the 18yo doesn't ruin it for the 4yo. At 9yo, she might suspect that he doesn't exist, but that's different than your mom telling you he doesn't. I'd just say Santa is in your heart. If you believe he exists, he does. That probably sounds very corny, lol.
i love your blog title!! so cute!!! canffeine, oh what a wonderful thing!!!....lol!!
Jill, this is a true story. In our parish, our assoc. priest is from India. Last year, at a school Mass, he told the kids that Santa was their parents. NO SHIT! He really said that. Fortunately, he speaks with such a heavy accent, the principal was able to RUSH to the altar, and say, WHAT FATHER JUST SAID is that your parents love to help Santa! OMG! It was a Mass of K-8. The 8th graders were rolling in the aisles.
You can do what my dad with my older little brother and tell him that it's the spirit of Santa Claus, that each of us are Santa to each other. Or something pretty like that.
This is the first time I have commented. I wanted to share this.
My son was watching the Bill Ingvall show the other night and the parents were talking about the Christmas Spirit and my son closed his eyes and held his ears and said oh no they might say Santa is not real.
I took this as on some level he knows and he is 8. I am not going to ever tell him I think he will figure it out. If he comes to me to talk about it then I will.
See, my mother never let me believe in Santa Claus for this reason: when she was a little girl, the way she found out about Santa was when her mother took her to Washington D.C. to see the "real Santa" land in a helicopter. And then when he stepped out of the helicopter? His beard flew off. TRAUMA. Therefore, no Santa for me. I'll keep thinking on this for you though, and let you know if I get any big ideas...
My sister uses the ol' You Don't Believe, You Don't Receive bit with her kids, LOL So basically...they lie to her and tell her they believe, LOL
I just told my daughter a few weeks ago (she will be 10 at the end of December). Fortunately, our church has a Santa breakfast every year for kids from K-3rd grade. That made it easy. I asked her if she knew why it stopped at third grade, and that led into the conversation. She took it remarkably well and this is the first year she didn't put HUGE, SUPER-EXPENSIVE stuff on her list...because she knows we're the ones footing the bill.
Surely at 9 she really knows deep down, but is probably hanging on to "believing" since you guys think she does. Like, she's "believing" b/c maybe she thinks you expect her to? Just like I pretended not to know about sex, etc, when I was expected not to. Does that make sense? Just tell her it's not true and that you figure she knows and now she has to help keep up the fun for her sister.
It's time to tell her the truth.
Explain to her that Catherine isn't ready to stop believing and now it's her job to work with you and Brad to keep Santa alive for awhile.
She will someday do the same for her children we all need to believe for awhile !!
Good luck! I don't know what to tell you, but this seems like a scary parent moment that I may have to address someday, so I wanted to offer support.
I wanted to be the one to tell my son before someone else did. It was a tough sell because I had done such a good job of covering my tracks. He didn't believe me at first. When I pulled out the special Santa wrapping paper that I always used on his Santa gifts, he finally believed me.
He did accuse me of lying and also let go this zinger in a disgusted voice..."I suppose the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy don't exist either."
When I point-blank asked my parents, I was ready to hear the truth. They confessed, but my dad still says "if you don't believe in him, he won't believe in you". lol
Say it isn't so! I am not looking forward to the day ... and I know it's coming soon with my almost 9 year old :(
J asked me to tell her point blank and this was my answer:
if you really believe then there are presents under the tree from santa- if you stop believing then it's up to us to give you gifts...she chose to still believe.
ya right.
and that picture with your hubs? He's so screwed- he loves the little thing....contract negotiations can begin!
this is crazy to me, because I never believed in Santa... and I dont know anyone who did. we would always say that Santa was coming, and watch the reports on the news and all, but it was just a part of Christmas. just like watching Its A Wonderful Life or having hot chocolate. my mom even took us to see Santa as kids, and we told him what we wanted... the whole deal... but it was just what we did. even now, sometimes I will go see Santa. and it feels just as fun as when I was a kid, so I like that. I "believe" in Santa just as much as I always have... he is the true spirit of Christmas! even if he doesnt bring me anything.
My oldest is 12. I suspect she knows but we have never had the talk. We DID have the talk about the tooth fairy a few years ago and it was that look me in the eye and give it to me straight type of conversation. So I did and I definitely saw the disappointment.
I believed in Santa a long time (probably abnormally long) and Christmas was never the same once I was "officially" told by my parents. I had my doubts about the whole thing but hearing those words felt like a slap in the face.
And in closing... I think it is all parent's duty that if their kids are old enough/mature enough to know this highly classified information, it is impt to stress that they have a responsibility to keep it on the dl - I hate the thought of Santa magic being ruined for a kindergartner.
My oldest is 8 and many of his friends don't believen in Santa anymore. I tell my kids that as long as they believe then Santa will keep coming and that he doesn't come to homes of non-believers. I think it's best to let them figure it out.
yea that picture cracked me up, I must be twisted too--lol.
I think that picture is damned hilarious, and I'm with Dr Zibbs: tell her the Easter Bunny killed him.
Funny! Santa Doesn't Exist-But I can't Read, So it's okay Shirt.
http://www.zazzle.com/funny_santa_claus_kids_shirt-235474411020878966
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