Do you remember when you realized that Santa

[waiting for hope]

Poll question: Do you remember when you realized that Santa

wasn't real? I can not for the life of me remember that moment of clarity ... my oldest, 8 and a half, calmly told me last night that Santa Claus isn't real because 1) There is no way he could visit all the kids in one night, can't be done. 2) He's been around for ever, nobody lives that long. 3) Reindeer can't fly, that's a fact and 4) Why on earth would Santa make the same toys that you can buy at the store? I can't fault his logic, but I did get out of him that he did believe in the Christmas spirit, so I'll take that. He also promised not to tell his 4 year old sister what he thought, so we have a few more years of having "Santa". When did you realize?

[Bicoastal]

1. Other. Jewish...

...Santa was something that I could appreciate as an audience, never a participant.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

46. also jewish, but we went through the motions of secular christmas

I will never forget watching my parents trying to explain Santa to some Vietnamese refugees who had just arrived that past summer. Not the idea of leaving out the gifts - the idea of the giant sock.

[KharmaTrain]

50. We Have Chanukah...

Hell, the goyim only had one day...we had 8!!! I always got my presents before the Catholic kids.

I've always thought of Christmas as being a little of every winter celebration since many of the songs and symbols are cultural rather than religious.

[onehandle]

2. But, every year the cookies and milk are gone.

Explain that.

[waiting for hope]

4. Did you smell your parents breath first thing in the

AM - Wait, no, don't answer that! :evilgrin:

[mwb970]

52. Cookies and milk!

Dad told us to leave beer.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Sadly, I do not remember.

I recall my mom telling me that I held onto it long after my friends had stopped...

I guess I always liked a little magic in my life.

I voted "other."


:shrug:

[BeatleBoot]

5. What Planet do you live on?

Santa's not real?

Obviously too young to comprehend it all.

Trust me. You hit 40 + and you KNOW that he is real.

He lives inside of all of us year round

[waiting for hope]

7. Already 40+ thank you ....

Just thought my son was very insightful with his logic and was thinking I couldn't remember the event - my husband does, he is the youngest of six boys and he thinks he was around 5 when they all let it out.

[DesertFlower]

6. i voted "other". i don't

remember how old i was -- probably about 7. i remember crying and telling my mom that it was all a lie.

[MisterP]

8. dunno, but I almost got into a fight over him in 5th grade... nt

[waiting for hope]

9. Good for you - that was a pretty good run.

:)

[BlueJazz]

10. I was a math kid. At about 5 I figured out that Santa would have to travel about...

...one third the speed of Light and I knew the story had some serious flaws in it. :)

[waiting for hope]

14. My son is pretty good at math too ...

When he realized how many people lived in the US I think the noggin started ticking on that question.

[napi21]

11. I was much like your son. I started realizing all this Santa stuff

didn't make sense. I had done the who thing...letters to Santa oposted on the fridg and found an answer the next morning, put cookies & milk out Christmas eve before I went to bed and they were gone in the AM, Seoarate presents from Santa. I think I was about 6 yo. and started to think about all this, and how it could possibly be real. THEN I deliberately stayed awake really late and snuck downstairs to check. The door was closed to the LR, but I peeked through the key hole and there was my dad putting the train tracks together and mom trimming the tree.

Funny. I was just talking to my Grand daughter yesterday about Santa. She told me she realized Santa wasn't real about 3 years ago when she was 9. Letters & gifts from Santa all had different handwriting, and she got suspicious. Then she found a wrapped present hidden away. It was From Santa to XXXXXX. She said something to her mother about santa being a fairy tale and about an hour later she overheard her Mom on the phone saying she couldn't believe her little girl doesn't believe in Santa anymore. My GD sat down on the steps to listen in to the conversation and when her Mom hung up she walked around the corner and surprised her. She also said her brother who is 10 still believes in Santa!! Too funny!

[waiting for hope]

12. I guess age just depends on the person -

The owner at my last job had a daughter whom at 12 was still believing .. his wife told me she thought she was letting them think that because if she told them different, maybe the influx of gifts would stop. Not sure where she would get that idea, but perhaps some kids hold on the the magic longer than others.

[mwb970]

53. Gosh, age 12 sounds a bit old for that.

What else does she believe?

[Zhade]

57. Probably in some god or other, lol

NT!

[Tumbulu]

13. My 8 yr old daughter proclaimed "I know the presents come from you, not Santa"

So I said, "yes they do, but that is because Santa can't be all over the place in every house at the same time, so all the parents that can do so buy or make the presents that the children ask Santa for. We are his helpers. This way Santa can concentrate on all the children's whose parents can't help him out. Like all the people who have lost their jobs, or are sick or all sorts of problems come up. He is busy helping them, so all of us who can help him."

She liked this idea and thus still believes.

[waiting for hope]

17. Good answer! I wish we had that opportunity to

go back and revise, he said something to my husband first, which knowing my hubby he probably gave a look with gave it all away. I had to find out for sure last night. I also think a classmate said something to him as well, a lot of the kids in his class have older siblings. Nicely done! :thumbsup:

[parasim]

29. That's a great one... I'll have to remember that for my grandkids.

[Raine]

47. That's what my mother told me after I found hidden gifts

I think it's a great answer because it prolongs the magic for the child a little longer. :-)

[NoPasaran]

15. I'd had my doubts

But it was wandering in on my father putting my brother's bicycle together that connected all the dots for me. But I played along and never wised up my little brother. Still not sure if he knows.

[waiting for hope]

18. LOL! How old is your brother?

[NoPasaran]

23. He's 51

But if he knows the truth about Santa Claus, he didn't get it from me!

[waiting for hope]

27. Yur funny!

I sure hope he is still holding on to the dream! :rofl:

[EFerrari]

16. An older kid on my block said, "You don't believe in Santa, do you?"

I was five. Five used to be a lot older. lol

[waiting for hope]

20. Kids can be so unthinkingly mean

sometimes ... Merry Christmas EFerrari! :toast:

[EFerrari]

24. Merry Christmas!

:hi:

[Dappleganger]

19. We were told that Santa was Satan.

My parents were ultra-religious and we were never taught that Santa was real, but that people who believed in him were believing a lie and most parents lied to their kids.

I always hated them for that and we taught our kids about Santa and not one of them held it against us when they figured things out.

[waiting for hope]

22. Santa is more of a tradition than anything

else, no more so than the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy - all kids need a bit of "magic" and surprise in their lives, nice to know that you taught that to your children. :)

[Zhade]

58. Man, they could bottle irony like that. So thick and hearty.

"believing a lie" -- they ever look in a mirror?

[parasim]

21. I have no clue how old I was...

But I do remember, when I was still in the thick ouf it, my Dad telling me one Christmas morning that he had been hanging out with the Santa the night before. That Santa stopped by, but couldn't get down our chimney, so he knocked on the front door and my dad invited him in and asked him if he wanted a beer. He said they sat there drinking beer for a bit and then Santa went on his way.

I remember when I realized that Santa wasn't real (whenever it was) I said to my dad, "You mean that whole thing with having a beer with Santa was fake?" My dad sheepishly says... "yeah."

[waiting for hope]

25. Love the story your Dad told -

That's pretty clever! No beer in our house, maybe we could cook up a line like "Santa came in for some coffee and beignets ..."

[parasim]

33. Yeah, it was a good story.

I went to school going, "I bet your your dad never had a beer with Santa."

Yeah, doesn't matter if it was beer or not, it was the scenario he set that made it totally believable.

[waiting for hope]

36. Totally believable -

I know my youngest would believe it, especially having coffee and just hanging out .. she gets the "grown up" time.

[housewolf]

26. I don't remember precissely - somewhere around age 12 I think

I was the oldest of 6 kids, the youngest being 10 years younger than I. So my parents made a concerted effort to keep us all believing. Somehow though, at some point, I just "knew". It wasn't anything that anyone said or did, or that I even thought out for myself. I just knew.

[waiting for hope]

30. Your parents did a nice job -

I was torn last night, I wanted to tell him that yes, Santa can visit all the kids, and that reindeer do fly, but he was so dead serious and proud of how he came to that conclusion, I just couldn't push the issue with him.

[housewolf]

55. That same year, my cousin who was 3 yaars younger began questioning...

and lo! and behold! on Christmas morning there were some little spots in the snow on their roof just where she could see them - where the snow had melted and they looked like reindeer tracks! That kept her quiet for a couple more years.

The next year I became my parent's official Christmas gift wrapper - they let me stay home from school for a few days that last week before Christmas vacation and I wrapped all - or nearly all - of my brothers' and sisters' gifts from Santa. I like it - I felt mature and special - and I kept that job for decades afterwards!

Thanks for giving me a chance to reminisce a little. I'm alone this Christmas and everyone decided not to do gifts this year anyway, so I enjoyed the little visit to the bast that you led me to.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[waiting for hope]

61. Merry Christmas to you as well!

Hope you had a joyful day. :hug:

[Blue_In_AK]

28. My little girlfriend told me

when I was about seven. I didn't believe her at first, but that was the chink in my faith, and I think later we discovered presents up on the shelf in the closet, so that burst the bubble for good.

[waiting for hope]

32. So you had a two'fer ...

I think kids learn more from their friends in instances such as these.

[ccharles000]

31. Found gifts

[waiting for hope]

35. We have had to become really good at

hiding stuff - now it all goes in the shed .. I don't even go in there!

[PufPuf23]

34. Other - Uncle Ellis in a Santa Suit. nt

[waiting for hope]

37. Did Uncle Ellis spill the beans?

[PufPuf23]

38. Santa was just to much Uncle Ellis lol Best to You ny

[waiting for hope]

39. And you as well!

Merry Christmas! :hi:

[Fla_Democrat]

40. Holy crap, put "spoiler" in the title.

Here I was checking the board before I turned in so Santa would come by... and you post something like this, shattering my illusions? :smoke:

[waiting for hope]

41. Oops! Sorry -

Didn't mean to spoil your evening ... BTW, does Santa stop by for those old enough to smoke? :rofl:

[Fla_Democrat]

54. Yea, even brings me

a carton or two. Heck, with the cost of them these days.. I've really had to work on making the 'nice' list to support my habit. :smoke: :evilgrin:

[rainbow4321]

42. Remember like it was yesteday

Went up the steps to the 4th bedroom (converted from an attic) and saw the wrapped presents. Looked at the tags to see if they were mine and saw "From Santa".
My other Santa related memory: I remember my siblings going outside the house and throwing rocks up on the roof..they would use that noise to convince me that Santa and the reindeer were landing and I HAD to get to bed RIGHT away otherwise he would not come in and leave presents.

[waiting for hope]

43. I'll have to remember the rocks on the

roof for my youngest next year ... we had the darnedest time getting her to bed tonight! Thanks!

[kevinbgoode]

44. OMG - he isn't REAL? WTF? Are you kidding me?

You have just emotionally scarred me for life. x(

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

45. my mom tripped and did a face plant stocking in hand - I was four

when she fell my dad ran into the room and turned on the light, although they continued to fill my stocking until I left home.

[Posteritatis]

48. I was three or so when I noticed his writing looked suspiciously like my mother's. (nt)

[TicketyBoo]

49. I heard two classmates talking about it

when I was in third grade. One said, "Ssh! She still believes," and nodded toward me.

That night, as Mom was tucking me into bed, I asked her to tell me the truth about Santa. She went and had a talk with my Dad then came back into my room and told me. But it wasn't "the truth" I expected. I expected her to confirm Santa's reality! I cried and cried and cried. It was like a death in the family to me, I loved Santa so much, and I was so convinced that he was real.

[mwb970]

51. The whole story is so full of holes I never quite bought it.

A major stumbling block was the flying reindeer. Even at age 6 and 7, I was reading nature books from the library, some of which had long sections about reindeer. If reindeer could fly, why on earth would such a crucial fact not even be mentioned in any of the science books I read?

A cute family story has me trying to find a way to believe, plaintively asking my father, "Well, do the reindeer have motors then?"

The small-or-no-chimney problem and the not-enough-time problem were also deal breakers for me. Meanwhile, other stories I was told seemed full of holes as well: the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, God and Jesus. Imagine my surprise when I found out that that last one, by far the least believable of the set, was supposedly actually true! These stories all seemed goofy and far-fetched to me then and now at age 60 they still do.

[Zhade]

56. Probably when I realized there was no evidence for him.

I mean, the whole virgin birth thing--

Oh. You said Santa. My bad!

Merry xmas you kwazy kwistians! : D

[H2O Man]

59. Other.

I was a youngster, riding on a school bus, rather excited about Christmas. An older neighbor, sitting across from me, began making fun of me for believing in Santa. At the time, I knew that Santa was real, and so I beat the holy hell out of the kid. At school, when called to the principal's office, I was confident that not only would I be rewarded for sticking up for a respected public figure, but that my victim would be severely punished. Alas, neither of those things took place.

[Cairycat]

60. I still believed when I was told

My then-19 year old sister sat me down when I was 7 or so and told me there was no Santa, but I wasn't to tell my younger brother. That was a let down (partly because it seemed to me her telling was instigated by my parents), and I resolved even then not to get my own children started with believing in Santa.

So my kids have always known there was no Santa. All three, when very young, had a different name for him. One called him "Chri'tmas tree" and one "Ho-Ho" (don't remember the third). They all picked up the mythology very thoroughly from tv shows anyway.

I did explain, as they reached preschool age, that Santa was a pretend game that some parents like to play with their kids, so we shouldn't spoil it for them. It was never a problem.

[gleaner]

62. I chose "Other" ...

because I don't have any one moment of clarity where it hit me that Santa didn't exist, it was a gradual realization. No one told me, it just kind of came as I got older.

My parents covered very well though, those awkward questions about how did Santa get in since we had no fireplace. My Dad said he had a really big set of master keys that let him into houses without fireplaces. I bought it. I was young and it seemed real. ;)

[lunatica]

63. My parents never did the lie thing about Santa

I was actually shocked when my friends thought he was real. I think I told many of them myself. Although I didn't mean to traumatize any of them, but none of them seemed in denial of what I said. Parents are always being fooled by their own kids.

[Odin2005]

64. Figured it out myself when I was 8, too.

And I used that EXACT same reasoning! :rofl:

IMO I really don't like the whole Santa thing, I hate lying to kids like that, it's just so WRONG and cruel.

[Retrograde]

65. Catching my parents eating the milk and cookies

that we left out for Santa Claus. I should have suspected earlier, because my father always insisted that we leave carrots and turnips out for the reindeer, which just happened to be his favorite snack.

[Blasphemer]

66. I can't remember really.. one of those things I just figured out.. nt