Let’s get the Spoiler out of the way – there’s no such thing as Father Christmas – it’s just your Mum and Dad. Sorry to break it to you.

So…

When my daughter was 3 she straight out expressed the view that it must have been us putting the pressies in the sack and there was no FC, she was in no doubt, no FC, it was all Mum and Dad.

At 4, before starting school, she bought into the whole thing.

At 5 she had become “doubtful”. She’d started school and friends at school had older siblings who told her there was no FC. She wasn’t sure.

Now she’s 8 she’s (apparently) a total, 100pc believer. Not questions, no suspicion. What’s happened? Surely 8yo’s at school discuss this stuff and a large number of them must have had FC debunked by now? Has she had the whole thing debunked and just realizes that it’s a good fun thing to pretend to believe in? Are kids of 8 just mature enough they don’t tell each other there’s no FC? Is it a cynical way to get more presents? Is she playing along with it for our sake? I’d have thought 8 would be prime age for questioning this stuff?

She’s hedging her bets.

She’s having you on.

My daughter is nearly 18 and son nearly 15, I will be “sneaking” (we’re going to the pub christmas eve after a laser quest session so my sneak will be more likely stumble and stomp) in to their rooms after bed time to put out the stockings. I’ll keep playing along, as long as they do. Tsall about the magic of christmas still at chez wrighty.
Enjoy it whilst it lasts op.

At 8 she’s old enough to fake it to keep the magic alive for your sake.

Just play along.

Fake news. I bet she has read that it is true on a Conservative Party Tweet.

I pointed out to my eldest, when he was about five, that Father Christmas must exist, otherwise who takes the mince pies and sherry?

It took him several years to work it out.

The Finnish people I’m working with at the moment eat Santa’s main mode of transport.

At 8 she’s old enough to fake it to keep the magic alive for your sake.

I’ve searched Mumsnet and yup, it’s that.

Thanks all.

Aspie brain content warning, with a side order of ‘not a parent’:

Kids believe in Father Christmas (and the tooth fairy, etc etc) because their parents tell them it’s real.

When they work out the truth, they discover that the people they trust most in the entire world, the people they most idolise, have been lying to them their entire life.

Is that healthy? I mean, really, is it supposed to be a handy life lesson that you can’t trust anyone and need to start thinking for yourself?

Meanwhile you’re also telling them there aren’t monsters under the bed. Well, if you lied about Santa…?

(Now, about that ‘Jesus’ fella…)

The Finnish people I’m working with at the moment eat Santa’s main mode of transport.

They eat sleighs?

When they work out the truth, they discover that the people they trust most in the entire world, the people they most idolise, have been lying to them their entire life.

Or, alternatively, they realise that the people they trust the most have been making a monumental effort to make them happy and try to bring a touch of magic into their lives and they idolise you a tiny bit more for it.

That’s my 16 year old daughters take on it when I spoke to her about it.

She’s now a willing and enthusiastic co-conspirator for her 10 year old youngest brother.

Is that healthy? I mean, really, is it supposed to be a handy life lesson that you can’t trust anyone and need to start thinking for yourself?

The life lesson is that adults  have decades to cope with the harsh reality of life and the longer you can maintain the illusion of that perfect, comforting magic for your kids the better.

Aspie brain content warning, with a side order of ‘not a parent’:

Kids believe in Father Christmas (and the tooth fairy, etc etc) because their parents tell them it’s real.

When they work out the truth, they discover that the people they trust most in the entire world, the people they most idolise, have been lying to them their entire life.

Is that healthy? I mean, really, is it supposed to be a handy life lesson that you can’t trust anyone and need to start thinking for yourself?

Meanwhile you’re also telling them there aren’t monsters under the bed. Well, if you lied about Santa…?

(Now, about that ‘Jesus’ fella…)

Yeah, that’s a typical line of reasoning for someone who doesn’t have Children, certainly that’s how I thought about it before they arrived. Once they turn up…

Did you talk her back into it when she first worked it out? Should have ‘fessed up then.

I’m a believer….both in Father Christmas and monsters under the bed…

@wrightyson my dad did that until the day I moved out, it meant the world to me. You’re awesome.

I’m 100% with @Perchypanther. Childhood is a magical time, but that magic is seemingly getting shorter and shorter with each generation. Kids being exposed to the adult world earlier and earlier…

Our two (7 and 11) really enjoy everything about christmas time. A big part of that’s the whole magic around Santa, elf on the shelf, etc.

Like has already been said, they’ve got the rest of their lives to enjoy harsh realities and disappointment. The longer I can keep them in a happy, magical world the better, as far as I’m concerned.

No idea if my 11 year old still really believes, but he certainly plays along fully. Long live Christmas!

My boys are 22 and 20 and this year we will still have fake snow on the door step, FC’s magic key on the door handles, a carrot on the doorstep with a bite out of it, a dirty boot print in the hall and a trail of FC’s magic dust from the front door to their presents in the lounge, keeps some fun at this time of year and they both go along with it. We have never admitted anything to our boys and even now when asked we just say ‘if you don’t believe…’
Too much rubbish going on in the world to stop having some fun and Christmas is as good a time as any to do that.

Our two (7 and 11) really enjoy everything about christmas time. A big part of that’s the whole magic around Santa, elf on the shelf, etc.

Like has already been said, they’ve got the rest of their lives to enjoy harsh realities and disappointment. The longer I can keep them in a happy, magical world the better, as far as I’m concerned.

No idea if my 11 year old still really believes, but he certainly plays along fully. Long live Christmas!

Exactly this for my kids of the same age.  I’m pretty sure my eldest knows that the FC we saw at the weekend is fake and doubt the mystical visitor of Christmas Eve, but he still loves all the Christmassy stuff.  And why not.

@wrightyson The discussion about stockings with the ‘kids’ didn’t go well for Mrs S. She wants to stop, the ‘kids’ said it was tradition and to carry on. They are 29 and 27 and both have left home and it’s not Christmas without the ‘Santa Stocking’.

Mrs S is now doing Santa for the foodbank teenagers. 36 assorted gift bags donated that will be given to named individuals, none of this ‘teenage girl/boy’ labelling as the bank do their homework. The only restriction was no sweets, they have a room full of confectionary. It’s simultaneously humbling that it’s done and truly outrageous that it’s needed at the same time.

Did you talk her back into it when she first worked it out?

“Talking about FC” is Mum’s job, not Dad’s job. …but with a 3yo you don’t need to talk them back into it. Just distract and 5 minutes later it’s all forgotten.

I’m a believer….both in Father Christmas and monsters under the bed…

I deffo believe in monsters under the bed (and on the trail on lone winter night rides).

Nephews (11 &13) want money this year.

So BiL sat them down and said “Santa doesn’t bring money, he’s not a walking cash point you know.. he brings presents and chocolates, toys and gifts”

They replied, both of them.. at the same time (I was sitting on top of the radiator at the time, it’s cold in their house)… “Ok then, tell him to bring a Santa Cruz mountain bike instead” – said  the eldest, and the youngest said “can I move to New Zealand”

Yeah… so realities kicked in good and hard at the farm.

Son is eight still believes but no interest in visiting a Santa’s Grotto as the Santa’s are all fake.
Tooth fairy he still believes in also.
But the bible and all the nonsense story’s is rubbish only an idiot would believe apparently.

I’m sure the little shit is faking believing in case he stops getting presents.

Kids at school with older brothers or sisters must tell them.

MrsMC is the youngest of 3 kids. Eldest brother played along while she still believed.

Apparently the other brother got cocky around the age of 8 and announced there was no such thing as FC. MiL told him that if he didn’t believe then FC wouldn’t bring him anything. He stuck to his guns.

Woke up Christmas Day to find the stocking at the end of his bed empty, nothing under the tree.

(Turns out FC had put them in MIL wardrobe by mistake while he was rushing around)

Now she’s 8 she’s (apparently) a total, 100pc believer. Not questions, no suspicion. What’s happened?

She may have decided that she *wants* to believe. My daughter did, and my older sister did too when we were kids despite it being bleedin obvious that it was my parents. It’s a fundamental truth that most people are not rational – they believe what they want to believe, and this is a powerful thing for good and bad.

I understood Santa to be a game, just like all the other fun games we play. I get this (and so do many kids). I don’t think you have to convince kids that it’s actually real, that just seems strange to me. However, I don’t think it removes magic and wonder – the world is jammed full of that even without Santa, you just need to be able to see it, and not through the medium of material possessions.

My childhood Christmases were fantastic and I remember them with all the Christmassy magic you could imagine, but I could not tell you any of the gifts I got. I could however tell you who was with us and stories about the things that happened. Christmas is about getting together and having a good time, not presents. Santa only does presents.

Mine are 7 1/2, 5 1/2 and 3 1/2, the big one has figured out that the Father Christmas you go an see at grotto’s etc can’t be the real one, as the real one is magic and can never be seen by anyone, otherwise how would he get to all the boys & girls round the world in one night, rather cute really. the middle one is totally wrapped up in it, but hasn’t grasped the fact that once the letter has been sent off you can’t ask for more presents / change your main present (as it royal ****’s up the shopping), the little one kind of gets it, but he’s hell bent on becoming smaller and being a baby again so he doesn’t have to go to pre-school and can stay at home all day, so that’s number one priority. But they all still believe.