I’m currently in the dog house for admitting to my 7 year old daughter that Father Christmas doesn’t exist. I didn’t volunteer the information, my daughter explained why she didn’t think he was real and asked me to tell her the truth.

What age were your kids when they found out?

Youngest worked it out when she was around that age, the eldest took a year or two longer. Takes some of the magic out of Christmas, but it is of course inevitable.

A bit older than that, around 10 but youngest found out around 8 or 9 as older sisters gave the game away.

A lovely phase of her and your life has passed. Christmas won’t be quite the same again. I’m looking forward to grand kids to go through it all again.

I was much younger than that when I twigged. Not really thought much to Christmas ever since.

I think I was about 6 or 7 when I noticed that santa had the same wrapping paper and handwriting as my Mum.

What?! He’s not real?!

Damn, so he won’t be bringing me a new bike, even if I’m a very good boy.

Eldest is only 3y10m and still believes that the IR sensors for our burglar alarm are how Santa watches if she is being naughty. 😀

But I have a “Santa is more of an idea” speech prepared just in case.

You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea. 😉

My 7 year old very much does my 10 year declared he wasn’t real the other night. She’s said nothing to her sister though which is great of her.

We’ve been asked in the past my answer has been “Lots of people believe in him and where do the presents come from?” seem to keep the eldest going until this year and I told the truth.

What age were your kids when they found out?

It was last week.
All the kids on earth found out at the same time.
When Mr Woppit posted his thread of destruction.
That man officially ruined Christmas.

[img]http://www.hdwallpapersimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cute-Crying-Baby.jpg[/img][img]http://lpaustin.com/wp-content/uploads/crying-baby-300×300.jpg[/img]

We have an ‘Elf on the Shelf’ (Google it). Our twins (4.5) found it this morning sat on their play kitchen and twin one was worried he would eat their play cookies. Twin two said ‘he can’t eat them, his mouth isn’t real’ (let’s face it, they are wood, he couldn’t them with a real mouth). Twin one said ‘but he’s like Toy Story, he comes alive when we go to bed’.

Magical – looking forward to Christmas hugely.

How do I explain to my wife where all the new bike bits came from 😳

The same place all the shoes and handbags she inevitably hides from you come from…

I must’ve been about 6… it was a combination of hearing rumours at school and old fashioned detective work; the previous christmas, my parents had conned me by jingling a bell downstairs just before I went to sleep, telling me beforehand I couldn’t come down no matter what else Santa wouldn’t leave any presents; ringing this same bell a few months later, I recognized the tone, so I confronted my mum in the kitchen, pinning her in a corner until she confessed.

Cheers that’s mine totally shafted, spoil sport! 😥

Please tell me the tooth fairy’s still real?

My 9 yo said to me yesterday in an exagerrated stage whisper “I don’t beleive in Santa anymore”

Althoug I did think it was quite cute when my neice asked her mum “Are you Santa?” she was 8 or 9 at the time.

My lad worked it out shortly after we told him that there was no way the Easter Bunny was going to get him the Wii he wanted.

I found out about 6, but didnt let on i knew for another 5 years as i thought once you topped pretending to believe the presents stopped too 😀

Our boys are 8 and 9 and both still believe. The youngest was acting up over the weekend and was told he was heading for the naughty list. He was sufficiently worried to offer to tidy his bedroom so he would be on the good list again (he is a nightmare for making his room a disaster zone).

His older brother, Max, is far more naive and still believes in the tooth fairy even though his friends at school keep telling him it’s us. He even leaves little notes to the fairy with his tooth asking questions about where she lives etc. We haven’t helped by replying and putting glitter glue around the edges like fairy dust.

Our 8 yr old, Ben, is a bit too sharp for his own good. He had suspicions about the tooth fairy so he didn’t tell us and put his tooth under his pillow. When it was still there after several attempts he told us about having lost a tooth and it was replaced by some money that night. He proudly announced that his experiment had worked and we are the tooth fairy. Max still refuses to accept this and leaves little notes.

I found out a year after all my mates at school.

I confronted my folks about it and they denied it. So I defended Santa’s existence to everyone, only to look a right tit the next Xmas. Still haven’t forgiven my folks for that one, 30 years later…

This is utter genius:

Xmas is an idea

Very, very good 🙂

This is utter genius:

Xmas is an idea

Website too bright. Hurts my eyes.

In one sentence, I broke it to my naïve mate (we were 11) that there was no Santa Claus, no tooth fairy, and his teddies did not come alive at night when he slept.

I don’t feel proud and can even remember the sound his heart made when it snapped. 😳

My in-laws mentioned it to my wife last week about whether they could mention it (about Santa not actually being real). Our kids at 4 and 1. I told them in no uncertain terms that if they said anything of the sort (wtf would you?!) they’d never seen their grandchildren again.

Problem solved.

This is always a kit with the boys – http://www.portablenorthpole.com/home

Keeps the magic alive for that little bit longer.

Looks like there’s a lot of variation.

And Bren2709, don’t worry, the tooth fairy is real. Just say out loud “I believe in faeries”.

I’m not a parent so don’t really understand, but I was never really comfortable with the idea of doggedly perpetuating a lie to your kids.

I mean, sure, when they’re very little then it’s probably quite exciting to think there’s magic in the world, but as soon as they’re old enough to go “hey dad, Santa’s not real, is he?” then why would you continue to lie about it? Parents are the people they trust the most in the whole world and you’re undermining that trust.

When they find out the truth and cry, is it because they’re upset about Santa or because they’re crushed at the revelation that their parents, the cornerstones of their little world, had been tricking them?

Maybe it’d be different if I had kids, but I just don’t get it.

My 7 year old lad said the other week he doesn’t believe, when we said he wouldn’t get any presents he back tracked 😆

However he said he is going to set up his camera to record on xmsa eve to see if he is real!!

I agree with Cougar. I can’t ever remember thinking Santa was real. But I still loved Christmas, still do.

I mean, sure, when they’re very little then it’s probably quite exciting to think there’s magic in the world, but as soon as they’re old enough to go “hey dad, Santa’s not real, is he?” then why would you continue to lie about it? Parents are the people they trust the most in the whole world and you’re undermining that trust.

When they find out the truth and cry, is it because they’re upset about Santa or because they’re crushed at the revelation that their parents, the cornerstones of their little world, had been tricking them?

They don’t find out the truth and cry, though – if anything they’re proud of how grown up they’ve become, it’s a rite of passage for them.
But as a parent it means that christmas is a little less magic, and a little more commercial.

As i said in the other thread, there’s a huge grey area between being a real, tangible bloke in a red suit who can deliver everyone’s presents in one night; and not existing at all.

My feeling, is that if they’re old enough to be seriously questioning whether he’s real or not (and by that i mean not just ‘little Herbert at school says he isn’t real’ questioning), that’s the time they’re ready to grasp the concept that while ‘he’ isn’t real, there’s a little bit of all of us in ‘him’ that is very very real if we want it to be.

But as a parent it means that christmas is a little less magic, and a little more commercial.

Why? It’s still you buying the presents, and they still crave presents. Christmas becomes less commercial when the kids start to value the family good times more than the gifts.

when the kids start to value the family good times more than the gifts.

You mean ‘when they are adults and have been through the ‘getting pissed on Stella and not being able to focus on the knife and fork on Christmas day’ part of their lives, probably aged about 30…

there’s a little bit of all of us in ‘him’ that is very very real if we want it to be.

😯

You mean ‘when they are adults and have been through the ‘getting pissed on Stella and not being able to focus on the knife and fork on Christmas day’ part of their lives, probably aged about 30

Nah, when £50 no longer buys the most awesome toy ever. About 15-16 or so for me 🙂

Why? It’s still you buying the presents, and they still crave presents. Christmas becomes less commercial when the kids start to value the family good times more than the gifts.

I can see your point, but you’re wrong: the difference is very real. Small kids asking Santa for gifts is cute, larger kids (like mine) pestering you from November or earlier less so.

Hmm. We always used to get gifts from my parents and Santa, so we could always bug my parents 🙂

larger kids (like mine) pestering you from November

And the fact they are asking for the most expensive thing they can think of, rather than the thing they would like the most. Our two are asking for (amongst other things, but these come up more than others) 1: A Minnie Mouse keyring to go on her school bag and; 2: A Tinkerbel dressing gown.

My wife has bought them considerably more than that though…. 😕

When Mrs MCTD’s older brother figured out the Santa story, he was told that if he didn’t believe Santa wouldn’t bring him anything (trying to get him to play along for his little sister). he was apparently horrified when he woke up Xmas morning and had no presents!

Turned out Santa had left his in the kitchen by mistake….

My eldest sussed it at about 8 years old. His sister seemed to have it sussed last year at 6, and went shopping for her Christmas and birthday presents with her uncle last weekend. She then got upset cos Santa hadn’t taken her letter from the mantelpiece….?

ime, grandparents give the game away. “If there is something you’d like for Christmas let us know and we’ll see if we can get it for you…” 👿