Biggest Whopper About Santa Claus

mwild31

If you're tired of Christmas or don't believe for religious or other purposes, don't read this thread.

I think my son is done with the whole Santa thing. This weekend at our Christmas party I noticed that when Santa approached, instead of getting excited or acting shy, my son actually shrugged Santa off x:o. In the car on the way home I confronted my little guy (he's nine) & told him that I thought that maybe he didn't believe in Santa. He paused, hemed and hawed for a while & finally through sheer self-preservation of future Christmas presents came up with his argument, "Well, um, mom, I haven't ever really seen the real Santa, so how do I know if he exists or doesn't?" I wanted to laugh when I heard it because is was such a transparent attempt to keep the presents coming, but at the same time to preserve his 'intregrity' and not lie. Geez! I was hoping he would just tell me he doesn't, so I could quit lying to him about Santa! Over the years I have told him when he asks how Santa can deliver presents if we don't have a chimney that Santa can enter through a keyhole - when asked about why we can't hear the reindeer landing on our roof, I've told him that it's because they wear slippers.... What kind of whoppers have you told your kids/siblings about Santa (or were told to you by your parents)?

rad

When we lived in an apartment after my parent's divorce, my brother and I asked how Santa would get in. We had one of those old gas on gas stoves with the big gas pipe in the back. Without skipping a beat, my mother said "through the stove" and pointed to the big pipe. We believed her, figuring that if he could fit through a chimney he could fit through a gas pipe.

I'm glad I didn't learn the truth from some traumatic awakening, I love the idea of Santa and have a small collection of Santas that I display at Christmas - stuffed Santas, beautiful Santa statues and porcelein dolls. I especially love the Santas wearing the old European looking cloaks rather than the more typical looking bright red outfit.

I remember one college acquaintance who thought the idea of Santa was cruel to children and I wholeheartedly disagreed, I still do. I think that it teaches children about generosity and giving. And even though I have no children, I can certainly appreciate the bribing power he has to get kids to behave x;-)

I love Santa!

marc

Our kids figured it out early. I could not bring myself to lie to them, so when they started asking questions, I told them truth:

"Santa was in reality a very powerful being who could control the flow of time and travel at speeds unimaginable by man. The elves have magic tools and are able to fashion all sorts of wondrous things out of ice and snow, which are abundant at the North Pole. The North Pole is really a portal into another dimension because Santa's workshop and warehouse are just too large to have sitting at the top of the world, cause all that weight would cause the earth to rotate in it's orbit and flood the coastal cities."

It did not take them long to figure out I was pulling their leg. They love getting the gifts from Santa and Rudolph, so they very wisely went along with the ruse. They used to wink and nudge each other when the gifts from Santa were handed out.

Good memories.

moneyman

Mine are still young but this year the 8-year-old has begun asking questions. For the sake of the 6-year-old we are still making up stories. Nothing too bad: no chimney so Santa uses our skylight, no bells on the reindeer sleigh to be quiet.

This year my little one brought home a school project that was a bag of reindeer oats, something to sprinkle on the lawn to give the reindeer something to do while Santa is delivering presents. He was really worried because he didn't want to put it out too early because the dogs would eat it and then the reindeer wouldn't stop at our house. Our solution is that someone (me since my husband doesn't like heights) is going up on the roof Christmas Eve to sprinkle the reindeer oats. The things we do ...

HRQ

My boys are 2 and 3 1/2. The older one (Michael) is just figuring out who Santa is, and I love every minute of it! I know that several years down the road, I'll experience what you guys are talking about, but for now, I love the Santa part.

Michael saw some wrapped gifts "hiding" on a top shelf in my closet. When he asked why they were there and not under the tree, I told him that Santa asked me to keep them there until he arrives on Christmas. His sleigh is sooooo ful of presents for all the children in the world that he asked me to help him out by storing some gifts in our closet. This will lighten his load so the reindeer can fly faster, so he can get to all the houses before Christmas morning.

Next year, I'll need to find a better hiding place, I suppose.

Margaret Morford

I have a friend who said his mother used to make his father dress up in a Santa Suit every year, put a ladder next to the window, climb up and lean in front of the window ringing bells. His mother would then hussle him off to bed saying, "Quick get in bed before Santa comes down the chimney!" The year he was seven was pretty traumatic because Santa's foot slipped on the ladder as he was leaning in the window. He was heard to exclaim "Dammit to hell" as he fell past the window! That was his last year to believe in Santa!

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

sonny

I was the youngest so I got the whoppers laid on me. My brother, who was 11 years older than I, was the best. Whenever I would start to question he would talk about the year (of course it was always before I was born) one of the reindeer got in the house and got mud on the carpet and really made Mom made or some such baloney. I worshipped the ground he walked on so KNEW he would never lie to me. I think he stretched out my believing 2 or 3 years.

My sister had an elf named Sandy that only she could see. After my grandmother died, my Mom brought home a little plastic tree that she had had at the nursing home. Sandy would always leave presents, just for me and my dolls.

As a new, young and alone Mom (my Dad was at war) followed Dr. Spock or who ever was the reining guru at the time so when brother noted above asked at a very young age, she told him the truth. It was he, who when my sister came along, counseled my Mom "let's not tell her even if she asks" Mom said she paid a lot less attention to the books after that and think it maybe why he always fabricated these tales to keep the rest of us believing.

SDDCHR

Thanks a lot everyone....you mean to tell me that there really isn't a Santa!? And only 3 days before Christmas.

Nrdgrrl

My husband, who was a precocious child, actually set up a trip wire to catch Santa when he was 4. You can imagine his dad's surprise when he hit the fishing line close to the floor and went head over heels. Needless to say, that was the end of believing in Santa for my hubby!

Nrdgrrl

sriver

When my son was 9 years old, it came out that he had been pretending to believe in Santa for the past couple of years because he thought I believed in Santa and didn't want to spoil it for me!

sonny

Now that is sweet!

Safety Witch

I'll never forget how I found out about Santa. Our family made the rounds on Christmas Eve, aunts, grandmas, etc. We were always farmed out to one of the relatives to drive us to our own home. Santa always managed to deliver to our house while we were out. One year, driving up in my Grandma's car I saw my dad in the garage with a sled. By the time we got in the house, the sled was under the tree and we were told Santa brought it! I didn't tell them I had figured it out, but was upset they lied about it all this time. I don't remember how old I was, but it got me to thinking about the tooth fairy. Anyone know if the tooth fairy is a friend of Santa?

Happy Holidays,

Safety W.

DeidreFR5

My favorite Christmas card this year said "May you never be too grown-up not to look for Santa on Christmas eve.