explain
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I was 8. I heard people talking about how Santa wasn't real during lunch at school. I had already been questioning it so hearing other people talk about it solidified it for me.
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I honestly have no idea when I officially knew and my parents don't remember either. My half sister was born when I was ten and I remember helping with her stocking. I was also doing my mom's stocking by middle school with my babysitting money (divorced parents and I hated the idea of my mom not having a stocking).
My family was big on the magic of Christmas and Santa, so I don't think we ever had a real talk about him not being real. We just went about Christmas as usual. I got a present from "Santa" until DH and I moved out of state and were on our own for Christmas.
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11, my sixth grade teacher told me. I went home and my mom confirmed it.
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I'm guessing 7 or 8, my cousin (my age) lined up all us cousins and asked who believed and who didn't, and I couldn't be the oldest one who believed still, so that may have solidified it, but I do remember finding our gifts too, so I'm sure I had an idea by then. It wasn't upsetting.
My 4th grade teacher announced to the whole class that Santa wasn't real - hopefully everyone else knew by then!
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Never, my dad was not at his best when we were young, and he said "He wasn't letting some imaginary fat old bastard take credit for the shit he bought us with his hard earned money".
So now having a child of my own I don't really care if we do santa or not, but my husband insists on it. So I have made deals with him that we can do it but the big stuff can't be from santa. 1) because some kids don't get as big of stuff and I don't want a kid to feel bad because my kid is bragging that they got a (fill in expensive toy) but they just got their stocking. 2) dammit, I want credit for the good shit
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@Sams Mom: oh my goodness, I think I may have commented on something like this you posted before bc DH is the same as your dad.. about wanting credit for the big stuff
I'd rather have it all come from santa and let the magic live on!! LOL...
so we walk a fine line in my house....
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@josina: I remember in 3rd grade one of our assignments was to write back to the 1st graders whom had written to santa.. and I was like "why are we writing back why isn't santa just doing it??" LOL.. soo innocent and gullible
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other: my parents were part of the super evangelical crowd that never did santa as a real person. Christmas was about Jesus, and we gave gifts to each other in remembrance of Jesus getting gifts from the wise men. We still had Santa gear around the house, but it was just a character. My mom read us books about the origin of St. NIcholas and how that turned into Santa Clause in the US.
The thing is, I don't have a memory of "ruining it" for other kids--I think it didn't ever occur to me that some people thought he was real? Who knows--maybe I did ruin it.
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I was about 7 or 8 - I learned about the international date line and figured it wasn’t possible for Santa to visit every house in the world in one night, because it wasn’t night all over the world at the same time.
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I was 7 and asked my mom why her and Santa had the same handwriting
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I don’t recall exact age but I think it was 9 or 10 because my brother was 5 years younger and I recall feeling I needed to keep the magic alive for him ha. I found out when we were watching home movies of the past Christmas and my parents had a party on Christmas Eve and videotaped my relatives helping put out our toys from Santa. My mom hustled to fast forward it but I figured it out. I don’t think I actually confronted my parents and I wasn’t traumatized by it at all. It just became a fun secret that I knew and my brother didn’t.
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Ok. This is making me sad. My oldest is 6 and feel like she is just getting into the whole magical Christmas vibe finally and to realize she may only have 1 or 2 more is beyond depressing.
however our rule of thumb is you believe or no presents
I never answered the question. My brother was the one to ruin it for me. I don’t remember how old I was but I was fairly young.
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1st grade so almost 7. I definitely ruined it for another friend. I’m a dick. But my mom brought me into the magic so I wouldn’t ruin it for my siblings who were 4 and 6 years younger than me. Makes me sad to think we only have another year or two with my oldest believing. Although I still was just as excited on Christmas Eve even after knowing the truth.
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I remember having thoughts about it around 7/8 but distinctly knew at 8 yrs old.
I woke up at about 2AM to go to the bathroom and my folks were out in the living room with coffee and the lights on - telling me you're right in time Santa just came! We had to leave to drive to see family that year at like 5, so they had planned to wake us up even earlier to do presents at home and I was able to put the pieces together that they were really the ones to set it out and do it all.
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Around 5 or 6? I was young. I always had trouble understanding why in Christmas movies Santa's workshop was making all these wooden, handmade toys but then I got Barbies and stuffed animals at Christmas. The logic confounded me, no adult had a good explanation, and I never bought into it. By first grade, I knew it had to be made up because we got a video game system from Santa and I knew that was made by a company with regular people. I never believed in the Easter bunny or tooth fairy either.
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Some jerk on the bus told me when I was in 2nd grade. I'll never forget that. EVER. But I still believe. (take that, jerk)
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I don't remember how/when I found out, but I remember being the brat that ruined it for my little brothers that are 2 and 5 years younger for me. "See, here's the same wrapping paper that "Santa" used, and the same candy that "Santa" put in your stocking"...
I'm ashamed.
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I don’t remember an exact time or age but my mom still to this day has never admitted there is no Santa and just says “those who do not believe do not receive!”
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I grew up in a christian home and always knew Santa was not a real person
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I was about 8. I had been questioning everything for a while, but my dad came into my room one night as the tooth fairy and dropped the flashlight and I woke up. I pretended to sleep through it because I didn't want my parents to know that I didn't believe anymore though. I don't remember being surprised or upset at all, so I'm pretty sure I had figured it out before the tooth fairy incident though.
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I was the youngest of 3, so as far back as I can remember I always knew Santa wasn't real. I played along until I was like 10 or so I think. It was fun for us since Santa didn't wrap our presents. So we'd each have a pile of presents on the sofa from Santa Christmas morning, and the wrapped presents under the tree were from mom and dad.
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@nutmeg36: haha- same, except it was my dads very distinctive, engineer handwriting. I have been VERY careful to disguise my writing on all Santa Presents.
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I have no recollection of learning about Santa. BUT I have a 7 year old, and I am not at all prepared for her to not believe. She's anxious for our Elf to reappear. I think last year she might have acknowledged all the different looking Santas. I do know she will help with little sister when the time comes, she likes having secrets from her. BUT NO! I'm not ready for the magic of Santa to go away.
Although, on the flip, we are not religious, but I do have a cross on our tree and a nativity. My older was telling the little this weekend when we decorated about Jesus and how he's the real reason for Christmas (heart melt).
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@Jennibenni: this exactly!
I don't really remember finding out or how old I was. DH remembers how horrible it was when his mom told him, I'm not sure how old he was. We've decided that when DS asks we will be honest but I hope that isn't for at least a couple years, he's 5.5.
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So everyone always told me that Santa came at midnight and if you weren't asleep he wouldn't come. One year I woke up from a dream around midnight and stayed up at least a half hour. No Santa, but in the morning I had presents.
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I asked my Dad if Santa was real in the 3rd grade. I don’t remember what prompted it but he answered me honestly and said that he still believed in the spirit of Christmas.
My parents were divorced and Santa brings the tree on Christmas Eve at my Mom’s house. When I got a little older I started helping her to keep the magic for my little brothers.
Santa presents are not wrapped so no handwriting or paper to give it away. My Mom is very religious so Jesus was also a focus but she put a lot of effort into making Santa a magical part. I’m excited to do the same for my kids.
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@Anagram: Haha, I never really believed in Santa either and also don’t remember ruining it. However, my parents tell me that I did tell a bunch of my younger cousins and their parents were ANGRY. Oops.
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I don't remember ever fully believing, but I must have when I was really little. I was a pretty skeptical kid, and I remember asking why Santa had the same wrapping paper as us when we were still young enough to have Sesame Street characters on the paper. I kind of played along on Christmas Eve for several years, "just in case," but that unsettled "everyone else knows something I don't know" feeling is a big part of the reason we are not "doing" Santa with our LO.
I have flat out told my almost-3 year old that Santa is make believe. I guess I'll feel a little bad if she blabs about it at school, but she is scared of Santa, so I am not going to feed her anxiety by pushing the myth.
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I had my suspicions that Santa wasn’t real before kindergarten and I remember a boy blabbing that he wasn’t sometime that year. I didn’t tell my parents and played along for my younger brother’s sake for a couple of years.
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Didn't grow up here and also grew up going to church so I always knew Santa was make believe. Honestly it was just never a big deal and I don't think it lessened the "Christmas spirit" for me at all.
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I've never stopped believing in Santa Clause.
I don't even remember exactly when I may have starting to stop believing, but the magic was always alive in my house and I've never stopped. I'm the youngest by 6 years, too. If there is no Santa, then who will bring you presents? I love the Christmas/holiday season! I'm not some fanatic about it, but its certainly fun to have Santa in the mix!
@Lindsay05: reading all of these responses was making me sad, too!!
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@catgirl: Similar experience. I’m 30, husband is 34 and we have 2 little kids. We still get presents from ‘Santa’ at my parents house
I'm ashamed.
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