No, Noah, There's Not a Santa Claus

 I love this! My 3 are grown - starting at 40 and downward - I am glad I told them the truth - while they were children and still I tell it - not many have the - what it takes - to live in truth - that is human nature - to err - I'm just saying - get hot or get cold - lukewarm does not do it - Kuddos for YOU and YOURS - I am so proud of You!!

I totally agree with this..I've take the stance with mine and i have three (the oldest is almost 13). People have always treated me like I'm nuts for it but we must follow our convictions.

I have three children, they are all teenagers now, however, when they were small I made the same choice. For me, it was not ok to create a myth or go along with one that already existed for many people. I did not want my children to ever have reason to doubt the veracity of anything I told them. I also felt that encouraging them to believe in Santa was lying to them and not appropriate for my family.

I also did not do the tooth fairy or Easter bunny, though I we did give money for lost teeth and we have always hidden eggs and allowed them to hunt for them.

We are Christians also and I told them the reason that we are giving gifts at this time of year is just as a reminder that God the Father gave us the greatest gift, Jesus. When I my children were younger, I did not know many people who had chosen to do as I had with my children, it was refreshing and affirming to read your thoughts, even though it was written a few months ago.

Love your thoughts. I have a one year old so thankfully I haven't had to tell him one thing or the other just yet, but it's a decision that weighs heavily on me. I don't want to have the child in school who tells everyone else that Santa is a fraud, but I also don't want to teach my child that Santa is the reason for the season. I want to make sure that Christmas is about Christ. I do think that this can be done with a little Santa storytelling, but I'm still trying to figure out how to make it all work. Best of luck to you! :)

As long as you try to keep your little one from blowing it for everyone else. Nothing's sadder than a preschooler whose Santa dreams are busted by someone else's truth.

I have struggled with this idea for a while and personally feel no problem with telling my children that Santa Clause exists. He's a mere symbol of Christmas and not the reason for the season. I do understand that. Growing up, there were many Christmases at my house when my parents weren't able to provide extravagant gifts or any gifts for that matter. It was through anonymous friends that Santa was brought to life for us. There were many Christmases that "Santa" filled the bed of my dad's truck with gifts or left cards with money and gifts on the front porch. I am now determined to be that "Santa" to others that need it. I suppose you could just call it anonymous charity, but it is so fun to have your kids BE Sant to someone else. If they don't believe in him then how can they be him. I do respect your decision. I just wanted to share how he can be an influence for service and how he was a blessing in my life. I hope this technique proves to be successful for you and your little one. Merry Christmas!

I blogged about this a couple weeks ago. http://lillianeve.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-traditions-part-1.html

I think it's so important to me because Christianity isn't a religion to me - it's a way of life. Everything I do should glorify God, and I want to pass that way of life down to my child.

My parents have always told us from the beginning that Santa isn't real. We still liked Santa decorations, we liked to "follow" Santa on the news, we sat on his lap at the mall, and we loved leaving cookies and milk out. The only difference? We knew it was all fun and games. We had fun doing those things, but were always aware that gifts came from family and friends. Santa was just a part of the holiday like hunting eggs is to easter and trick-or-treating is to halloween. It didn't have a negative impact on our imagination (as many think it does) and we still grew up knowing how to have faith and hope. As for my and my young kids...I'll do the same as my parents. They will know he isn't real, but we will still enjoy the holiday and all the fun and games that come with it. Besides, I really don't want some makebelieve jolly fat man getting all the credit for my hard earned money and thoughtfullness. I need all the brownie points I can get!

I started writing a crazy-long comment yesterday but hit the character limit. I turned it into a blog post here! http://surrenderdorothy.typepad.com/surrender_dorothy/2011/12/santa-is-real-no-he-isnt-why-cant-we-all-just-get-along.html

We have three daughters and we talk about believing, not necessarily in a man they'll see putting presents under the tree, but in magic and hope. I believe that they will transition from this time of literal belief into a spiritual belief and also in a belonging to the next guard of people who will share the story.

As to how other people approach it, I've told the girls that in the coming years many people are going to believe different things in their homes, but that we cannot ever allow that to diminish what we believe.

I still believe.

It's true. I'm a manipulator. Shelf Elf to "Santa sees what we're all doing!" And I'm okay with that. I think it's great that parents are free to share Truth the way they see it. That's a huge part of parenting.

We do share The Truth about things we feel are important - we don't believe in an afterlife, so we talk about death differently than many, I think. We don't believe there is a higher power who cares about football, we do believe it's important to appreciate that luck plays a role in what we have - and so we should share what we have with those less lucky. We do not believe that our *good* luck comes from our being better or more devout people than anyone else. It's kismet, chance, crossed wires. And that's kind of how I see the idea of Santa Claus. When someone chooses to share, when someone chooses to do the right thing - despite inconvenience - that's like a Santa moment.

We really didn't start the Santa story until My husband (who has a full white beard) was asked to do Santa for the children who would be in the hospital where a friend worked during Christmas. It took some convincing as we really didn't want to start "Santa-fying" Christmas. But he agreed. "It was for the sick wee ones" he said. When our kids got a little older we brought them with us to show them that even though it's daddy in the Santa suit, it's the meaning of Santa that matters.It has grown now to include children who's families are living in women's/homeless shelters. I make fuzzy teddy bears with fabric that is so soft it won't irritate the skin of children who are undergoing chemotherapy / radiation treatments and warm fuzzies (hat, mittens, scarves) for the children in the homeless shelters. My kids make sure they are able to join their dad's excursions to the hospital and shelters every year. It taught our sons compassion, generosity and humility. Seeing the face of a sick or homeless child light up and tears glisten in the eyes of their parent(s) is a gift I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Choose what you feel is right for you and your family. Be ready to stick to your guns when Noah starts school (unless you plan to home-school.) because our boys took a lot of teasing about going to the hospital and homeless shelters on Christmas Eve. As far as the nay-sayers are concerned, just don't invite them over for Christmas! ~~* smile *~~

This is what we do. http://www.shelaughsatthedays.net/2011/12/st-nicholas-day-how-our-family-deals.html I think it has worked out really well for us so far. :)

But then, my parents never told me that Santa was real when I was a kid either, thought they still filled stocking and ate cookies. To us it was a game, not real. I am guessing that those who are so upset at the idea are those who have warm childhood memories of believing in Santa, which makes total sense to me, even if I have none myself. Mine are of other things, mostly family dinners and singing together.

I just wrote a ridiculously long comment that won't fit here. I will put it into a post and come back and leave a link!

I understand. I feel the same way about god/jesus/religion. I don't want to lie to him, and a lot of that *I* believe is lies.

BUT, we do DO santa. He is the reason for the season for us. Love it!

To each his own!

I support you 100% and have a post on the same exact thing (http://momspark.net/so-we-dont-celebrate-santa-sue-me/) When I first published the post, I felt very much in the minority, but over time I have received more and more comments supporting the idea. Thank you for this post.

I think you are absolutely right in your approach. I commend you, while realizing it isn't right for everyone.

I have never heard about an Elf on a Shelf, and I still believe in Santa Claus after 57 years of life. What is it?

I wholeheartedly agree with this post and with all of your reasons. Thank you!

With all due respect, I think the arguement of "i don't want to lie to my kid" is bogus. We tell our kids little fibs and lies all the time because let's face it, sometimes the truth is too much for a little mind to take, sometimes helps them develop an imagination, and sometimes it is just convenient.

Santa is an opportunity to talk about behaving properly, the spirit of Christmas, and being kind to one another. As a kid who grew up without the myth of Santa I look forward to seeing my kids face light up because The Big Guy in Red handed them a candy cane.

I never had the chance to go to the mall to sit on santa's lap, my dad never put on the suit on Christmas Eve, and there were never any presents under our tree with a "from Santa" sticker.

I know Santa, as in the big fat man that comes down your chimney, isn't real, but Santa the idea IS REAL. I had a friend guest post on my blog about it here:http://whatsupfagans.blogspot.com/2011/12/santa-is-real-guest-post.html I would suggesting reading it before completely writing off the big red guy.

It's so funny, I've always planned on not telling my kids Santa wasn't real (in the sense that hecky no there's no rotund man creeping into chimney at night, and if you put out cookies mama's gonna eat them). I don't think I believed in santa claus very long, partly because my mom, like you, HATED lying to us and really felt she was betraying us and told us she regretted even trying to make us believe it anyway (and also because of religious reasons) But mostly because as a child, I knew there was no way all of these dark skinned fat men and white skinned fat men I saw all the time could really be santa ;) (for the record, I am black lol) Even though I didn't believe in santa in the traditional sense, santa was "real" to me in a couple of ways. For one, I LOVED learning the story of the real St Nick and can still to this day remember reading the real story in a coloring book and thinking , WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS BEFORE? Also, I went to school with a high population of low income students and santa would come with gifts for all students, a pure joy for many children whose parents couldn't afford much and honestly, for me too! But this made me even more thankful that my parents were able to provide for me. Instead of waiting for santa to come, we've waited every yr for my mom to finally set up all of our gifts and at the crack of dawn wed wake up, relish in joy, thank our parents. There was no loss of wonder in my childhood and people will tell u to this day I am one of the most imaginative people they know!between learning about the heavens nd God I was never at a loss for imagination, and still am not. And my mom didn't prevent me from dreaming about "what if he could be real?" I did dream about it...nd have always loved "twas the night before christmas". In short, with parenting and teaching, others will always see a more perfect way but that's why they have their own kids to try that way on lol of course there's no fool proof way but good for you for sticking to your beliefs! Sorry this is so long but I just couldn't leave you hangin' ;)

I can't believe you would do this. What happened to the wonder of childhood? Kids make up things all the time - are you going to tell Noah that he is lying every time he imagines a dinosaur in his house or has an imaginary friend? That would be hypocritical if you didn't. Santa is definitely real for my family, even after we all realised the "truth" we started helping mum keep the tradition by contributing to the little "santa" presents under the tree. Christmas is not all about presents for us either, it is about family, and Santa has become part of our tradition. Now there are grand children and the wonder and joy on their faces is awesome. I think you are robbing Noah of some of the special moments of child hood as I assume you are also going to tell the truth about the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, fairies that live in fairy gardens, etc.

I think we are placing too much emphasis on happy childhood = belief in Santa. There are many things that go in to making a childhood happy. One of those things is that you are shielded from some of the hard truths about the world. I find that refreshing and necessary and very, very important. If you want to tell your child there is a Santa or isn't is your family's personal choice. I can understand the religious aspect or the not wanting to focus on "getting." But, the reasoning that you don't want to "lie" to your child is ridiculous in my opinion. Some of the most inspiring thinkers of the world have been dreamers. We don't need to take things so seriously. Most parents at some point or another will soften the truth from their children. It is not disrespectful. I don't believe it will do permanent damage. I think we are putting too much stock in how our children will turn out based on a couple of weeks of childhood fun. After all, "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." Roald Dahl, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

I sort of understand your reasons for doing this, and I do respect your decision, but I agree it's sad. The magic of Santa is a beautiful thing.

I do, however, object to people calling it "lying" when parents talk to their children about Santa. We are NOT lying to our kids. When my son gets older I won't be telling him that actually, no, there is no Santa Claus. Just that he's not one person.

Or maybe I could have summed up my comment with this: I'm 37 years old and I believe in Santa. And I'm really glad I do.