Kid Scoop
The Santa Charade
I hate to break it to you, but there are only 28 days until Christmas. Twenty-eight.
This fact both thrills me to no end and makes me want to cry, because I feel like there is so much to do, and I have barely done any shopping yet.
Not that the boys haven’t given me a list of things that they want. So far, we’ve been asked for a Nintendo 3DS, a scooter, a pet guinea pig or rat, a new baseball bat, Dolphin Tale and a Nintendo Game Cube. I’m not even sure you can still buy a Game Cube.
Santa has some research to do.
Which brings me to another reason that I’m a little stressed about Christmas this year. I’m worried that it’s our last one before my oldest kid stops believing in Santa.
We haven’t had any issues that have made him start to question Santa. Yet. But he has started to ask some very serious questions about how Santa gets into all of the houses, how he knows where each child lives, how he knows when kids aren’t at their own house, how he delivers all those gifts in one night, etc. So I know that he’s really starting to think about it. And I know that, if he hears from a cousin or friend who no longer believes, it will all be over.
Also, I’m horrible at keeping secrets and no matter how hard I try, I’m bound to “slip” at some point. The older he gets, the harder it is to explain away my trail of inconsistencies.
I’m not sure I’m ready for a kid who doesn’t believe in Santa. That seems like such a huge milestone. And once one kids knows the truth, doesn’t that make it harder to keep it from the younger siblings? It’s like when one member of a theft ring turns into an informant and everything starts to unravel.
How did you keep the whole charade going? Do you, or do you tell them the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I love the way this mom did it. Would your kids accept that as an answer?
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1 Comment
Tricia (irishsamom) commented on Nov 26 11 at 7:18 pmYou might be surprised if he keeps believing despite his friends at school letting the cat out of the bag. B still believes (very much so) and he’s nine. Or maybe I’m just wanting him to believe… heh. But seriously, the year that I thought my oldest would figure it out, that movie, “The Polar Express” came out. SHe was in about second or third grade and she told me : “Lots of the kids at school say there’s no Santa, but that’s just sad, because if they don’t believe then they won’t get anything from him”. And that was that. For quite a few years. She’s never spoiled it for B, like my sister did when I was little (gah) and she sort of still believes in her own way, more for the whole magic of it than anything. So, maybe you’ll still have another few good years out of the whole thing….! I hope so. I love the way this mother dealt with it, it is an easy letdown and still captures the magic of fantasy and the true meaning of Christmas. : )
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