I can handle the disappointment when the kids want things that are expensive or far fetched like a pony. What I can’t handle is when all they want is Daddy home from the desert and there is just absolutely no way that’s going to happen unless by the grace of Uncle Sam. It breaks my heart.

I actually DID get a pony for Christmas one year (I grew up on a farm) and I wanted an Easy Bake Oven, so I was disappointed! Luckily, a late package came from Aunty Violet in the New Year, and it was …. an Easy Bake Oven! So it all ended well.
I think unless a kid really, really, really has their heart set on something – has been talking about it forever – a wish list is just a wishlist. Christmas is pretty exciting, even if you don’t get everything on your list. And if you end up with one of those awful children who unwraps all their gifts and then throws a fit because the right one wasn’t there, well, you have bigger problems than disappointment to deal with.

I just nip certain wishes in the bud- like “No, you’re not going to get an iPad because Santa has to run all these ideas by me and Dad anyway and I say NO!” And seriously, if the kid’s still young enough to believe in Santa, he/she doesn’t need an expensive electronic devices yet. (IMHO). Well, I guess a Wii would be an exception to that rule, LOL!

@Megan – I agree with you – I do think a letter to Santa is a ‘wishlist’ – and that’s how we’ve been treating it. I think the challenge (for me) is that the things the small people have asked for in the past have been easy, few and/or inexpensive, so they have been mostly granted….so there hasn’t been much experience so far with disappointment – definitely our fault…. but since they are young, the requests have been mainly reasonable.

So, as many of you have suggested, and as I mentioned in the video, we’ve been talking quite a bit about how Santa doesn’t deliver anything Mom and Dad put on the ‘no list’.

@Ashley – your comment actually made me cry. I wish there was a way I could grant that wish for you. Sending your family all kinds of love over the holidays.

I don’t agree one is necessarily better or worse, or if so, that it applies the same answer to each and every child and family. Santa was magic to me and to this day I remember how much it enriched my holiday experience to believe. the workarounds are really no big deal- and all three of my kids loved the whole Santa thing and were quite OK figuring it out at the appropriate time. To each, his or her own. Peace out.

When my five-year-old daughter met Santa, she told him what she wanted (generic toys, all cool). That evening, she wrote Santa a letter asking for a pet fish. I hope we’ve managed her expectations enough to where she won’t be disappointed. But who knows–maybe she’s wanted a fish all year but finally got up the courage to ask. Sigh.

My bestfriend took her kids to see Santa at the mall and he asked them what they wanted for Christmas. They gave a long list of expensive toys. The Santa told them not to worry, that he would make sure they got every single item on their list. My friend was beyond mortified and furious. So be wary of those Santas at the mall…they aren’t always helping matters