Kids and Santa

lol no. Maybe some parents use it that way but in our home it’s basically a game of hide and seek that we can use our imagination to set up scenes to pose the elf in. It should be a fun thing not scary.

I hadn’t thought of this, but this seems like a much healthier approach to EOTS. If the kids are in on it, and it becomes a game of “where and how did mom and dad hide him?” I’d be much more inclined to do that vs making it some kind of authority/oversight figure.
 
It's probably best if we teach our children that fairy tales are that..... just fairy tales. You know.... things like Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc, etc.

But yes, I fell victim to these traditions too and my children believed in all this nonsense until they were like 10 or so too.
 
It's probably best if we teach our children that fairy tales are that..... just fairy tales. You know.... things like Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc, etc.

But yes, I fell victim to these traditions too and my children believed in all this nonsense until they were like 10 or so too.

That type of childhood would seems awfully bland and adult like. Let kids use their imagination. Should people tell their kids that Mickey and the princesses aren’t real before they go to Disneyland or a Disney movie?
 
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I dont have kids of my own. But last Christmas Eve my cousins daughter who I think was 7 was asking whether or not Santa was real. I asked what she thought and it was something along the lines of, "well there's a boy in my class who is an *******, but Santa still brings him presents." I replied "well maybe he does a lot of good things outside of school that you don't see."

It wasn't my place to reveal the truth, and my reply seemed to satisfy, although not please, her.
 
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I have a friend who started a little side business putting together 25 different packets for each day for the Elf. Pretty good idea for parents like me who lack creativity.

My 5th grade daughter figured out the Elf this year. It hasn't directly led to a conversation about Santa but I'm operating under the belief if she figured out one, she's probably onto the other. Frankly, I'm kind of glad because I was starting to question her intelligence if she still believed at this age....
 
I dont have kids of my own. But last Christmas Eve my cousins daughter who I think was 7 was asking whether or not Santa was real. I asked what she thought and it was something along the lines of, "well there's a boy in my class who is an *******, but Santa still brings him presents." I replied "well maybe he does a lot of good things outside of school that you don't see."

It wasn't my place to reveal the truth, and my reply seemed to satisfy, although not please, her.
Wait, a seven-year-old is using words that get the CF censor? I'd be careful what I tell her if I was you.
 
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My five year old is starting to ask sound logistical questions about how he knows if we're at grandma's or houses without chimneys. The end is near, I think
 
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As an aside, has anyone had to have the "Santa doesn't bring something that expensive" conversation? One of my kids is insistent on something over-the-top from Santa and is convinced he can just build it. I haven't found a great workaround on that one yet.
 
I never grew up with the illusion of santa being real because when my dad found out it was all a lie he was devasted by i guess the betrayal of it all. I've kind of dodged it/ play along a bit with my kids, or will ask them what they think when they bring it up. Try not to confirm or deny. Not a big fan of lying tho.
 
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I never grew up with the illusion of santa being real because when my dad found out it was all a lie he was devasted by i guess the betrayal of it all. I've kind of dodged it/ play along a bit with my kids, or will ask them what they think when they bring it up. Try not to confirm or deny. Not a big fan of lying tho.

I'm honest to goodness intrigued by the bolded. Your dad felt so betrayed by his parents that they lied to him about the existence of Santa Clause that he didn't even bother pretending he was real when you were a kid?
 
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I'm honest to goodness intrigued by the bolded. Your dad felt so betrayed by his parents that they lied to him about the existence of Santa Clause that he didn't even bother pretending he was real when you were a kid?
Yeah. Or something like that. An older cousin of his told him santa wasn't real and i guess it just crushed him at the time and he didnt want us to go through that pain. He didnt have the gradual realization things didn't make sense with Santa that other people are describing here.
 
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As an aside, has anyone had to have the "Santa doesn't bring something that expensive" conversation? One of my kids is insistent on something over-the-top from Santa and is convinced he can just build it. I haven't found a great workaround on that one yet.
That's an interesting one, good luck! haha.
 
It's probably best if we teach our children that fairy tales are that..... just fairy tales. You know.... things like Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc, etc.

But yes, I fell victim to these traditions too and my children believed in all this nonsense until they were like 10 or so too.

Looking back I cherish the santa years I had as a kid and I will always have those fond memories. The innocence of youth is short lived and I don't understand why people are in such a hurry for their kids to grow up.
 
A couple more elf on the shelves. I’m glad this year is wrapping up because I’m running out of ideas. My 86 year old grandma was coming down to make cookies a couple days ago. That’s where the first pic stemmed from.

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077EE07A-912D-4415-8102-A18A9690680C.jpeg
 
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