<p>when my oldest was little, we lived in NYC and she would get very confused about how Santa could be on this corner when we just left him behind inside the store. She didn’t really buy the Santa’s helper story !
We still have a pin she got from Bloomingdales Santa …talk about an abundance of Santas !!</p>
<p>Through a kids’ eyes: My now grownup son was confounded by the notion that Santa brought presents. And since we are Jewish (my husband is not Jewish, ergo Santa’s appearance in our home) I had to come up with a reasonable explanation why he got toys for Chanukah and Christmas…and some friends didn’t get both holidays. And some friends got less than he did. </p>
<p>I finally came up with the explanation that Santa was a sort of buying service: My son could make out a list, Santa could chose, but we had to pay for the presents. (He had a friend who was a “very good boy” but they were Jewish and Santa didn’t come to their house at all. My son wanted to know if that made him a bad boy? Imagine the sticky territory there!!!) So, my son made his lists…and later when his sister was born and he was Santa saavy, he told her the same story about the buying service. My youngest never had a chance. At two my oldest kids told her that Santa didn’t exist, but “she better be REALLY nice to Mommy because she’s the one who gets the presents.”</p>
<p>When I was in kindergarden I visited a friend’s house and her mother told me Santa wasn’t real. I didn’t care too much at the time, but thinking back on it, what kind of parent tells someone else’s kid that Santa isn’t real?</p>
<p>“thinking back on it, what kind of parent tells someone else’s kid that Santa isn’t real?”</p>
<p>The mean, ‘with-some-sort-of-issues’ kind!</p>
<p>A bit off the OT, but…
I knew one of those growing up too! I was about 9 years old, and playing at a friend’s house. The phone rang. Her Mom chatted a moment, then came over to me and said “there’s been a terrible accident at the school. Your brother has been badly hurt and they’re taking him to the hospital.” She wouldn’t elaborate. It wasn’t until I spoke with my own mother later that I found out he’d run into a bench in a locker room, hit his shin, and needed a few stitches in his leg. Psycho woman. She also topped herself on several occasions. Years later, when I was walking home one day she stopped to give me a lift, and said “So, I hear you’re engaged to (H). It’s a shame he’s so tall, though, because tall people don’t live very long.” What the ?? No wonder her daughter ran away, then joined the navy the second she was old enough.</p>
<p>As for Santa-- we never pushed it (him). He leaves a couple gifts and some goodies in the stocking when they’re little. Sort of a don’t ask, don’t tell kind of thing, though all of them went through phases where they wanted to sleep on the couch near the tree so they could see him come down the chimney.</p>
<p>That woman has problems, lsfp!</p>
<p>True. She’s still around, but luckily haven’t seen her in years (yay).</p>
<p>My S NEVER believed in Santa–said he wasn’t logical. He tried convincing his sister when they were both in pre-school & I told him he could believe or not believe what he wanted but to honor his sister’s beliefs.
In 2nd grade, a parent came into his classroom & sang some religous songs & told the entire class that Santa wasn’t real, only Jesus. I was pretty surprised because I knew some of the kids still believed & thought it was very poor taste which could also have gotten the very young teacher in significant trouble.</p>