SPOILER ALERT: Please stop reading if you still believe in the Jolly Father Christmas and his mince pie loving ways.
Ok, so I don’t BUT I really wish I did. I mean who doesn’t want to believe that some Santa flies through the sky to deliver you everything on your wish list?
This year the girls have really got in to the whole Father Christmas thing. It’s probably the first year Molly really has and she is now five. Alice has of course got caught up in the excitement too. There is something so magical about watching their little faces as they wrote their letters and talk about what he is bringing. It does have it’s downside though. Apparently, Father Christmas is bringing Daddy a Tortoise so hoping they won’t be too disappointed when that doesn’t appear on Christmas morning. It most definitely isn’t.
As I sat wrapping the presents the other night I had a little panic when I realised that in my cold fuddled mess I had wrapped the presents from us in the same paper as the presents from Santa. Would they notice? Do I really need to rewrap everything or will they be too busy tearing the paper off to notice? Arghhh. I really don’t want to ruin the Father Christmas thing yet so hoping I can brush it off if Molly does mention it. She’s so blinking on the ball that I’m scared she will.
This got me thinking, how long have I got till they stop believing? I really don’t want it to end and I know they are only small but those years fly by so quickly.
I was 7 when I found out (only 2 years left for Molly on that count then). My darling 9 year old sister woke me at midnight Christmas Eve to inform me that ‘Father Christmas isn’t real. It’s Martin’ (our stepdad). Apparently she had caught him filling the stockings and just like that the illusion was shattered. What a way to put a damper on Christmas morning!
So how did you, or your children, find out that Santa wasn’t real and how long do you hope you can keep your little one’s believing?
A friend mentioned the wrapping paper thing the other day too, and came up with the idea that if the kids do realise it’s the same (if they even do!) to say that parents send Father Christmas the wrapping paper to help him as he’s so busy getting ready and flying around to reach everyone.. might work! X
Excellent plan. Thanks for the tip Gemma. Hoping she’ll be so busy opening that she won’t care x
Ooh, Father Christmas has to have different paper! (apparently my mother did this each year, although I can’t remember noticing. I have bought different “Father Christmas” paper but given that my 2-year-old has already found it in my wrapping paper pile and told me what the pictures are, any attempt at subtlety is gone).
When we took the 2-year-old to meet Father Christmas she loudly told me “but Mummy, it’s not the real Father Christmas.” No idea where she got that from, but at least for now she believes that there is a real one somewhere!
There is no hiding anything from them is there? I too don’t remember what paper my mum used for Santa so maybe it will be ok. Otherwise I’m busy rewrapping! A friend told her little girl that the real santa is too busy at this time of year so he send some friends to help out and that Santa is magic so you can’t see him anyway. All the lies xx
My mum and dad never told me and we never let on that we didn’t believe. I just couldn’t let the magic go! I think my mum was a bit worried when I had my own children that she would have to explain it to me!
I do remeber asking one year why Father Christmas had the same hand writing as my mum (to recognise this I must have been really quite old!), my dad just told me that mums and dads had to help with the tags as how on earth was he going to write all of them himself. Made perfect sense to me!
Xxx
Re: the tortoise, we have already had to explain to Silvia that Father Christmas doesn’t bring real animals as they don’t like flying and would make a mess in the sleigh- she is adamant (at 21 months) that all she wants is a pink dog. Could a cute little wooden or toy tortoise make an appearance?
I think I would have been about 7 or 8 when the rumours that the big dude isn’t real hit at school. But you only really give up when your parents admit it I think! The year I was Father Christmas as Mum had run out of steam (I was 18) was definitely the end of the road.
I highly doubt they will notice the wrapping paper thing (if they do, they should be detectives!) but I like Gemma’s back up excuse above! ?
I was about 7 or 8 I think. We had some family friends round and my brother (4 years older) took it upon himself to tell me but then totally chickened out and tried to convince me he WAS real when I got upset – totally softie, my bro! The magic was broken though as I’d heard rumblings at school too – but the main thing is (if this is any comfort), it really, really didn’t change the magic of Christmas. Because, actually, Christmas is awesome for loads of reasons and Father Christmas is just one little part of that – the rest is still there!
Do you know what it has never occurred to me to say some of the pressie’s are from us! We don’t get any of the credit. I really love the thought of them having some from Father Christmas and some from us.
Oh and Father Christmas is absolutely real 🙂 X
Stacy, I was planning on them all being from Father Christmas but Edd was adamant that we should get some of the thanks! Thinks he’s a bit gutted that they requested bikes on their letters as I’ve now said that those have to be from Santa xx
I think I was about 6/7 when I was told by a girl called Nancy in my class that Father Christmas wasn’t real – I still remember it now!
I’m going to make an effort to keep wrapping paper from Father Christmas different from next year….infact I might buy some in bulk and store it (!?) but recently my Mum found a whole pile of ‘Father Christmas’ wrapping paper from my childhood from the 80’s/90’s and it brought back SO many memories and was such a retro treat!!
We don’t do wrapping – just put everything in a giant sack, less mess! Also re use the sack year to year so if they wonder we can say we leave it out for him just like the stockings
Excellent plan xx