My DS8 learned "THE" secrete this Christmas

[Geef]

After two years of questions... My DS8 was told "THE" secrete.

At first he was delighted to be "In the Know". He went to bed about 15 mins later, and after lying there thinking about it... He melted down in tears.

"Why did you tell me???" he wanted to know. I told him that he had questioned us several times and we wanted to give him the facts; where it comes from, why we do it, how we (adults) love to keep it up (and wish it were still true for us), what the real meaning of Christmas is about.

He now acts as if we never talked about this. He fully understands the magic of believing and is doing a great job helping keep things magical for my DD5.

After my DW and I spoke with my son, we both felt like we lost part of our baby boy. He's growing up sooo fast. (as I'm typing this my vision is getting blurry.) I miss my baby boy, but I love my little boy.

Merry Christmas!
:santa:

[burberryplaid]

Awwww :hug: I can imagine it's hard for you to see some of the innocence lost.

Might I suggest watching "The Polar Express" sometime? I know some people don't enjoy it, but I always thought if I were in the position you are in I would want my child to watch it to learn about the spirit of "the secret".

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

[scarlett873]

You know...my parents never officially told me THE secret. I grew up very much confused...lol

When I was at about that age where I started to question everything, they pulled a fast one over on me. One Christmas Eve, my mom came into my bedroom and woke me and my little sister up. She pulled us out into the hall, but told us to be very quiet. We peeked around the corner and saw my dad sleeping on the couch. And then we saw Santa at the tree! He was pulling presents out of his bag and putting them under the tree!!

I grew up soooooooooooooooooooooooooo confused.

Then it just happened one year...my brother and sister were still in elementary school and junior high and I was in high school...they went to bed on Christmas Eve...and I was helping to put the presents under the tree!

I never got the formal "talk"...:rotfl:

[MickeyMomOfThree]

That is very sad, I cried when my oldest found out and she was 11. I still have a 9 and 6 year old who never have even questioned it, but I know I only have so long. It is sad, they are little for such a short time.

One thing that has helped me. With our DD14 we still keep the magic going. We have friends who once their kids find out they have them help shop, wrap presents and carry them up after the otehr kids have gone to bed. We don't. Yes, her help would be nice. But even at 14 she still loves the surprise of Christmas morning seeing the tree go from having nothing under it to being filled and I still like seeing her face light up just like when she was a little girl.

So, you aren't alone. I cried with the first, I am sure I will cry with the second, and I am certian that I will be a total backet case when my baby finds out...

[Geef]

My wife and I told him that Santa will "Always" visit on Christmas Eve.

She and I were both in our 20's when we moved out of our parents homes, but the tree continued to have more presents under the tree on Christmas morning till we left. That will always be the same in our house.

The realization of the "Spring Rabbit" was the end of the "December Elf" for me. (I was 10)

[Stacy's a freak]

Awww! I'm sure your son is heartbroken this year but we all were when we learned the secret, right? He will just find other ways to enjoy it ... I mean, who doesn't like waking up to find a christmas tree with presents under it ... no matter WHO brought them, right?

:hug:

[calypso*a*go-go]

My kids are 15/13 and I still haven't 'fessed up. I never had to because I knew their friends at school would spill the beans...it's just something we all play along with and my kids know that the standard answer I give them is and always will be "as long as you believe in the magic of Christmas -- there will be a present under the tree from Santa".

[mandymommy4]

DS 6 is questioning.........he walked out last year while DH and I were putting together a doll house for my girls. We told him Santa needed our help because he did not have screw drivers in the north pole :rotfl:

He came to me and asked me and I said I don't know.....what do you think? He said "well we don't have a chimney for him to come down.......and we have a alarm that he would set off...... and his sleigh cant be big enough to hold all the toys all the kids get in the world"

He is a very smart kid and I dodged the answer but I think he knows........ :guilty:

[Madi100]

I was 5 when I found out. My brother told me. He wasn't so good at keeping secrets! My DD11 still won't admit it. Last year she decided to sleep under the Christmas tree. She about knocked the thing over, and I about beat her with some Christmas spirit :) I know that she knows, but she won't admit it, and I'm fine with that.

[Geef]

DS 6 is questioning.........he walked out last year while DH and I were putting together a doll house for my girls. We told him Santa needed our help because he did not have screw drivers in the north pole :rotfl:

He came to me and asked me and I said I don't know.....what do you think? He said "well we don't have a chimney for him to come down.......and we have a alarm that he would set off...... and his sleigh cant be big enough to hold all the toys all the kids get in the world"

He is a very smart kid and I dodged the answer but I think he knows........ :guilty:


The "Santa Clause" movie with "Tim Allen" answers a lot of the "How does he do that" kind of question... :santa:

[dalt01]

My kids are 15/13 and I still haven't 'fessed up. I never had to because I knew their friends at school would spill the beans...it's just something we all play along with and my kids know that the standard answer I give them is and always will be "as long as you believe in the magic of Christmas -- there will be a present under the tree from Santa". YUP

[chickie]

I'm pretty sure my DD9 has it figured out, but she won't admit it. She doesn't want to NOT BELIEVE. In fact, she even wrote a letter to Santa this year, and mailed it, which she's never really done before. It is sad to see them growing up! :hug:

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I too never officially fessed up to my DD.
Funny story, and Disney related so I will share...

The year my oldest DD started questioning it we went to Disney for Thanksgiving. She was quite sure she had figured everything out. After Thanksgiving dinner at Chef Mickey's we rode the monerai over to GF to see the gingerbread house. After we rode it around a couple times just because we like to. An older, heavy set man with while hair and a while beard, all dressed in red got in our car. My younger 2 DDs went crazy, they were talking to him, sat with him for a photo, but my DD who was 10 was just in shock. She kept whispering to me, "is it mom?" I just kept saying, "sure looks like it, I'd be good just in case". Finally he looked at her and said something to the effect of "I know about you." Her face was priceless. She changed her tune for that year, that nice man bought me one more year of her believing!!!

I have never actually told her, but I have always felt that Santa is real, it's a feeling within you. It's what makes a mom like me, normally frugal beyond words to buy the silly things just to see their little faces light up. It's what makes those of us who may not have tons of extra money still give to the red pots or the food banks because we know how lucky we are and where we could be. It's that spirit that is Santa and is in your heart. So while it may not be one man, we are all kind of Santa, so that's what I beleive...:santa:

Merry Christmas...

[NWOhioAngela]

I don't know what you people are talking about! This makes no sense. It's just like those people who talk about being "friends" with the characters. Crazy people! ;) Don't ya know nothin!

[pklein09]

I have never actually told her, but I have always felt that Santa is real, it's a feeling within you. It's what makes a mom like me, normally frugal beyond words to buy the silly things just to see their little faces light up. It's what makes those of us who may not have tons of extra money still give to the red pots or the food banks because we know how lucky we are and where we could be. It's that spirit that is Santa and is in your heart. So while it may not be one man, we are all kind of Santa, so that's what I beleive...:santa:

Merry Christmas...

Thank you for putting into words how I also feel. I do not buy my children toys during the year, that's Santa's job. And yes, I, who can not stand Play Doh, have found it under my Christmas tree compliments of the man in red. I have a Santa hat that my Pop gave me one year in college when I helped him deliver poinsettias to people who had bought houses from him that year. He told me I couldn't play an elf without the proper hat. My kids (DD12, DS11, DD10, and DS8) asked me where I got it and I told them Santa gave it to me, because in my mind, Santa DID give it to me. I wear it in public and people as if I'm Santa (usually adults who think they're being cute). I tell them no, just an elf.

I also have my kids help with the adopt-a-family through church or Scouts or Toys for Tots. They need to learn that we do have it better than a lot of other people and there's always something to share.

I think my older two know, but aren't admitting it. DD10 is questioning, but DS8 is right there, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. He made out his list the other day, and he's getting probably 3 things out of the 15 or so he listed. Santa doesn't bring everything, and they know that. One of the things he asked for was a big Mickey Mouse. He's 8 and he's a boy, but he wants Mickey. There's a Disney Store Outlet by us in Jackson, NJ so I went and got the 28" Mickey plush. I can't wait to see his face.

Merry Christmas!!! :santa:

--Michelle

[LilGMom]

Geef, your post should have come with a tissue warning!! I'm tearing up just thinking about my DS7 questioning it. Luckily he hasn't really brought it up. Sure, there have been times when he has questioned why we'll see different looking Santa's at different places or why the mall Santa from last year doesn't look like this years mall Santa. I usually just ask him "Do you believe in Santa?" and he'll tell me that he does and I'll tell him that is all he has to do.

I have a friend that when her oldest DD questioned it she told her that if she stopped believing in Santa than the presents would stop. Her oldest DD never questioned it again. :)

[Whipperwhirl]

No kidding - serious tissue moment.

My DD 8 (almost 9) is still hanging on - she refuses to believe what other children have told her. I just tell her - in our house - if you believe, you recieve.

scarlett873 - Its so funny that story about the real Santa why daddy is sleeping - My grandfather did the exact same thing to my mother when she was young - she believed well into her teens! Very convincing.

[Cyrano]

DD who is 11 has finally twigged what is going on. While there is a part of us is sad to see this innocence broken. The other side is happy as I suspect she would have been teased when she went to the academy after next summer :)

[lisah0711]

I'm pretty sure my DD9 has it figured out, but she won't admit it. She doesn't want to NOT BELIEVE.

Yep! My DS 9 is the same way. We pretty much have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about Santa at our house this year . . . :santa:

[Michele]

My kids are 15/13 and I still haven't 'fessed up. I never had to because I knew their friends at school would spill the beans...it's just something we all play along with and my kids know that the standard answer I give them is and always will be "as long as you believe in the magic of Christmas -- there will be a present under the tree from Santa".

This sounds exactly like my house! My kids are 15 and 13. They have 'known' for a while, hearing it from kids at school, etc. But we have never officially told them. It's just, if you believe, then Santa will still bring you presents.

[froggy5657]

What no one ever told me THE secret.

So you are telling me that... and that...

WHAT

How could you people crushing the hopes and dreams of a little boy

*Cries* WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*Cries*

By the by, I really did know

[Decorated_Dust]

She and I were both in our 20's when we moved out of our parents homes, but the tree continued to have more presents under the tree on Christmas morning till we left. That will always be the same in our house.

Yeah, I'm the same way. My sister and I are 18 and 21 and we still wake up to presents.

I lost my innocence very early. I knew the secret since I was seven. I think I ended up shocking my parents one day when I was nine and I thanked them for the presents I saw when I woke up. For two years I had been pretending like I still thought it was Santa. My sister on the other hand believed in Santa up until she was ten or eleven. Some crazy teacher put it in her head that Santa and Jesus were BFFs living up in heaven and Santa came down and delivered presents. I tried to tell her than this made no theological sense whatsoever, but she wouldn't hear it. My parents were trying to take the slow approach since they're not believers and wanted to avoid confrontation with a moody girl suffering cognitive dissonance. They finally shattered her innocence because it was not only giving her a very skewed view, but Santa pictures were beginning to look VERY awkward.

[jen3003]

Geef, that is so sad. It's making me tear up just thinking about it.

My youngest DD who will be 10 in 13 short days (the last of my three to go into double digits) has been questioning my DH and I quite a bit lately. I have a feeling she knows but is not letting on. As far as I know she hasn't questioned her older siblings but maybe she doesn't want to say anything just yet.

I know there's a time when they have to grow up (trust me I know I have my DS whose 18 and my DD whose 14 going on 25). But sometimes you just want to keep them young and innocent just a little while longer.

All the best to you and your family Geef during the holiday season. Hopefully we will see each other at another meet really soon.

Take care.

[newmouse2008]

You don't believe, you don't receive. That has been my motto. when Grace threatens to tell Stella. The same thing when Max was going to tell Grace a few years back.

We have always put out cookies and milk. one year he did get spaghetti and Dr Pepper. And we always put out food for the reindeer.

:santa:

[Michele]

Yep, we still do the cookies and milk too. ;)