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***Spoiler alert: This article contains information suggesting Santa Claus may not be real!*** 


The other day my seven year old daughter asked me "Mummy when I'm thirteen can you tell me the truth about Santa?"

"Sure" I replied. 

But for now, this is currently attached to our Christmas tree with a pen conveniently hung next to it. Now which box do I (erm, I mean Santa!) tick?



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I've never been a fan of the whole Santa thing. To be honest I wish I'd listened to my husband and never started off this Santa business. Now it's too late to back out! I don't want to be known as “the parents that ruined christmas”…because let’s face it, that’s the kind of breaking news that kids would broadcast to the whole school, the whole family and possibly even random strangers on the street.




But let me explain what I feel about this (similar points to what I [wrote on my blog last year](http://www.mummyimperfect.com/blog/?p=307)):

**I don’t really like lying to the kids** – It would be ok if it was just one lie, “you will get a present from Santa if you are good”. But then you have to answer questions about how Santa will get in when we have no chimney (more lies). You have to explain why their friends got three presents each when Santa only gave them one (yet more lies – and ones that I’m still trying to put together!). Where does it end?!

**Soon kids will start thinking that Santa is God** – I’m pretty sure some kids already think this. I mean think about it, you never see him you just have to believe! He knows if you’ve been good or bad so be good for goodness sake?? Will there soon be a new world religion called Santa-ism where you get rewarded every year for good behaviour. Where Elves are angels and Rudolph is some kind of a prophet! I’d rather my kids grow up thinking that God is God and since we’re celebrating Christmas it should be about the birth of Jesus not a random fat guy in a red suit.

**Are we insulting our children’s’ intelligence?** – We try and teach kids to use their brains to solve problems and to investigate the world. If kids did use their brains like we want them to (after all these are the doctors and lawyers of the future right?) they would quick sharp realise the glaring plot holes in this whole Santa Claus facade. I’d rather we just put Santa in the same category as Batman and Superman. We could just call him an urban myth!

I remember being a kid and thinking that other kids who believed in Santa were a bit simple. It still didn’t ruin my excitement about Christmas though. My family always celebrated it in a big way and we always had presents. Because I knew my parents had bought them for me with their hard earned cash, and because we didn’t get new toys very often, I appreciated them even more. Bizarrely though, my mum started doing the whole Santa thing when I was old enough to remember not doing it. I think a couple of my cousins were into it and she probably didn’t want us to feel left out. My sisters and I played along. Our thoughts were, “yay! More presents” and “Awwww bless her for trying”.

It's now Christmas Eve so I think it’s too late to tell the truth this year. But maybe that's not such a bad thing.

**The other side of the argument** - Christmas is a magical time for kids and believing in Santa adds to that magic. Their eyes light up with excitement when they visit Santa’s Grotto and tell him what presents they want, insisting that they have been good. They decorate the christmas tree in their own haphazardly blingy way, and on Christmas Eve they leave a snack out for Santa and Rudolph and try their best to stay up and see Santa, or at least listen out for the jingling of sleigh bells. In the morning they wake excitedly and open their gifts. It's pretty special.

According my Mum (who is a primary school teacher) we should let children believe in the fantasy of Santa. Apparently it’s healthy for children to have make believe worlds. It’s a good way for them to use their imagination and creativity. I hate to say it, but that part I have to agree with. My heart ached with cuteness when I saw my eldest daughter busily writing the letter to Santa. Last year she sent Santa some presents too. The presents were random objects she found lying around the house, but still it’s the thought that counts! 

I’m not sure that there will come a time when we sit the kids down at the table and crush the whole Santa myth, but I definitely want Santa to only be a small part of Christmas. I'm sure all my daughters will work out the truth about Santa well before they are thirteen but I'm happy to play along until then. I guess I know which box to tick now.

### Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

### Love

### MummyIP