Twas the night before Christmas...

[menagerie]

I'm happy for the "special talk" to be instigated by the children, not me. My two believe. They love to put letters to him up the chimney and get snacks and presents ready for him and the reindeer. (Last year they bought him gloves from the pound store in case he got cold!) He just brings the small stuff - annuals and pencils and sweets but also one physically big present that they really want. Last year plastic sledges, this year I believe he's intending to get them giant yoga balls to roll around on. I hear he gets them all for about £8 from Amazon, but I obviously couldn't vouch for that.

[mum23*]

ooh so glad you are all such a festive bunch and I love the stories of what people do at Christmas, all the special little traditions. We have had boot prints in the fireplace with fairy dust on them and of course the carrot, drink mince pie left out. I love the idea that perhaps Mrs C takes over for the older ones and supervises various nice bits and pieces for the girls (and lynx for the boys of course )I have kept all the letters to FC that the DCs wrote when they were little and the thank you notes left out for him. So cute to look back on. I love getting out the Christmas books and DVDs each year. We always loved Spot's Magical Christmas video but nowadays it's Elf!

One thing I did a few times when the Dcs were younger was get one of the things on the list that I had said was a bit rubbish and disapproved of eg one year it was a barbie head with makeup! My girls totally believed and said Father Christmas must be true because mum would never buy that!!! tee hee

I think maybe the stockings can be hung and lets just enjoy the magic...
I did once have to hide in the loft for ages when one of the children woke up as I was bringing down the presents and I have occasionally had to have a wrapping marathon.
Keep the stocking stories coming.

[fatbananas]

DS1 has never believed. Even when he was 3 he looked at me very sceptically when I put a mince pie and glass of wine for santa by the fireplace. It makes me so cross because I still half believe! Which is probably why my mum makes me go to bed early when we go and stay with them, so that she can organise stockings surreptitiously!

DS2 seems to believe, so he and I can listen out for sleighbells.

Have taken note of other messages and shall begin stockpiling Lynx whenever there's a special offer on, for when my 2 Christmas Elves start smelling like they've been mucking out the reindeer ...

[Looking for help]

We track Santa on the internet every year...are some folk saying this is not true

Oh my days, don't know how the stuff ends up here on Xmas morning then.

[Marylou]

We track Santa on the internet every year...are some folk saying this is not true

Quite right, LFH. You can't argue with NORAD!

http://www.noradsanta.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Minesatea]

Mine are 13, 12 and 7. The older 2 do not believe but love to go along with the whole thing for the youngest.
We always track Santa with NORAD and use http://www.northpole.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for xmas letters (techno generation - don't do paper!)

We tend to have american relatives over for xmas (who don't have children) so a mass wrapping and stocking stuffing session on xmas eve after the children are all in bed has become a habit - helped by port and mince pies of course! Oh and compulsory watching of Love Actually - a film only for watching on xmas eve!

[twinkles]

Well I had this conversation with my friend y'day who said she wasn't sure if her DS who is 10 1/2 still believes. I told her that she had to tell him that it wasn't true and she shouldn't let him go to secondary next year still thinking it's real. She was horrified that I should suggest such a thing and said she couldn't possibly tell him it wasn't true and I said she had to let him down gently but still carry on with all the 'tradition' of pressies from Santa except he would now know they weren't and he wasn't to tell his younger sister. She disagreed with me completely and was most outraged when I offered to tell him for her

[Fran17]

Twinkles I hope your friend does speak to her son when he leaves his primary. A boy who is on my sons' school bus started talking about Father Christmas just after starting at his senior school. At first they all thought he was joking. One of the sixth formers laughed and they got talking about when they found out the truth. When the poor boy protested they realised he was being serious and, bless them, they all played along with it so as not to upset him. My DSs couldn't believe his parents hadn't had that particular conversation with him.

We love Christmas and although my youngest is now 12 we still feel that it is a magical time of year.

[Desperado99]

Well I had this conversation with my friend y'day who said she wasn't sure if her DS who is 10 1/2 still believes. I told her that she had to tell him that it wasn't true and she shouldn't let him go to secondary next year still thinking it's real. She was horrified that I should suggest such a thing and said she couldn't possibly tell him it wasn't true and I said she had to let him down gently but still carry on with all the 'tradition' of pressies from Santa except he would now know they weren't and he wasn't to tell his younger sister. She disagreed with me completely and was most outraged when I offered to tell him for her

This is my problem!! DD is due to move up to secondary next september, and I cannot possibly let her go still believing in Santa (or the tooth fairy!). I'm really hoping she figures it out this year (I'm trying to drop hints, I've asked for her list so I know what to buy her etc). A lot of her friends don't believe anymore, but she thinks they're too naughty to get presents anyway (LOL).

[twinkles]

Twinkles I hope your friend does speak to her son when he leaves his primary. A boy who is on my sons' school bus started talking about Father Christmas just after starting at his senior school. At first they all thought he was joking. One of the sixth formers laughed and they got talking about when they found out the truth. When the poor boy protested they realised he was being serious and, bless them, they all played along with it so as not to upset him. My DSs couldn't believe his parents hadn't had that particular conversation with him.

We love Christmas and although my youngest is now 12 we still feel that it is a magical time of year.

Yes Fran17, there is no need for the 'magic' to go out of Christmas completely once they are aware that's it's not true but I feel it does go a bit as they get older anyhow. I think that the boy was very lucky that the kids went along with him to avoid upsetting him, I don't think many would be that kind.

at your daughter Desperado99 thinking her friends are all too naughty to get pressies anyway. Perhaps you could make sure she 'accidentally' finds her pressies from Santa or sees you putting them in her stocking? That's how I found out, I was supposedly asleep and I saw my parents carrying a box of pressies downstairs to fill stockings with. I used to make my brother go into the front room first on Christmas morning just in case Father Christmas was still there having fallen asleep due to all the sherry and amount of work he had to do