That's not normal? I mean, I thought everyone did it where Santa gets you some toys and smallers toys/lollies, and the big gift is from parents, plus gifts from other family. TIL Santa does all the pressies in some families 🤷‍♀️

My son (9y.o.) asked me this year "Is Santa real?". And I asked back "What is Santa?" And the small one (6y.o.) told me "Santa is the magic of Christmas!". And I said "Yes, the magic and spirit of Christmas! So, does Santa exist?" and both of them shrieked "Yes, he does!". I don't remember ever telling them something is from Santa, I just sneak the presents under the tree, and never confirm or deny it. The gifts from their grandmother are gifts from their grandmother. The idea of what this mother is doing is very kind hearted, sorry her husband doesn't feel the same way.

I also think it’s rude for kids to think all gifts come from Santa and not thank the friends and relatives that actually bought them! SIL did the whole “everything from Santa” thing and as soon as the kids were old enough, they asked why their friends also got gifts from mum, dad, Uncle M. They never did that again. Our kids get one “Santa” present and the rest is from whoever’s name is on the label.

In our family (and I think many other South African families) you get most of your gifts from family and friends, they're under the tree tempting you for weeks, and you get to open them on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve after gifts and before you go to bed, you leave cookies and milk under the tree for Father Christmas and put out a pillow case (I don't know if the pillow case is maybe only our family 🤣) and he comes in the night, eats his cookies and milk, and leaves you one or two gifts in your pillow case. When my daughter was younger it was a big deal that Father Christmas had to use different wrapping paper, otherwise she would ask why he used the same paper as us 🙄

When we were growing up, Santa gave us two things...A stocking full of simple toys and treats and one present under the tree..usually something simple we wrote and asked Santa for. The rest were family and friends. When we got to be about 10 years old, we understood that "Santa" gifts were actually from mom and dad so they stopped making things tagged from Santa.

My friend has an almost 2 Yr old a d she is planning on doing 4 Santa gifts - something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read :)

We never had the Santa fantasy when I was growing up and I'm grateful for it. Even at ~five years old, we understood we only got a few things we wanted because our parents couldn't afford more, and other kids' parents could (certainly TV parents!). It helped us appreciate at an early age that every present showed the thought and effort that we put in for each other. I realize Santa is a fun little game to play with kids, but I think the truth is more beneficial.

When my neice was starting to not believe, she told her Grandma she was going to compare signatures and gift wrap to discover the truth. 😉

I just got one gift from santa but the rest i knew where they came from

Thinking back, as a very small child I assumed most of my presents came from Father Christmas (as he was more commonly referred to in 1980s UK terms). I don't suppose it would have bothered me to know that he brought the small presents and family got the 'main' presents like the bikes/keyboard/skateboard that me and my sister had over the years. Especially as I accidentally found out it was all my parents doing the year I had the bike (I was 7). Moral of the story: if you want to keep the magic going as long as possible, make sure your kids are actually asleep before bringing the presents in! I was smart enough to work out that Father Christmas had NOT just left them on the doorstep, and that my bike was the reason I wasn't allowed in the garage for the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas! I confessed to my mum about 6 months later.

I always told my kids the truth about saint Nicholas. He was a real man that made real toys for kid's and delivered the toys to them. I know most people tell their kids Santa is real and brings the presents. Not knocking that at all. I've just never understood why people made up a story about a man bringing toys to kid's. When there there is a real life story and man that did this. It's true and awesome what that man did for so many children. I guess along the way the real fella got pushed out by the fake fella and that's kind of sad when you think about it. So to anyone that wants to tell their kids the real story. Read up on saint Nicholas and from now on you can always say Santa/saint Nicholas is most definitely real and helped a lot of families. :) The best part about this is, you're not lying and making anything up. And your kiddos will never be upset when they eventually find out it was never true at all.

I'm going to get hate for this, but we're not teaching my son Santa is real. We're teaching him that Santa is more like the spirit of the season. He's an idea and a feeling we uphold by being good to other people. And he knows not to ruin it for other kids. Why are we going this route? I found out much later than most that Santa wasn't real and it was brutal. Everyone I've talked felt betrayed/upset when they learned the truth. I don't want to put my son through that.

What on Earth is this thread about? Is Santa not real? You’ve all ruined Christmas for me

I don't recall ever being told my gifts were from Santa, and I figured out quite early that they were from family members. I ended up stuck in a weird place where I had enough belief in the idea of Santa that it fed into the enjoyment and wonder I had for the season, but enough of an understanding that I started buying my own presents for people from a fairly young age (I got gently reprimanded a few years because my birthday is the end of November and any money I got would go on buying presents for my family). That could have been though because my parents weren't as big into Christmas as my Aunt's family was, for me Christmas was more about all of us getting together to enjoy way too much good food.

I always had a token present from Santa (a small stocking of sweets or something similar) and then everything else was from parents / family etc. I didn't realize that other children got everything from Santa until I was a lot older.

Even as a small child (in the 50s) I thought it was weird that I got a lot of gifts from Santa...I worried about children who didn't celebrate Christmas. As I got older and realized not everyone got the number of presents I did. My mom had been poor as a child and thought I'd revel in getting so much. Actually it was a curse bc it was too much and often things I had no interest in...then she would have hurt feelings bc I was excited. With my own daughter I did a stocking and only put trinkets in. The other presents were from us. Her birthday is so near the holiday, so I told relative to please get one or the other, not two presents. No body needs all that stuff. She's a very generous and giving adult now. Generous with her time and thoughtful with her giving.

Personally I think that people who let their kids 'believe' in "Santa" are silly We kids never believed in Santa and Christmas was still magical -- and we also learned to thank peokle for their gifts! So why tell lies to your kids???

Had a complete backfire her the other year, thought it would be funny to put sons friends names on his gifts. He promptly told his friends they had gifts and that we might have forgot his...caused some major last min shopping. Never again!

Can we normalize not telling our children this fat overly jolly white man sneaks in their house to eat their cookies and bring gifts please

When I was a child, a thousand years ago, Santa would give us one small gift the rest came from family.

We do the same as OP, small fun gifts from Santa, main presents from family. Then they have to write a thank you letter afterwards as well!

How is this not normal? In my house growing up and now everyone (kids and adults) got a couple of things from Father Christmas, usually lollies or a mango or some junky cereal, underwear and a book then they get a few other things that they want/need/wear/read from parents. Are people really getting stroppy with this mum or has someone made it up so silly people like me read this silly article?

I thought this was normal. In my family, we always got our stocking filled by Santa, then one relatively small, inexpensive gift. The rest were clearly labeled as being from mom and dad.

This is just normal for me like I still get a stocking well aware that santa isn't real but we get books some chocolate a dvd and a funko pop this isnt exactly cheap cheap but it's just a few little things and I don't then go around lording it over my head Saying LOOK I GOT THIS AND YOU DIDN'T to people with less money I think her husband is being an AH not her at all

I give my children one Santa gift each, which they would have asked him for in their letter to him, so usually a main present (but once blue string ?) the rest are from us. I wrap the Santa gifts in different paper etc.

Kids asking if santa exists cause thay already know the answer and you trink them into believing a good home intruder... nice

Why is it acceptable to perpetuate a con on children, tell them if they're good, some stranger brings what they ask for, and lie for years. No wonder people grow up unable to distinguish scams, conspiracy theories and anti-whatever propaganda. Never did this to kids, they were happy every xmas too

Guess I'm the Grinch. I never taught my kids to believe in Santa. They turned out just fine.