Santa Letters

[ULuvCeCe]

Has anyone sent Santa Letters to their children?  I saw an ad in American Baby where they mark it from the North Pole etc and was thinking I might do that.  I know this is only his first Christmas but to have letters all the years would be cool, especially when he gets to the questioning Santa age.

Back in the late 80's, early 90's my uncle was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, and they had something similar up there so I got a few letters - still have them!

[jcribb16]

   Our 3 children are grown, but we did that with them.  They loved it!  My older son is now doing it with his 2 daughters.  Hopefully, this will make a nice tradition for our families! 

[Storm61115]

yeah my cousin did that for her boys and the post man took them lol. and she got them back a couple days later. 

[bhm42004]

My daughter is 8 yrs old; she is questioning whether Santa is real or not.  They grow up so fast!

[ULuvCeCe]

My daughter is 8 yrs old; she is questioning whether Santa is real or not.  They grow up so fast!

Just an idea, give her the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"

"    Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

    We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
    Dear Editor,

    I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

    Virginia O'Hanlon


    Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

    Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

    Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

    You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

    No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!"

[amyrouse]

We don't do Santa Claus with our daughter.  We want her to have a sound understanding of where her gifts come from.  We take her to have her picture taken, but she knows that it is someone in a Santa suit, and when she's old enough to have her own kids, she can make the decision whether or not she wants them to believe in Santa.  Our daughter will have an understanding, though, that it is not okay to ruin Santa for those who believe, because Santa is about the spirit of the season and not someone real who comes into your home, watches you 24/7 and decides to give you gifts based on whether or not you've been good.  Next year, when she's 3 and old enough, we will take our daughter to pick out a new toy to donate for Toys for Tots so she can understand better what the season is about.  We're also looking into volunteering at soup kitchens when she's old enough.

[jcribb16]

   Our children each believed in Santa Claus for a period of time.  We would leave a couple of gifts out that "Santa" brought, and then they would open the rest from "us." There was no harm done that we could see by doing this (and we are both Christians and involved in our church.) As they each got old enough, my hubby and I would explain to each one who Santa is.  We compared him to the Lord, in that the spirit of the Lord keeps watch over them. They never even thought of the 24/7 watching in the home.  To be honest, neither did my hubby and I. It was such a magical and precious time to help them get milk and cookies ready for Santa, and then see their little faces on Christmas morning.

Also, as the Lord sets the example for giving, as "Santa" gave to them, they learned the spirit of giving to others, as well.  They would take some of their toys (cleaned up and still looked new) to children who were needy, usually through the church or school, or even places like the Salvation Army, etc. They loved filling a small bag or box full of little odds and ends, like "Santa" did with the stockings, and give them to certain children we knew wouldn't be able to have much of anything otherwise.  In this way, they learned the spirit of giving like God would want them to, and at the same time they enjoyed being "Santa." 

They are all in their 20s now.  My oldest son has 2 small daughters.  To this day they all understand the difference between the fiction "Santa Claus" and the very real Lord.  It was kind of like an object lesson, and we all have wonderful memories to remember and share.

[jasmineandjustin]

My youngest still believed in Santa until the other day...he came home from school and said that "billy and bobby" said there is no such thing as Santa Claus...the first thing that came out of my mouth was that it was probably because they are on the naughty list and Santa Claus doesn't visit their home...and he replied, that's true...they are bad kids LOL

BUT on the other hand my older children already know there is no such thing as Santa...in order to keep it going as long as I could I had always told them that Santa was like an angel and he had helpers all over (like the malls and such) to make sure that all children would get a gift on Christmas...

[amyrouse]

I guess I'm just weird, but I always thought the idea of Santa was creepy.  He sees you when you're sleeping; he knows when you're awake.  He knows if you've been bad or good so you better be good for goodness sakes!  You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm tellin ya why... Plus the idea that he comes to my house after I go to sleep and eats my cookies...and does so in every other child's house... just creeps me out.  Plus, it just seems like there is so much fibbing going on in order to keep a child believing in Santa for so long.  I don't think anyone is a horrible person or anything for teaching their kids about Santa; I just don't think it is something that I want to do with my daughter.   

[jcribb16]

I guess I'm just weird, but I always thought the idea of Santa was creepy.  He sees you when you're sleeping; he knows when you're awake.  He knows if you've been bad or good so you better be good for goodness sakes!  You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm tellin ya why... Plus the idea that he comes to my house after I go to sleep and eats my cookies...and does so in every other child's house... just creeps me out.  Plus, it just seems like there is so much fibbing going on in order to keep a child believing in Santa for so long.  I don't think anyone is a horrible person or anything for teaching their kids about Santa; I just don't think it is something that I want to do with my daughter.