Anyone else waiting for their kids to go to sleep before doing the Santa thing?

[Nye Bevan]

Come on, I want to get to bed too!

[seattledo]

1. Why perpetuate a fairy tale?

Maybe I just don't understand because I don't have kids, but it makes no sense to me.

[Ed Suspicious]

3. Because it's fun and yes, you don't get it.

[kcr]

6. You still don't want to potentially spoil surprises, eve if they don't/no longer believe

I waited yet again until today to wrap presents, so I had to wait till mine fell asleep.

[Nye Bevan]

8. It's magical and fun. I look back fondly on the time when I believed.

And now only the youngest of my 3 kids still believes, and she won't be for much longer. But I like to keep it going as long as possible.

[JI7]

13. it's just having some fun and part of being a kid for many

i didn't even grow up in a christian home but we celebrated christmas and did the whole santa thing for fun.

[NoOneMan]

15. There is but a small window in life when its ok to have magic

And damn, that was a fuckn magical time

[Vashta Nerada]

16. Scrooge.

[liberal_at_heart]

18. maybe because having an imagination and make believing is fun. My son and daughter no longer

believe but neither has come to me traumatized begging me why I lied to them. They enjoy the myth, the magic, and the make believe. Both still enjoy the season even though they no longer believe in Santa. My daughter who is an artist, had a blast decorating the tree tonight, and my son is busting a gut watching Jim Carrie's Grinch. Yesterday we made sugar cookies, and tomorrow we will make pies. And as my son put it just a few minutes ago the best part of Christmas is being together.

[Nye Bevan]

19. +1000. And I just got done!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

[seattledo]

24. But don't you think it makes them more susceptible to religion later?

"enjoy the myth, the magic, and the make believe."

Ugh.

[JI7]

26. no, and religion is something they are raised with usually

so it's not like most people decide later in life whether to join a religion.

i wasn't even raised in a christian home and we had santa clause as part of my childhood .

[laundry_queen]

28. No, I don't think it makes them more likely to be religious.

Once they find out the truth they are aware that there is a possibility religion is also an illusion and that even though they may 'believe', God may not actually exist. This leads them to question religion - my hardcore atheist brother told me the whole Santa thing contributed to his questioning the existence of a God. My oldest daughter, also brought up with Santa, is also an atheist (The younger ones either still believe or haven't made up their minds about God yet).

I don't think Santa makes one more likely to be religious any more than celebrating Christmas does.

[a la izquierda]

25. Don't blame it on not having kids.

I don't have kids and I get it perfectly fine.

It's a time of wonder and magic. Imagination.

[BainsBane]

30. Don't hate on Santa Claus

[cilla4progress]

2. Yes, and mine is

20 years old!

[CAG]

4. Just did it, but took me about 30 minutes

To remember the stupid password on my daughter's new pc that santa brought her. I set it up a couple of weeks ago when i bought it and tucked it away. Thankfully the 15th try was the lucky charm

[RGinNJ]

5. Not now but when my kids were young

and we lived in Long Beach, CA, we would take them to Disneyland for the day. When we returned home they would be so sleepy we'd put them straight to bed. After that we could set up for the next day and be in bed ourselves be 9:30-10:00pm. So even if they got up with the sun we would have had a great night sleep.

[Nye Bevan]

7. So, speaking as someone who loves Disney and loves Christmas,

that was pretty much the most perfect day ever!

[RGinNJ]

10. Yep for five great years in a row.

(PS) The lines were always short on Christmas Eve.

[liberal_at_heart]

20. I never realized how lucky I was to live near an amusement park when I was a kid.

We would spend as much of our summer as we could afford at Six Flag or White Water water park. My kids have not had that pleasure. There are parks out here, just not as close as what I lived near.

[RandySF]

9. "Santa" already visited.

We thought it would be nice to get the set-up and garbage put away so we can just chill tomorrow. BTW, "Santa" is now broke.

[nclib]

11. LOL. Yes and mine is 13.

I'm waiting for him to fall asleep.

[dem in texas]

12. Those are the best years, Christmas is children

My kids and grandkids are all grown now. I still enjoy getting together with them for Christmas dinner, but there is nothing like the excitement, secrets and surprises of Christmas when you have little children in the house.

Here is my Christmas story. My older brother who was in second grade came home from school and told us younger sisters that there was no Santa Claus. This was in 1944. My uncle, who was in the Army, came home for leave before shipping out to Europe. My parents gave him my bed to sleep in and put me on a cot in the dinning room. Our dining room had French doors that opened into the living room. My bright five year old idea was that since I was sleeping in the dinning room, I would just stay away and see for myself if there was a Santa.

Everyone went to sleep and I lay on the cot wide awake,waiting for Santa. I heard him open the front door, I tried to look though the French doors, but its was too dark, but I heard him rustling around putting the packages under the tree, then I heard him closing the front door as he left.

I knew that there was a Santa, no one could convince otherwise. It wasn't until a few years later that I figured out that I'd fallen asleep and dreamed it all.

Merry Christmas to all DU'ers

[TeamPooka]

21. just a dream.....or was it? :)

[madokie]

14. We only have one grandchild

see is 6 almost 7. She knows that presents come from us, not a Santa Claus so there is no need to mislead and or confuse.

[The Roux Comes First]

17. Oh, Yes Indeed

In this case it is our first grandchild, with whom we share a home. As she is still an infant, the waiting was no issue, and for that matter, the whole concept will elude her. But we happily play along with her folks, who are intent on simulating what they think they remember from their own experience and probably more accurately have absorbed from common acculturation.

The little one will be at least a bit surprised tomorrow morn to find objects under the tree she has almost come to take for granted and stockings hung by the chimney that if she noticed them at all were formerly lying in a pile on a table.

Our version of reindeer games.

[cthulu2016]

22. So, it's called "the Santa thing" now?

[Niceguy1]

23. I love the whole Santa 13

it brings great memories and I hope I was able to make the same as for my kids

[laundry_queen]

29. Just finished

My older 2 wanted to stay up and help, but ended up being more of a hindrance, LOL. Oh well, they enjoyed it. Then I had to wait for them to go to bed before I could do their stuff. So, I'm much later than usual. And, yet, here I am on DU instead of sleeping!

[logosoco]

31. I miss that!

My youngest is 19, and my oldest is now in the Santa role. I felt kind of empty last night, or I had the feeling there was something I was supposed to be doing! I need to find a new tradition.
Someone on this thread mentioned something about the Santa myth and becoming religious. This year, at almost 50, I realize that being told the Santa story and finding out it was make believe helped me look at religion (raised Catholic until the age of 12, but my mom kept trying to convince me!) with a more thoughtful eye (I am now happily agnostic).
I almost remember feeling smart when I figured out the Santa story was impossible. With my kids, it was a way to make things suspenseful in a fun way to make the short days and long nights more bearable. And getting new things to enjoy during the cold weather days is fun for anyone (says this grandma with her new kindle).
Santa is not so much a lie as a game, and games are fun!
Merry Christmas everyone!