How old when you found out about Santa?

[HereWeGoAgain]

I once took an online Christmas poll -- One of the questions was:

"How old were you when you found out the truth about Santa?"
A. under 4
B. 4 to 6
C. 7 to 9
D. over 9
E. What do you mean, "the truth about Santa"?

I chose E, but in reality I could not remember ever fully believing in Santa. I told my parents I believed up to about 6 or 7. I guess I'm cursed with a cynical, skeptical side: I had too many unanswered questions about the logistics involved.

 

[Hound dog]

I have to choose D. over 9.

In youth Hope Springs Eternal, I was the epitome of that on the subject of Santa as a child.


My mother never did the Santa thing. We were lucky to get more than 2 presents and usually those were from garage sales. Hard to pass off second hand toys or clothes as Santa gifts. But each year I was determined to Believe hard enough that Santa would come and give us a happy xmas.
The xmas I was 9 my step dad had had enough of our grinchy xmases and went out and shopped for gifts for us kids. Since he'd been divorced from my Mom for 3 yrs, he hid all the gifts in this massive closet he had in his apartment. Somehow he and Mom got into a big fight about it. He was "showing her up". So she went out and bought us a ton of presents too.
For the very first time ever, we woke on xmas morning to our livingroom literally piled high with presents. I was so excited and thrilled!! I thought I'd FINALLY been good enough for Santa to come!
My sibs got so sick of me praising Santa they had to ruin it by telling me my stepdad did it, and Mom had joined in to spite him.

Still, it is my ONLY happy memory of xmas. Actually, it's pretty much the only memory I have of xmas.

Sort of sad when you write it out. *sigh*

I know that's why Christmas and Santa became such a HUGE deal in our home as my kids were growing up. I bent over backward to make xmas a memorable and happy season. And Santa NEVER failed to show up. Oh, they might not have always gotten everything they wanted.....But Santa never forgot them, and they usually got at least some of what they'd asked him for.

:santa:

 

[flutterbee]

Oh, Lisa, Santa IS real. That year, he was your step-dad.

I was in the second grade. My brother was in the sixth and had just found out and had to ruin it for me, too.

easy child's last year believing was in the 6th grade. And he was truly crushed when he found out. He likes to believe.

difficult child's last year was the 6th grade, also. Although, I'm pretty sure she knew, or at least strongly questioned, before that, but was also smart enough to know that if there is no Santa maybe she wouldn't get as many things. Her mama didn't raise no dummy. :wink:

 

[Star*]

I'm an E......Santa is the Spirit of Giving and spirits are eternal.

At least that's what I was raised to believe. :santa:

 

[meowbunny]

Santa never came to our house. Dad was Jewish, Mom was Catholic. We had Chanukah. We had Christmas. Both were religious celebrations. There were gifts galore but they were from our parents, family, friends.

I did ask why Santa didn't come to our house and Mom told me that Santa was a wonderful fairy tale and she wanted us to learn that gifts came from the heart. (She was a firm believer in the absolute truth -- no Santa, no Tooth Fairy, no monsters under the bed allowed ...). Strangely, I didn't miss Santa not coming but I think I missed the magic.

Santa comes to my house. When my daughter was younger, the gifts under her stocking were from Santa. The ones under the tree weren't. Santa had special paper, gift tags not in Mom's handwriting -- the whole 9 yards. She found out there was no Santa when she was around 9. However, Santa still gives her one gift and still fills her stocking.

 

[hearts and roses]

Haha-I was an aunt at 6 also!

The answer to the original question...probably around 6 but my earliest memory of KNOWING that a large elf did not sneak into my house and deliver the goods was at about 9 when my older sister took me downstairs and showed me my only gift under my mom's bed.

 

[Shari]

I'm with Star, and E.

I can remember looking up santa in the encyclopedias when I had to have been maybe 7. But I was stuck on "mythological" and we didn't have a dictionary! lol

So I asked my grandma cause she would always tell the truth (she was a mennonite). And she gave me the "Santa's spirit lives on and on" and then we baked cookies and snuck them to the doorsteps of her elderly neighbors.

 

[weatheringthestorm]

I was around 6-7 when I found out. But until I left home Santa always gave me a little something.

My difficult child figured it out by age 8. My easy child is almost 13, in 7th grade and I suspect he still believes. I'm not one hundred percent sure he isn't just humoring me, but my husband and I think he believes. A couple of years ago all the kids at school were saying Santa didn't exist. He came home and told me about it. Then he said that he and his friend had talked about it and decided that there HAD to be a Santa!

Is it normal for a 7th grader to still believe? If nothing else it makes it fun.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

 

[svengandhi]

I was raised not to believe in Santa, but I bought the story of Hanukah Harry in his white Cadillac till I was about 8. I sold it to my oldest till about that age, but once the cat was out of his bag, the ages kept falling. Youngest is now 8 and he hasn't believed for about 4 years.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

I was 5.

First, a rotten cousin told me. I questioned mom, and she assured me that he was wrong, but I wasn't so sure. Shortly thereafter, I lost a tooth. I put it under my pillow, and I'm guessing that my mom had no quarters. In the morning, my tooth was gone but instead of a quarter, there was a note that said "Sorry I could not make it because of the storm. I will come tomorrow." I asked her how she left the note if she did not come.

Mom was caught! Her face turned red and she started laughing. She had to tell me the truth. She could not come up with a good enough fib. I asked her if my cousin WAS telling the truth after all. She folded! She confessed everything! I have it on tape. I don't know if it will hold up in court, but I got it.

I was real good about not telling my brothers, either.

Copper believed, like FOREVER. Till she was 10 or so. Tink, I bet this is her last year. Mom's instinct.

 

[Sue C]

Can you believe my Second Grade teacher told the entire class right before Christmas that there was no Santa and no Easter Bunny????!!!! I was so upset. I ran home and asked my mom if it was true, and she said yes. I was so sad. So, the last time I got to believe, I was only 6 years old.

Sue

 

[DammitJanet]

I had to be told the truth really early because I was terrified of the big scary fat man breaking into my house...lol. I must have been 3 or 4 years old. Once my parents explained that it was a myth and where it came from and how there couldnt possibly be the same Santa at every store and all that jazz, I was much better!

They said the spirit of Santa came through the parents. Ok, I could buy that one and be Ok. As long as no one broke into my house.

Now my boys swore they believed...well...I dont think they have told me yet that they dont believe...lmao. I always told them that the day they told me that there is no Santa is the day that we dont need to buy any more presents!