[TracyJo]

Holy cow... Jordan has been sick for about a week now and as is very bored... She's 7yrs old... Yesterday I had to field the "Momma, where do babies come from?" question but that was nothing compared to the "Momma, do you and daddy buy the presents or do they really come from Santa". Now Mark and I have talked about this, we are very protective of this kid and are not always honest with her... Evenutally she's going to realize that "gay" doesn't always mean "happy"; that there is more involved than falling in love, getting married and then asking Jesus for a baby and a plethora of other 1/2 truths that we've told her... So after talking about this just last week, we decided that if she asked us a direct question, we would answer with an equally direct answer and take it from there. BAD DECISION!
I have her helping me today get things ready for our huge Thanksgiving Feast tomorrow and we have Christmas music playing (it's kind of hard to get into the Christmas mood when it's 80 degree outside). But as she was tearing up the bread to dry out for the stuffing, she popped the question. I chugged another cup of coffee, wishing it was laced with Jack and sat beside her. I asked her what made her ask the question. She told me that she always recognizes my handwriting on the gifts. I tried to fudge and tell her that Santa brings the gifts but I have to wrap and address them.
That didn't fly with her. So I very gently told her that yes, daddy and I buy the presents. She got the most awful look on her little face and started crying, not a good thing since she's had 2 bloody noses today. Here she is leaning over the roaster pan full of bread with tears and snotty blood running down her face (GROSS). She was so upset and thought that I had told her that Santa didn't exist! "No, no, no" I back-track. "Yes, Jordan, There is a Santa Claus! Daddy and I buy some presents but the presents that come from Santa and the reindeer are most certainly from them!!!!"
She's quite content now, sitting on the couch and drawing pictures of a very fat Santa shimmying down a chimney (that we don't have) with Petri and Chihiro waiting patiently in front of the fireplace (that we don't have).
How have you veteran parents handled this?

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

I have not a clue. I knew very young that there wasn't a Santa, because I seen my parents bring out gifts. I remembered the color wrapping and the box sizes. I never said anything because I figured it ment more to them than it did to me. Although they did find out that I no longer believed when I slipped and said something about it. They asked why I didn't say anything earlier, I just told them that it ment more to them than myself. Even still today I get a few gifts from Santa.

Maybe have your husband label the presents or tell her that Mrs. Claus wrote the labels.

Otherwise I don't really know what to say about it though. Those are just my thoughts. When hubby and I have kids we plan to let them believe in it but when they ask us the question about him then we will explain that he isn't real.

 

[Lexus]

Hmmm, poor Jordan!! But poor Mommy more!! Well, the boys never really got too into it, even though Santa brought the BEST of the gifts, they just kinda started say "come on, I know there isn't a Santa" when we'd tell them to ask Santa when they really wanted something. And that was just kinda it, I still give them presents from Santa under the tree though, being that I still GET presents from Santa at my age!

 

[Jedski]

Oh TracyJo, I can just see you trying your best to tell the truth, then cracking under pressure!!! We've all done it, we'll do and say anything, as long as it stops the tears. :sadcry:

I really can't remember if I ever told my two, I think it was just one of those things that they picked up at school. So, I'm obviously not much help!

But, try and keep her belief going for as long as you can, she is still only 7. Though being a girl that usually means 7 going on 19!!!!:help_up_2

P.S. To try and cover your tracks with the handwriting thing, do some nice computer generated labels with artwork. And don't forget to hide the evidence......

 

[frznbuns]

Ok being the old one in the bunch..when my children were little, we would hide their presents at a neighbors that did not have children, and never, ever, wrap the presents that came from Santa..the presents from Mom and Dad and Grandparents, Auntie and sort were wrapped with tags.. As for telling them there was not a Santa.. that question never really came up as we were really good at hiding the toys and I guess the children just figured it out for themselves one day...
I remember my daughter asking about what the tooth fairy did with the teeth that she took.. I told her that if they were nice and clean and pretty and she recycled them and gave them to the new babies. If they were bad she gave them to to the devil... Oh she kept her teeth so clean after that and when she would see a baby with like one or two little teeth, she would be so proud saying Oh Mommy could that be one of my teeth that I lost??
When you are a parent you have to think fast on your feet! When we lived in England back in 1979 my son was about 5 when he asked where babies come from... when I started to talked about love and a man and a woman and babies come from Heaven from God... then he spoke up and said well, that is not what I saw on TV a little bit ago.. Back then on BBC they showed EVERYTHING!!! and he must have caught a live birth.. because he told me a thing or two about where babies come from!!!

 

[Twinkletoes]

oh god that made me laugh ..im not a parent but it brings back memories from when i was a kid..i cant remeber the exact moment when i realised father christmas didnt exist but i remeber routinely putting out the carrot , brandy and mince pie for father christmas ..thinking back my mum& dad always put the presents under the tree in front of us christmas eve and then said that father christmas was going to bring a special one ( it was always the present top of my wish list lol) ..i was always told that father christmas didnt have room in his sack for all the presents so he just gave each child one present as thats all he had room for..well it worked for me and i remember flying down the stairs to get the special present from Father xmas