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Is Santa silly?

Arran

I'm writing this as someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas in either a religious or cultural sense. From a young age I was told that Santa doesn't exist and is just a silly hoax that parents play on their kids. It never affected me in any bad way and neither was I expecting to find wrapped presents mysteriously appear on the morning of the 25th day of December. If anybody in my family received a Christmas gift then it was usually opened on the same day. A downside to this is that even from the age of 4 or 5 I went round telling kids at school "Father Christmas isn't real, it's all made up, your parents buy Christmas presents from the shops" which often resulted in me getting into trouble whenever they got upset. I once had to report to the head teacher after completely reducing a classmate to tears.

Is the concept of Santa a silly nonsense or is it part of the joys of childhood? Do you tell your own children the truth or would you prefer to go along with the cultural norm? Is pleasing one's classmates more important than knowing the truth? What about children at school who follow different religions so do not celebrate Christmas - where do they fit in?

Parents

  • ...well that makes it really commercial.  You can get bargains if you shop around.  My children don't have x-boxes or Wii etc. but they have a similar type of games console at an absolute fraction of the price.  It just pays to teach your children not to be slaves to labels and to appreciate that paying for a brand name means you get less overall.  Better to get cheaper versions and then you can afford more presents.

    When my siblings and I were little we didn't even give Christmas lists we just got what we were given and we were still excited.  Parents give in to children way to easily these days, if you are brought up correctly you will not bow to pressure for the latest gadgets and brand names, you can still have the magic, fun and excitement on a relative shoestring.  For those who are at poverty's door there are charities that make awards and buy presents for the children.

    Sometimes it's the people who aren't right on the poverty-line so don't qualify for assistance who struggle the most.  Children need to be taught that it "doesn't grow on trees" as it were.  My two have never complained about not having the latest gadgets or anything.

Reply

  • ...well that makes it really commercial.  You can get bargains if you shop around.  My children don't have x-boxes or Wii etc. but they have a similar type of games console at an absolute fraction of the price.  It just pays to teach your children not to be slaves to labels and to appreciate that paying for a brand name means you get less overall.  Better to get cheaper versions and then you can afford more presents.

    When my siblings and I were little we didn't even give Christmas lists we just got what we were given and we were still excited.  Parents give in to children way to easily these days, if you are brought up correctly you will not bow to pressure for the latest gadgets and brand names, you can still have the magic, fun and excitement on a relative shoestring.  For those who are at poverty's door there are charities that make awards and buy presents for the children.

    Sometimes it's the people who aren't right on the poverty-line so don't qualify for assistance who struggle the most.  Children need to be taught that it "doesn't grow on trees" as it were.  My two have never complained about not having the latest gadgets or anything.

Children
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