# How You Found out There's no Real Santa Claus

Category: Let's talk

## Post 1 by ApplePeaches (If the zone bbs was a drug, I'd need rehab.) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 16:39:54

So I wasn't really sure where to put this, but if it's on the wrong board,
please feel free to move it.
As little kids, parents tell us that Santa is coming, and you do things to
prepare. You bake cookies for him and leave food for the reindeers. You
go to the mall and sit on his lap. You get a picture with him, and you tell
him everything you want for Christmas. You write him a letter, and write
North Pole on the envelope. Then of course, if you are bad, your parents
may threaten to call Santa and tell him not to come, use elf on the shelf
which I will explain later what that is, or you might get cole. Your parents
also tell you that Santa is watching you all the time, and if you aren't
sleeping on Christmas Eve night, you won't get presents. Now elf on the
shelf (for those of you who don't know) is a doll that sits on a shelf and he
or she reports to Santa every night how you were acting during the day.
Every morning, he moves to a different spot and the kids will go find him or
her. At some point, the news is broken to kids that Santa isn't real
whether they find out at church, stop believing at a certain point, find out
through friends or word of mouth, or their parents sit down with them and
have a discussion with them about it. Now here are my questions to you
all. I thought that with Christmas coming, it would be fun to answer these
questions and share our Santa stories with one another.
How did you find out that Santa wasn't real? Did you stop believing at one
point or did you find out through word of mouth?
When you were bad, what would your parents do to get you to listen so
Santa would bring you presents?
When you asked your parents what Santa does on the days leading to
Christmas and during the year, what would they tell you?
How did you tell Santa what you wanted for Christmas?
What things would you do the night before Christmas to prepare for Santa?
What was Christmas morning like? Describe a typical Christmas morning in
your house as a child. Were you waking up your parents, anxious to open
presents? Would you start without them?
Would you open presents at midnight on Christmas Day or wait until you all
were up for the day?
What was Christmas like in your house after opening presents? Did you
open every toy and start playing with it? Describe a typical Christmas
morning after you opened your goodies from Santa.
My responses to these questions will be below, and I look forward to
reading yours!
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!

## Post 2 by ApplePeaches (If the zone bbs was a drug, I'd need rehab.) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 16:59:12

How did you find out that Santa wasn't real? Did you stop believing at one
point or did you find out through word of mouth?
It was the night before Christmas Eve. My brother and I were staying with
my dad. My brother already knew the news because he found out at
church. So we all were in my dad's bedroom sitting on the bed when my
dad asked me a question.
"How do you think Santa gets all of his presents around the world in one
night? he asked me.
"He has a big sac that hangs on his sleigh and he rides around delivering
them, and his elves help him and his reindeers pull the sleigh," I answered.
That was when he told me there was no Santa. The Santa thing is just a
legend. I asked him where you get your presents, and he said from your
parents. He then told me that if you're bad you just don't get presents.
He also told me that when you go to parties or the mall to sit on Santa's
lap, it's just a man dressed up as Santa. He asked me if I was ok with
that, and I was. I had to find out at some point because if I have kids, I
would have to know so I wouldn't expect some guy to come drop off
presents. My mom wasn't happy that he did that, but I had to know one
way or another. I probably would have figured it out at one point as it's
impossible to travel the world in one night.
When you were bad, what would your parents do to get you to listen so
Santa would bring you presents?
My mom would just say if you don't listen, I'm calling Santa Claus. She
would also say I'm going to call Santa and tell him not to come.
When you asked your parents what Santa does on the days leading to
Christmas and during the year, what would they tell you?
This is funny and creative. My mom told me that he makes toys out of
recycleables, and during the year, he rests since he is tired from all of the
toy making and traveling.
How did you tell Santa what you wanted for Christmas?
At parties when I would sit on his lap, I would tell him, and he said I'll see
what I can do. I also would write a Christmas list and read it out loud,
hoping he would hear me.
What things would you do the night before Christmas to prepare for Santa?
We left out a plate of cookies.
What was Christmas morning like? Describe a typical Christmas morning in
your house as a child. Were you waking up your parents, anxious to open
presents? Would you start without them?
Oh, there was loads of excitement on Christmas morning. I wouldn't be
able to sleep lol! I never sleep late on Christmas. I sometimes would be
the first one up waiting to open presents. One year we spent Christmas
with one of my mom's boyfriends, and on Christmas morning (we stayed
overnight) my brother and I went into the bedroom where they were
sleeping, and we woke them up to open presents. Of course it didn't work;
they got up when they were ready.
Would you open presents at midnight on Christmas Day or wait until you all
were up for the day?
We waited until morning. I don't think opening presents at midnight is a
good idea because all the kids are going to want to do is play with their
new toys and they won't go to bed.
What was Christmas like in your house after opening presents? Did you
open every toy and start playing with it? Describe a typical Christmas
morning after you opened your goodies from Santa.
I honestly don't remember, but I think I opened one toy at a time so it was
easier to keep track of stuff. Then my mom would make a nice Christmas
breakfast. After breakfast we got ready for the day and went to see
family.
I forgot to ask this question, but also thought it's a good one. Describe
one of your favorite Christmas memories. It doesn't necessarily have to be
pertaining to Santa; it could be anything.
I think my favorite was the one I was describing before when my brother
and I woke up my mom and her boyfriend because we wanted to open
presents. My brother and I went downstairs and I said I didn't think they
would get mad, and they heard us talking.

## Post 3 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 17:42:55

Meanwhile, the office dyslexic creates quite the stir when they send out an all-staff memo inviting everyone to participate as a Secret Satan.

## Post 4 by SilverLightning (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 17:44:15

Wait, santa's not real? what the fuck!

## Post 5 by forereel (Just posting.) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 17:57:49

I still believe in Santa Claus. I’ve never stopped. Smile.
Santa is love.
My mom was as bad as we were getting us excited about it.
She and my older sister would sing the Santa Claus is coming to town song, and play Christmas music the season.
I still do this.
We never did anything special for Santa, but Santa worked on Christmas eve assembling toys, bikes, and such.
We’d open things the morning, and eat a breakfast, stay home, eat a big dinner. We didn’t go out much especially if weather was bad. People would usually come to us.
We opened everything all at once as a family. Messy, but fun. Lol

## Post 6 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 18:14:29

Fine times indeed!

## Post 7 by Blue Velvet (I've got the platinum golden silver bronze poster award.) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 18:41:07

Yep, I left out cookies and milk for Santa and carrot and celery sticks for the reindeer. If I woke up late at night and could tell my mom was still up, I'd come halfway down the stairs and ask if Santa had been there yet. I loved Christmas and held on to that belief for as long as possible. Then finally one year when I was 99.9% sure there was no Santa, I finally asked my mom to tell me the truth, all the time hoping she would say Santa was real,. But she told me he wasn't. I tried to hide my disappointment. But by the next Christmas I was fine and was even more appreciative of my gifts because I knew my mom had spent her hard earned money and that the gifts did not come from some magical being.

## Post 8 by Remy (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 19:03:52

Hahah, thanks Leo. I've referred to him as satan in passing severy times.
I don't recall when I realized. I really can't remember. I jtink it just happened gradually. I don't recall being broken up about it though, for the same reasons above. I wasn't sure if I'd want to tell my daughter, but it's sort of begun on its own. She'll find out eventually, hopefully by inches as I did.

## Post 9 by ApplePeaches (If the zone bbs was a drug, I'd need rehab.) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 20:46:58

Lol yeah I still joke about Santa today I say things like "Maybe Santa will be
good to you" or something like that. When I was little, I thought my presents
really were made of recycleables, but kids think like that when they are told
something like that.

## Post 10 by rdfreak (THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE-BLUE KANGA-KICKIN AUSIE) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 21:31:32

Are you kidding me? You mean Santa is not real? wow. :(

## Post 11 by Shepherdwolf (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Monday, 14-Dec-2015 21:57:52

I found out he wasn't real when I caught my mom and dad putting Christmas presents under the tree. They thought I was asleep, but I'd woken up from a bad dream or something and I could clearly hear them. I think I was seven. Even before then, I hadn't been sure about Santa anymore, but that sealed the deal. I wasn't upset about it. I actually felt a little guilty, truth be told; even that young, I knew my parents weren't wealthy, and I felt a little bad for creating big long lists of stuff. I never got even ahlf the stuff I listed, of course, but I felt a little greedy thinking about how much I'd asked for. I was much more conservative after that.
In our house, our parents asked us for a Christmas list. I wrote mine in braille and then read it to my mom, who transcribed it...ostensibly so she could send it off to the north pole. Heh. My brother was a couple of years younger than I was, and I did my best to keep the knowledge from him even after I'd discovered the truth.
As children, we each got a stocking full of little gifts (candy, chocolate bars, usually a new toothbrush ironically enough, socks, stuff like that). We were allowed to get up anytime in the morning that we wanted (within reason, of course...I think my folks would've objected to Gary and I getting up at four in the morning). We never did though. The earliest I can remember waking up is around six-thirty or so. Anyway, we could open our stockings and (again, within reason) do what we wanted with the contents. This was all done on one caveat: never, ever wake the parents. Let them sleep. They'd usually roll out of bed aroune nine-ish, and between the time we got up and the time our parents got up, we just had to be patient. It was hugely taboo to go under the tree and look at presents at any time, even though I was sorely tempted. Usually my mom would wake up first, and when she did that, she usually kinda helped us wake up our dad a short while later.
It was always very laid-back, but also very exciting. We were eager to open presents, sure, but we were also just happy to be around each other.
As we got older, us kids started waking up later. One morning, in fact, I was the last out of bed...around ten o'clock, as I recall. By that point, Gary and I were both teenagers, and some of the sheer wonder of the day had departed forever. But there was still plenty of excieement and joy left in it, and I'll always look back fondly on memories like that.

## Post 12 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 1:39:27

When my daughter was little I told her that presents weren't ripe yet before
Christmas. You don't want to pick one up and unwrap it because the toy
probably won't be completely there yet. Maybe parts will be missing, maybe it's
just a small version of it like a tiny little Elmo doll not full sized yet. Lol she says
she never believed it, but the trick worked to keep her patient about the
presents.

## Post 13 by CrystalSapphire (Uzuri uongo ndani) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 15:09:43

We always woke up our parents.
I don't know when or how I stopped believing, but I had two babysisters so we kept the secret.

## Post 14 by Liquid tension experiment (move over school!) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 15:57:35

I realized when I was 8 that traveling around the world in one night to every house or apartment was stupid to believe. I told this to my mom, and I think it made her sad, but happy that she didn't have to hide the gifts anymore

## Post 15 by forereel (Just posting.) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 16:02:17

Dear Santa. I'd like to start by saying, the devil made me do it.
That was how I started my letter to Santa this year.

## Post 16 by ApplePeaches (If the zone bbs was a drug, I'd need rehab.) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 19:37:08

Yeah when my brother and I were little, my parents hid our Christmas
presents in the attic. AFter we came home from Christmas Eve at a family
party, my parents tucked us into bed, and then they would go into the
attic to get our presents. My brother heard footsteps above him, so he
thought Santa's reindeers were running around on the roof. I asked my
mom why she didn't put our presents under the tree when we were little,
and she said it was because we believed in Santa Claus
Now, once you all knew your presents came from your parents, did your
parents allow you to open any of your presents early or did you have to
wait until Christmas?
Sometimes my mom would let us open one present on Christmas Eve.
When she wrote the labels, she would put a star next to one we can open.
Like if she got us a nice outfit that we might want to wear on Christmas
Eve, she would let us open it and she would star it so she knew which one
it was.

## Post 17 by Shepherdwolf (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 19:59:35

Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. Usually if we pestered, it was a pretty-much-guaranteed no. But if we didn't, sometimes we could open one thing on Christmas Eve. Usually a nice set of pyjamas, or a new blanket, or in my case once, and audiobook I'd been really hoping for, which was excellent because I fell asleep listening to it and it was awesome.
Our parents did put stuff under the tree for us even when we were younger, but they made it believable by saying that people get each other presents while Santa sorta finishes it off. Not all presents are Santa Claus's domain. So they'd have a few there labelled clearly "from dad" or "from mom" or whatever, and then usually the bigger stuff would stay hidden away till Christmas Eve. After we were nine or so, we sorta figured out the game, and where the bigger stuff was hidden until it could be wrapped, but as far as I know, Gary and I never actually figured stuff out. We saw my mom going into her room with armloads of stuff all wrapped up in plastic or covered in a jacket, then she'd come out bearing absolutely nothing save the jacket. We knew the gifts were in her closet, but we knew better than to snoop. Temptation was there though.

## Post 18 by Shadow_Cat (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 20:50:35

I figured it out when I was about 7. We had an actual wood-burning fireplace with a chimney at our house. I remember wanting to see if I could slide down the chimney, and Mom, of course, told me I couldn't, because I'd get stuck. That got me thinking. I'd always heard Santa was a fat guy with a really big belly. If little seven-year-old me would get stuck if I tried to go down the chimney, then how did a really big guy do it? I had already stopped believing in things like magic, so that answer wouldn't satisfy me, either, which I know is the answer some parents give kids who come up with this question. I proceeded to ask my 13-year-old sister if Santa was real. She stammered and stuttered over the question, because she didn't want to have to be the one to tell me he wasn't, and her hesitation confirmed my suspicions, even though she never actually told me. I confronted Mom about it when she got home. I think she was sad that her youngest child had stopped believing in Santa so early, because of course my older sisters knew the truth by then. I honestly didn't care. Even at seven, I was pretty mad that I'd been lied to. I then started asking Mom about why it wasn't ok for me to lie to her, but it was apparently ok for her to lie to me. LOL. Then it was her turn to stammer and stutter. She didn't quite know how to handle that one.

## Post 19 by rdfreak (THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE-BLUE KANGA-KICKIN AUSIE) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 21:06:57

haha Leo, I love it. :)
I'll remember that for my future kids. :)

## Post 20 by snowflower (Zone BBS Addict) on Tuesday, 15-Dec-2015 21:26:18

Dear Santa, I've been pretty good. Mostley good. Sort of good... Never mind, I'll get my own shit!

## Post 21 by forereel (Just posting.) on Wednesday, 16-Dec-2015 0:58:42

That bad huh? Smile.

## Post 22 by Scarlett (move over school!) on Wednesday, 16-Dec-2015 1:17:04

My sister told my nephew santa isn't real.
His response:
Oh no, mummy's lying again.
We all thought that was pretty funny.

## Post 23 by AgateRain (Believe it or not, everything on me and about me is real!) on Wednesday, 16-Dec-2015 9:56:23

I just figured it out by myself, and I remember when I was younger, I had asked for some very specific things for Christmas, well my mom had to work for Christmas this year, and she let us open our presents early. Stupid me wet looking under the tree to see what santa had brought...there was nothing there.

## Post 24 by Voyager (I just keep on posting!) on Wednesday, 16-Dec-2015 19:22:44

I was so gullible that I believed in Santa until I was about 9 or 10 and my parents bluntly told me he was made up. They explained that Santa, the Easter bunny etc. weren't real and pointed out all the attributes these characters had in common which meant they couldn't possibly be real. my response: "so is God made up too?" They very quickly reassured me that God was real. Of course I believed them, because why would my parents lie to me...again?
At that age I could neither lie nor understand why other people told lies. The thought "I'm being deceived" rarely occurred to me until maybe high school. The definition of "gullible" probably had my name in it somewhere.

## Post 25 by ADVOCATOR! (Finally getting on board!) on Thursday, 17-Dec-2015 11:35:05

I'm really sad. No Santa? Who's going to get me a nice deep fryer for Christmas? What will I EVER, do?!
Hahaha
Someone actually told me that something that "Santa made," was flawed, and I litterally "defended Santa," because, he trains his elves well and... Yeah.
Our parents had it quite easy to tell us about Santa. My stepdad had seen North Pole, Alaska, and convinced me they had Santa's number, and that we'd git a switch for each day of the next year, if we were bad.
After my "Defense Of Santa," I was told. But they at least waited till the next Christmas, to break my heart.
I still hold the idea of giving gifts from Santa in me. And, sometimes, when someone doesn't want me to know who gave the gift, it says:
"FROM SANTA".
It's just too bad, Santa don't give us Power Ball tickets. LOL
Blessings,
Sarah

## Post 26 by LittleSneezer (The Zone-BBS is my prison, but I like it here.) on Saturday, 19-Dec-2015 15:07:29

Christmas Eve and Christmas morning have always been exciting for me and my family. We always see my mother's side of the family on Christmas Eve. My sisters and I were allowed to wake our parents up at seven o'clock. We opened our stockings, had coffee cake for breakfast, then opened presents. Afterward, we got ready for the day, and my father's side of the family came over for lunch.

## Post 27 by forereel (Just posting.) on Saturday, 19-Dec-2015 18:44:34

I don't see why all see Santa as something that brings pleasure to a child to be deceitful.
Sure it is not truthful, but it isn't anything painful once you learn?
Next, it is out of love, not harm?
For that reason I still believe.
Why must the world be so harsh, cut and dry?
For a child up until about 6 or 7 it works, but you soon will get smart, so no harm done.

## Post 28 by ApplePeaches (If the zone bbs was a drug, I'd need rehab.) on Saturday, 19-Dec-2015 22:00:23

Yeah, my mom wouldn't let us open our presents early. One year I asked her
if we could open them on Christmas Eve, and she said no. But then the bad
thing about opening them early is you have nothing to look forward to on
Christmas morning. I was 10 when I found out from my dad that Santa
wasn't real. That was when I knew that the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy
were made up. I just figured it out. Speaking of the tooth fairy, one morning
I was crying because I lost a tooth and she didn't come. I had a full size bed
at the time so I had 2 pillows one next to each other. My mom said to check
the other pillow because she didn't want to wake me by lifting up my head.
And so I did, and there was money.

## Post 29 by forereel (Just posting.) on Saturday, 19-Dec-2015 22:55:04

Yeah. The toothfairy came.

## Post 30 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Sunday, 20-Dec-2015 13:55:17

How many you all used to get the post-Christmas blues the day after? I know
that never made sense to me as a kid, because I generally had toys to play
with, could go outside, etc., so while I had that every single year I never
understood it. People say it's expectations but it wasn't. Something odd. I never
mentioned it because I couldn't understand myself why I would. After all you
have the rest of vacation to play with your toys, run around outside, do what
you want mostly, so that always never made sense, but nearly every year it was
a thing the day or two after lol. Lol a secret I never understood about myself
and so never told anyone else.

## Post 31 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Sunday, 20-Dec-2015 14:10:22

I'll say this much: being a parent dishing out the presents is way more fun than
being the kid getting them. I know I'd never have believed that as a kid, but
watching your kiddies play with their new things is priceless. Not the staged
grateful responses people talk about, I mean just spontaneously doing their
thing.

## Post 32 by forereel (Just posting.) on Sunday, 20-Dec-2015 15:23:27

Yes. It is fun being Santa.
You get joy because you give joy.
It works. Smile.
Don't know about the blues though. I never had it, and my kids seemed to not.

## Post 33 by Shadow_Cat (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Sunday, 20-Dec-2015 16:40:22

Leo, I've never gotten these myself, but I know quite a few others who have, or do. I sometimes wonder if it's because we spend so long, weeks, months in some cases, anticipating this one event. Everything centers around it. And then, it's one day, which often goes by at lightning speed, and bam, it's gone. All this anticipation and build-up to have it go by so fast, all the looking forward to something to have it gone and then life just suddenly returns to normal, sometimes like nothing happened the day before. The only proof that it did is often the gifts you now have that you didn't two days ago. I wonder if that isn't why some get the post-Christmas blues.

## Post 34 by Reyami (I've broken five thousand! any more awards going?) on Tuesday, 22-Dec-2015 15:02:26

I envy people who have their birthday the week of Christmas. while infants can't truly appreciate the presents, as they get older, they figure out that there's more coming when they get birthday presents and things from santa later on,. My birthday is after Christmas.
It's difficult for me to remember exactly when I figured out Santa was not real.

## Post 35 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Tuesday, 22-Dec-2015 21:48:32

My parents had the misfortune of having five of us with December birthdays. So
what we did was each of us had a month during the year when we'd celebrate
our birthdays. I thought that was pretty clever of them, to be honest, and I am
glad that as a kid I didn't have my birthday mixed up with Christmas itself.

## Post 36 by Reyami (I've broken five thousand! any more awards going?) on Wednesday, 23-Dec-2015 3:50:01

five December birthdays? Wow, sounds like one heck of a busy time of year. Great idea. smiles

## Post 37 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Wednesday, 23-Dec-2015 10:04:01

Yeah, I thought it was pretty innovative too. Christmas is busy enough. Lol