Gransnet forums

Chat

Children and Father Christmas.

(27 Posts)
Grandmabatty Sat 07-Dec-24 13:15:28

Scotland generally calls him Santa, I believe, although I'm happy to be proved wrong. I think believing in Santa is fine, as long as children eventually grow out of it. Perhaps there needs to be a balance? My DD and Dsil tell the boys that the most expensive toys are from them with other ones from Santa. I think that's a healthy approach. There will be children who don't get expensive toys who might wonder why Santa left them out.
I see nothing wrong with a magical world which children and adults can enter.

FriedGreenTomatoes2 Sat 07-Dec-24 13:10:24

Or Santa? (Is that an Americanism?)

When you think back to your first experiences of Christmas, do you really think they would have been improved if your parents had been honest about him? Without that sweet embellishment, there would be no ritual of writing to him, of leaving out sherry and mince pies, of waiting desperately to see if “he’s been” on Christmas morning.

Without the Santa myth, what would Christmas for the average child even be? An arbitrary date when they are finally allowed to play with presents their parents maybe bought weeks in advance. What would be the point?

This also bears on the question of to what extent one ought to be honest with one’s children in general. What, after all, would being “fully honest” really mean?

What do you think?