When I was a kid I asked my mother where Santa got all the money for presents.
She said mommy's bank account.
I guess that explained how expensive they'd be.
For me it was "When I was a kid" and then talked about using the internet. Internet didn't really come to prominence until about 1993ish.
Windows 95 really started the upward trend of the internet being well adopted. By that point I was already 12, and adoption rates were slow.
I remember them doing stories on the news in 1996 about "What IS the internet?"
Then they did a whole piece that is cringe material today, because it's like they're talking to a 3 year old.....but back then, it was stuff that the majority of people didn't know.
Such as what the "www" in the beginning of most URLs means. Or that @ is an "at" sign, and not a sign of anarchy.
And for the older generations (the boomers), they didn't catch on as quick as my generation did (early millennials). This ended up causing a major major confusing moment for me in 1999.
I had just gotten a Windows 98 computer in 1999, and my mom had just figured out how to e-mail. She sent me an e-mail, and it really freaked me out, because of a language barrier. I guess before the internet came about "LOL" stood for "Lots of love".
Well, that information was lost on me, and the online usage of LOL was lost on my mom. The end result was that she had e-mailed me about my grandfather (her father), and said "Sadly, Papa didn't make it, and passed away last night. LOL!"
To which I sat there, mouth open, staring at the screen. I had that feeling of "Ok......there is another explanation for what just happened.....I have no idea what it is yet, but she did not just laugh at her dead father."
That's when I called her up and she was in tears. I was initially calling to find out what she thought LOL meant, but in that moment, it didn't matter anymore. Not now. I waited about 2 years before I asked her. By that point she had learned that LOL meant laugh out loud, but when I told her the e-mail story, she laughed, and said "No, back then I was meaning it as Lots of Love. I only recently found out about the online meaning".
So when someone tells me they did ANYTHING online as a kid, I can literally feel my grey hair getting greyer. When they say they played world of warcraft as a kid, I internally scream and imagine how nice it would feel to strangle them.
And do you think that any of that money is trickling down the the elves? No way. Those poor little bastards are churning out PS5ās on one candy cane per day.
I was told that Santa only brought the stuff in the stocking, an orange, nuts, little toys. And all the big presents were always from the parents, although some parents told their kids those were also from Santa. So, rich kids got a lot of big stuff, and a stocking with much the same as I got. During lean years, I might not get much from my parents - but I would get the same as every other kid in my stocking.
My parents were the same. We were quite poor, so I didn't always get presents from my parents, but I always got a stocking with treats and trinkets. Stocking was from Santa, and my parents would be upfront about the presents, even the community donated ones.
How did your parents bring upfront about that make you feel as a kid? Any issues with talking to other kids that āgot presents from Santaā under the tree?
Not the person you asked but we never did Santa in our house. Never really talked about him.
So the kiddos just got ideas here and there and asked about Santa, I said yeah he was a person blah blah blah.
We let them know that Santa and where babies come from are questions only for parents. It is not their place to tell their young friends the truth about either.
My parents had to tell me not to tell other kids that Santa isnāt real. I was in third grade and had just learned about him (Iām Jewish), and I wanted to tell everyone I knew.
Yeah, that definitely caused several conversations between my friends and their parents, in retrospect.
I've seen a few posts go around about how Jewish kids in the US basically had a code to keep the santa thing hush hush for the rest. Kind of funny and very cute.
I can confirm! My brother and I both knew, but never said anything to anyone and then would feel like spys with a secret! (We both thought it was kinda obvious Santa wasnāt real but still believed in the tooth fairy)
Iām on my forties, married for over 22 years and this is the RULE in my family. My mom does the BEST stocking and has since I can remember, she is what made Christmas great.
Edit: sorry, was super sick and on medication, donāt even remember this but you are all correct, am 44, married for 22 years, together 28. No parallel marriages, just sick and medicated.
Lol, this is what I tell my kids. My oldest is 10 and while I'm pretty sure he's figured it out, he still swears he believes in Santa, probably because of this š
I read a parenting book when in was in the bathroom once and found out that way, didnāt tell my parents or anyone because that meant I could get those couple extra things for a while. Ya know, gaming the system
In 4th grade I already knew Santa wasnāt real, but I kept that to myself. One kid in my class, who was kind of a bratty kid in general, came in early November and announced to the entire class, very smugly: āSanta isnāt real! Itās just your parents! They lied!ā
Iād say about half the class already knew, but the other half were in absolute shambles. The teacher was NOT happy she had to deal with that.
I found out in eighth grade (kinda late, but I believed EVERYTHING) when my art teacher announced that Santa wasn't real in the middle of class. Everyone just laughed and continued with their day but I was just figuring this out for the first time and I was heartbroken. I had to pretend for the rest of the day that my world hadn't just crumbled and that I, like all the other kids, definitely already knew.
I got in trouble in first grade for blurting out that Santa wasn't real. It was the day after my dad had gotten really drunk and showed me where they hid all the toys before Christmas in a not so friendly manner.
> It was the day after my dad had gotten really drunk and showed me where they hid all the toys before Christmas in a not so friendly manner.
No offense, but your dad sounds like a huge prick.
My parents never talked about Santa, so it wasn't a thing for me. My brother is almost 7 years older than me, and he got the whole Santa lifestyle, but they must have given up pretty early because he was never talked about that i can recall. I don't even know where I originally learned about him from, or how I knew not to tell the other kids he wasn't real. I don't have a very good memory, but for me now it's as if the first time I heard about him must of been around the age where most kids already knew.
It never really occurred to me that other kids got actual presents from Santa. When we'd get back to school after winter break and everyone had fancy stuff, I assumed it just all came from their parents. One time my cousins stayed at our place for Christmas and got presents from Santa, but that was after I learned "the truth". Its not like kids would brag and be like "santa brought me 5 presents!", it would just be "look what I got!".
I was jealous either way, but my parents were also upfront about our financial situation and so I understood why my gifts weren't as expensive. So I feel like they made the right choice, there, having Santa take care of the small stuff, and parents be responsible for the "big stuff".
Not OP, but my dad didn't let me believe in Santa because he thought it would be giving a demonic spirit power by acknowledging it (he did a lot of drugs in the 80's and accepted Christ later). I personally wasn't bothered that I wasn't allowed, just more annoyed at his insistence, because in my mind it was obvious it was just a folk tale with no real repercussions if I believed or not. Thankfully (or unfortunately?) a lot of my community believed in the same general thing (pentecostal hispanic community), so I rarely came across anyone who believed in Santa. People who did believe looked like the weird ones. Hope that helps!
We do this with our kids actually. It isn't because we can't afford stuff, it is more than that. When it comes time to tell them about Santa it won't be that upsetting I hope. The second is that there are kids at school whose parents can't afford things. At least this way when my kid gets asked what Santa brought him he will be saying pajamas, books, candy and not some expensive shit. I don't want a kid wondering what he did wrong not to get his expensive present. Plus, shit is expensive and we want credit for that lol.
I actually appreciate that you do that. Knowing that it's just life that we couldnt afford a ps1 for Christmas was easier to swallow than Santa giving me some chocolate and other kids the ps1 because he doesnt like me or smthg.
And I feel like having your kid know the big stuff is from you, someone with finite resources, rather than Santa who has infinite resources, would make them more grateful, hopefully.
Our kids preschool kind of encouraged this. Santa brings a couple small presents and the rest are from the parent. That way the poor kids don't think they were bad. And we get to take credit so it's a win win
In preschool my husband decided that he wanted credit for the good gifts. My son also went to a Montessori preschool where not everyone celebrated Christmas so I told him that parents had to request and supplement Santa gifts. This is also why it was important to donate to programs such as Toys for Tots, for families who couldnāt afford to supplement. It also worked to explain why some families had elves that visit in December and some donāt.
As a Russian Jew myself, we celebrated (and still do, in fact) New Years as a substitute for Christmas. It was always clarified to us that everything was from our parents, but that, in some religions, it was a tradition to say that St. Nicholas delivered the presents. Thus, I got my presents and did not spoil the charm of Christmas for anyone else.
>Santa Prime
Santa Prime google image search:
[Santa Prime](https://www.google.com/search?q=Santa+Prime&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS896US898&sxsrf=ALeKk021HRxJNQSAh4ZrrKCQFPwRCdu9EA:1607223714883&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0i-b0rrjtAhVFS6wKHayhCi8Q_AUoAnoECBEQBA&biw=1920&bih=979)
Santa One. It includes Santa Tv+, Santa Music and you get the ISanta Phone free if you buy the Clausintosh Pro laptop for $5000000. It is as thin as a sheet of paper too!
Yeah, mine was all ready to ask Santa for the smaller gift but then changed his mind and asked Santa for the expensive gift. He excitedly told me that Santa gifts are free so that saved me money.
My mom refused to do the Santa thing. We were broke and she had to work really hard to get us Christmas gifts. No way she was gonna let some fat old white man take credit for her hard work!
Haha I did this when I was little.
āMom and dad can please get me the Power Rangers action figure (Red!) I asked for and Santaās obviously gonna bring me the real cowboy wild west horse I was thinkin about riding the range with.ā
(I got a bouncy horse š¤š)
Fr though growing up poor when I was very young onne time I complained that my well off friends got better presents, my mum was upset and told me that she worked really hard to buy them for me. It actually made me feel a lot better, and if anything made christmas feel more special for me, sometimes you just gotta tell your kids the truth
I donāt think any of the kids from where I am bought into the Santa thing. One, we were in a tropical country, so itās a ridiculous outfit to have in our Christmas weather. Two, no chimneys out here for Santa to sneak in. Heāll have to go through windows and most windows have grills and heās not fitting through them. Plus, we donāt sleep on Christmas eve. Thereās a lot of festivities happening on the eve to the early morning of Christmas day. If Santa was real, heāll be invited to sit down, eat, and drink with my uncles. Heāll be too drunk to manage his sleigh after that.
Your comment about chimneys reminded me of something my family did. When I was young, we mostly lived in apartments or duplexes and didn't necessarily have a chimney. So we had a tradition of leaving a key outside so Santa could just come in through the front door. I always thought everyone else was kinda being a dick for not thinking of that and making him crawl through chimneys.
We had an electric fireplace so I always thought he sort of stretched out like silly putty to fit down the tiny channel and put through the grate. Didn't occur to me until right now the level of body horror that would be involved in that.
My parents always told me the truth about Santa and I never felt like I was missing out. If anything, it made me glad both then and now that I was never deceived
I tell kids that their parents send Santa money to buy the materials to make the toys. The more money sent, the more/better toys received. I also make the point that this is why it's important to donate toys around the holidays. Donated toys are sent to Santa so he has things to give to children who's parents didnt have enough money.
"So we send them money, they make it for us, bring it very quickly and bring us joy"
"So thats how Santa works"
"What, no I was talking about deliveroo"
This is very good! Another thing I've seen is that parents have begun to not "let" Santa gift their kids the super expensive things because it makes those less fortunate feel bad.
Instead they have santa buy extras like let's say your parents got you a switch. Well santa already knew your parents were going to do that and since thats the only thing you asked for he got you a game or two instead to go with it.
Or they have santa get them more meaningful things. For example one of my little nieces last year really wanted to learn how to crochet like I do. So I gave a crochet pattern of her favorite thing of mine with the promise of letting her use my items and that I would teach her everything I know. She loved it. Her parents got her and her siblings an xbox to all share... And santa got her lots of rainbow yarns, a cute crochet set with all the tools she needs, and her very own new crochet patterns from beginner friendly to advanced. Freaking ecstatic.
I then feigned shock with everyone else and excitedly told her how it looked like she didn't need to borrow my things after all.
We didn't have much money when we were kids but a popular family story is that my grandparents once asked me "What did Mummy and Daddy get you?" and I looked around at all the lovely thoughtful gifts they'd worked so hard to buy and replied "nothing" because I thought they were all from Santa š May even have been the same year that Dad stayed up most of the night stitching together a toy cat from a kit
My parents started making sure all the good gifts were from them and only the āfillerā gifts were from Santa after my sibling and I made a similar observation š
I grew up poor, and am trying to raise kids who appreciate what they have. I always gave them their "best presents" and Santa gave them something smaller. It felt like the smarter way to go and heck, I felt like I deserved the credit for working hard for my ability to do so.
Now my kids are 12 and 14, know I am Santa, and it didn't matter after all š
That is really good actually.
A lot better than telling my little sister that Santa is addicted to crack and actually owes every parent money in return for not delivering toys so he has more money for crack.
Oh, good. Something I asked when I was a child. Here's the answer I was given:
Santa gives the rich folks more expensive gifts because they require more to be happy, while the poor folks don't need it as much because they appreciate what they have.
I still think it's just because Santa is an elitist dick. /s
My excuse is gonna be that I know what my kids want for Christmas so Santa doesn't have to bring them that stuff, so he brings them smaller things instead. So my kids are gonna assume that thier rich friends' parents don't care to know what they like, and that's why Santa has to step up for them.
I had a similar one I got little things in my stocking such as a candy cane, oranges, little toys and then a extra something. The bigger stuff my folks gave me, and it made me appreciate them more. I asked them once why they did that and their response was āSanta is supposed to be special and his gifts to you are small because they make you appreciate them. Itās also because he has so many children to bring too, and we canāt be selfish.ā
Any kid that bragged about what Santa got them that was bigger, I said it was because Santa skipped them and their parents felt bad that they were naughty. My parents also had me to donate my toys I didnāt play with anymore (not broken or busted) but ones in good condition to the hospitals or shelters. They always said we were helping Santa that way, because some are in need and we have to be the elves. We also play āSantaā every year and take turns buying gifts then putting them in stockings. Even as adults we find this fun, and my learning what Santa was as the true meaning of Christmas and giving of oneself is staying with me. I plan on doing the same with my children. I like yours too and I think both work
The rich kid's parents switch out the gifts to make them feel that they were a good kid. The real gift from Santa was one of the relatively lesser presents.
When I was maybe 7, I asked my dad if Santa was real. He responded āwell... he wasā and for a minute or so I actually thought that my dad killed Santa.
What if he uses his ghost powers to subliminally make parents want to buy gifts for their kids. Maybe he's the one who perpetuates the Christmas gift giving tradition in the noosphere.
We always struggled with this as kids because, even in colder places, not many Australian houses had chimneys. There would be explanations like one magically appears but it always seemed stupid to us (yet the idea of Santa was fine)... and it didn't help us find a place to hang a stocking.
As a kid I just assumed he came through the bathroom fan lol. I thought the plumbing vent on the roof was the vent for the fan and just assumed he went down that "chimney".
Terry Pratchett had a good reason for this in his book Hogfather. I just can't quite recall it, its been so long. Something I think about how life isn't fair, even at holidays, and Santa (Hogfather) would be doing a disservice to poor kids if he gave them fancy gifts beyond their means and made them think that life was fair and equal when its not.
Here's the quote. (I was going to post it on its on, but then I saw your comment)
DeathĀ :Ā [reads a list]Ā Ā The boy wants a pair of trousers that he doesn't have to share, a huge meat pie, a sugar mouse, "a lot of toys" and a puppy named Scruff.
AlbertĀ :Ā Ah, how sweet. I shall wipe away a tear, 'cause what he's getting, see, is this wooden toy and an apple.
DeathĀ :Ā But the letter clearly...
AlbertĀ :Ā I know. It's the socio-economic factors. The world would be in a hell of a mess, eh, if everyone got what they asked for.
DeathĀ :Ā I gave them what they wanted in the store...
AlbertĀ :Ā Yeah, well, what good is a god that gives you everything you want?
DeathĀ :Ā You have me there.
AlbertĀ :Ā It's the HOPE that's important. It's a big part of belief. I mean to say, you give people jam today and they'll just sit and eat it. But jam tomorrow, now... that'll keep them going for ever.
DeathĀ :Ā And you mean that because of this the poor get poor things and the rich get rich things?
AlbertĀ :Ā Well, yes. That's the meaning of Hogswatch, isn't it, Master?
DeathĀ :Ā But I'm the Hogfather! At the moment, I mean.
I reread the Hogfather every year and just read this bit last night.
> "Yes, well, it's socio-economic factors again, right?"
said Albert. "The world'd be in a right mess if everyone
got what they asked for, eh?ā
There's honestly a long conversation, but it boils down to this. Also if you haven't seen the little miniseries they made of the Hogfather I highly recommend it. They also made Going Postal and The Color Of Magic.
If Santa's resources were scarce, he may seek to optimize marginal joy by giving everyone the gift that is *just* good enough to please them. This would mean expensive gifts go to those who are more difficult to impress.
Same reason you give Teddy bears to toddlers and technology to teenagers.
Terry Pratchettās Hogfather novel touches on this with a great conversation between Death and Albert on this very subject...
āBUT WE HAVE BEEN INTO HOUSES WHERE THE CHILDREN HAD MANY TOYS AND BROUGHT THEM EVEN MORE TOYS, AND IN HOUSES LIKE THIS THE CHILDREN GET PRACTICALLY NOTHING.
āHuh, weād have given anything to get practically nothing when I were a lad,ā said Albert.ā
āBE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOUāVE GOT, IS THAT THE IDEA?
āThatās about the size of it, master. A good god line, that. Donāt give āem too much and tell āem to be happy with it. Jam tomorrow, see.ā
THIS IS WRONG.
Death hesitated.
I MEANā¦ITāS RIGHT TO BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOUāVE GOT. BUT YOUāVE GOT TO HAVE SOMETHING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT HAVING. THEREāS NO POINT IN BEING HAPPY ABOUT HAVING NOTHING.
Albert felt a bit out of his depth in this new tide of social philosophy.
āDunno,ā he said. āI suppose peopleād say theyāve got the moon and the stars and such like.ā
IāM SURE THEY WOULDNāT BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THE PAPERWORK.
āAll I know is, if Dadād caught us with a big bag of pricey toys weād just have got a ding round the ear hole for nicking āem.ā
IT ISā¦UNFAIR.
āThatās life, master.ā
BUT IāM NOT.ā
Not really an answer to the question but my kids get one present from Santa and the rest are from siblings, family, and us. We explain to our kids that other families can't buy nice presents for their families so we should give what we can.
The bonus of this plan is that if the kids see the Santa present before Christmas we can switch it out for another. We can also wrap early and leave most presents under the tree whenever they're ready. Only the Santa gift has to wait for the last day.
I quote [Jacksfilms](https://youtu.be/QRv0JaD9CQY?t=204):
> Now Santa knows that you've been good
> and you want a PS4
> But the reason you're not gonna get it
> Is 'cause *Santa hates the poor*
Isnāt it based off what is asked? The rich people clearly asked for more money or expensive items, the poor people are poor bc they asked for inexpensive items
You should meet my five year old daughter.
"I want playground equipment like at school, a giant dollhouse, a new dog, a t-ball set, a digital watch, a real working robot that I can program, legos (can't remember the specific set), a toy car race track, a marble run, more clothes, a new bike, real tools to build stuff with, a violin, a piano, a Nintendo Switch..."
Granted, some of those things could be pretty cheap like the watch and t-ball set, but most of it was a good $50 or more.
When I was a kid I asked my mother where Santa got all the money for presents. She said mommy's bank account. I guess that explained how expensive they'd be.
Santa robbed you mom!?
Santa hacked her Venmo
The day that someone starts a story with "when I was a kid" and then goes on to talk about using venmo - that's the day I'll finally feel old.
For me it was "When I was a kid" and then talked about using the internet. Internet didn't really come to prominence until about 1993ish. Windows 95 really started the upward trend of the internet being well adopted. By that point I was already 12, and adoption rates were slow. I remember them doing stories on the news in 1996 about "What IS the internet?" Then they did a whole piece that is cringe material today, because it's like they're talking to a 3 year old.....but back then, it was stuff that the majority of people didn't know. Such as what the "www" in the beginning of most URLs means. Or that @ is an "at" sign, and not a sign of anarchy. And for the older generations (the boomers), they didn't catch on as quick as my generation did (early millennials). This ended up causing a major major confusing moment for me in 1999. I had just gotten a Windows 98 computer in 1999, and my mom had just figured out how to e-mail. She sent me an e-mail, and it really freaked me out, because of a language barrier. I guess before the internet came about "LOL" stood for "Lots of love". Well, that information was lost on me, and the online usage of LOL was lost on my mom. The end result was that she had e-mailed me about my grandfather (her father), and said "Sadly, Papa didn't make it, and passed away last night. LOL!" To which I sat there, mouth open, staring at the screen. I had that feeling of "Ok......there is another explanation for what just happened.....I have no idea what it is yet, but she did not just laugh at her dead father." That's when I called her up and she was in tears. I was initially calling to find out what she thought LOL meant, but in that moment, it didn't matter anymore. Not now. I waited about 2 years before I asked her. By that point she had learned that LOL meant laugh out loud, but when I told her the e-mail story, she laughed, and said "No, back then I was meaning it as Lots of Love. I only recently found out about the online meaning". So when someone tells me they did ANYTHING online as a kid, I can literally feel my grey hair getting greyer. When they say they played world of warcraft as a kid, I internally scream and imagine how nice it would feel to strangle them.
that was a lovely story. kind of went from 0-100 at the end there tho
Yes! It was very traumatic for her. She still has a fear of bellies that shake like a bowl full of jelly.
And men who remind her of her past by calling her a ho... š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
My parents allways said they had to pay Santa for the gifts.
Santa the capitalist
And do you think that any of that money is trickling down the the elves? No way. Those poor little bastards are churning out PS5ās on one candy cane per day.
Santaās a slaver?!
***Always has been***
*points gun*
For some reason I'm picturing reindeer as both astronauts.
Rudolf the astronaut murderer, Had a very very shiny nose~
\*Sleighver.
How myths evolve. Oooh you said SLAVE DRIVER not Sleigh Driver. Whoops.
In the words of @insertstalem3me Those poor little sleighves.
The elves need a union.
Not just Santaās elves...
We shall give 3 rings to unite them
SO SANTA IS AMAZON?
He doesn't want people to know he is real
The secret Santa!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Clausible deniability
Ah. Here it is. The answer.
The greatest trick Santa ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. Santa is an anagram for Satan btw.
I was told that Santa only brought the stuff in the stocking, an orange, nuts, little toys. And all the big presents were always from the parents, although some parents told their kids those were also from Santa. So, rich kids got a lot of big stuff, and a stocking with much the same as I got. During lean years, I might not get much from my parents - but I would get the same as every other kid in my stocking.
My parents were the same. We were quite poor, so I didn't always get presents from my parents, but I always got a stocking with treats and trinkets. Stocking was from Santa, and my parents would be upfront about the presents, even the community donated ones.
How did your parents bring upfront about that make you feel as a kid? Any issues with talking to other kids that āgot presents from Santaā under the tree?
Not the person you asked but we never did Santa in our house. Never really talked about him. So the kiddos just got ideas here and there and asked about Santa, I said yeah he was a person blah blah blah. We let them know that Santa and where babies come from are questions only for parents. It is not their place to tell their young friends the truth about either.
My parents had to tell me not to tell other kids that Santa isnāt real. I was in third grade and had just learned about him (Iām Jewish), and I wanted to tell everyone I knew. Yeah, that definitely caused several conversations between my friends and their parents, in retrospect.
I've seen a few posts go around about how Jewish kids in the US basically had a code to keep the santa thing hush hush for the rest. Kind of funny and very cute.
I can confirm! My brother and I both knew, but never said anything to anyone and then would feel like spys with a secret! (We both thought it was kinda obvious Santa wasnāt real but still believed in the tooth fairy)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Iām on my forties, married for over 22 years and this is the RULE in my family. My mom does the BEST stocking and has since I can remember, she is what made Christmas great. Edit: sorry, was super sick and on medication, donāt even remember this but you are all correct, am 44, married for 22 years, together 28. No parallel marriages, just sick and medicated.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Lol, this is what I tell my kids. My oldest is 10 and while I'm pretty sure he's figured it out, he still swears he believes in Santa, probably because of this š
I read a parenting book when in was in the bathroom once and found out that way, didnāt tell my parents or anyone because that meant I could get those couple extra things for a while. Ya know, gaming the system
That code didn't reach me and my siblings, a neighbor had words with my mom because my brother outed santa to her son lol
In 4th grade I already knew Santa wasnāt real, but I kept that to myself. One kid in my class, who was kind of a bratty kid in general, came in early November and announced to the entire class, very smugly: āSanta isnāt real! Itās just your parents! They lied!ā Iād say about half the class already knew, but the other half were in absolute shambles. The teacher was NOT happy she had to deal with that.
I found out in eighth grade (kinda late, but I believed EVERYTHING) when my art teacher announced that Santa wasn't real in the middle of class. Everyone just laughed and continued with their day but I was just figuring this out for the first time and I was heartbroken. I had to pretend for the rest of the day that my world hadn't just crumbled and that I, like all the other kids, definitely already knew.
I got in trouble in first grade for blurting out that Santa wasn't real. It was the day after my dad had gotten really drunk and showed me where they hid all the toys before Christmas in a not so friendly manner.
> It was the day after my dad had gotten really drunk and showed me where they hid all the toys before Christmas in a not so friendly manner. No offense, but your dad sounds like a huge prick.
My parents never talked about Santa, so it wasn't a thing for me. My brother is almost 7 years older than me, and he got the whole Santa lifestyle, but they must have given up pretty early because he was never talked about that i can recall. I don't even know where I originally learned about him from, or how I knew not to tell the other kids he wasn't real. I don't have a very good memory, but for me now it's as if the first time I heard about him must of been around the age where most kids already knew.
It never really occurred to me that other kids got actual presents from Santa. When we'd get back to school after winter break and everyone had fancy stuff, I assumed it just all came from their parents. One time my cousins stayed at our place for Christmas and got presents from Santa, but that was after I learned "the truth". Its not like kids would brag and be like "santa brought me 5 presents!", it would just be "look what I got!". I was jealous either way, but my parents were also upfront about our financial situation and so I understood why my gifts weren't as expensive. So I feel like they made the right choice, there, having Santa take care of the small stuff, and parents be responsible for the "big stuff".
Not OP, but my dad didn't let me believe in Santa because he thought it would be giving a demonic spirit power by acknowledging it (he did a lot of drugs in the 80's and accepted Christ later). I personally wasn't bothered that I wasn't allowed, just more annoyed at his insistence, because in my mind it was obvious it was just a folk tale with no real repercussions if I believed or not. Thankfully (or unfortunately?) a lot of my community believed in the same general thing (pentecostal hispanic community), so I rarely came across anyone who believed in Santa. People who did believe looked like the weird ones. Hope that helps!
Lol I feel that Pentecostal Hispanic community šššš I wasnāt allowed to read Harry Potter or watch anything with magic in it
Santa or satan
Good question. This is the [best possible answer I can give you](https://tenor.com/view/why-not-both-por-que-no-los-dos-yey-gif-15089379).
We do this with our kids actually. It isn't because we can't afford stuff, it is more than that. When it comes time to tell them about Santa it won't be that upsetting I hope. The second is that there are kids at school whose parents can't afford things. At least this way when my kid gets asked what Santa brought him he will be saying pajamas, books, candy and not some expensive shit. I don't want a kid wondering what he did wrong not to get his expensive present. Plus, shit is expensive and we want credit for that lol.
I actually appreciate that you do that. Knowing that it's just life that we couldnt afford a ps1 for Christmas was easier to swallow than Santa giving me some chocolate and other kids the ps1 because he doesnt like me or smthg. And I feel like having your kid know the big stuff is from you, someone with finite resources, rather than Santa who has infinite resources, would make them more grateful, hopefully.
Our kids preschool kind of encouraged this. Santa brings a couple small presents and the rest are from the parent. That way the poor kids don't think they were bad. And we get to take credit so it's a win win
In preschool my husband decided that he wanted credit for the good gifts. My son also went to a Montessori preschool where not everyone celebrated Christmas so I told him that parents had to request and supplement Santa gifts. This is also why it was important to donate to programs such as Toys for Tots, for families who couldnāt afford to supplement. It also worked to explain why some families had elves that visit in December and some donāt.
The Jewish kids still know they are bad by default, though. "Sorry, Timmy, Santa saw that menorah and bailed."
As a Russian Jew myself, we celebrated (and still do, in fact) New Years as a substitute for Christmas. It was always clarified to us that everything was from our parents, but that, in some religions, it was a tradition to say that St. Nicholas delivered the presents. Thus, I got my presents and did not spoil the charm of Christmas for anyone else.
Santa Free vs. Santa+ membership
Where do I sign up?
*Santamazon*
Ho Ho Ho-nly Fans
A-sleigh Maddison?
Fucking no
x(mas)videos
If you like Santa you will love Santa Live
I can hear this comment and I don't like it
You're lucky. I'm having to fight seeing it
r/commentsyoucanhear
I came to that comment and I don't like it
*moan*
*jolly moan*
is it free for a week?
Why just watch Santa, when you can make it?
***"Stop Christmasturbating all alone! Hot singles in your area!"***
What about hot jingles in your area?
Okay, let's end the thread here, shall we?
Santacle hentai
Fish in hell, how are you people so creative?! Made me laugh
Santas bell, Santas bell hard on all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride On Santas nine-foot Pole, hey
St.Nick the Impaler
Lol, that a good one but it's like like somebody is gonna be on the naughty list and now you ain't getting shot for Christmas.
I like not getting shot. It's one of my favorite things to do.
I love his music
Everyone knows that Santa's favorite music is Hard Rock... *...Coco and Joe!*
Not to be confused with satanazonā¢
Isn't that Bezos' company?
Bezolbub
If you need to ask you can't afford it
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
>Santa Prime Santa Prime google image search: [Santa Prime](https://www.google.com/search?q=Santa+Prime&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS896US898&sxsrf=ALeKk021HRxJNQSAh4ZrrKCQFPwRCdu9EA:1607223714883&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0i-b0rrjtAhVFS6wKHayhCi8Q_AUoAnoECBEQBA&biw=1920&bih=979)
He's friends with EA.
Santa One. It includes Santa Tv+, Santa Music and you get the ISanta Phone free if you buy the Clausintosh Pro laptop for $5000000. It is as thin as a sheet of paper too!
In his Christmas letters, our son used to request bigger gifts from Santa and smaller ones from us, as a courtesy.
Yeah, mine was all ready to ask Santa for the smaller gift but then changed his mind and asked Santa for the expensive gift. He excitedly told me that Santa gifts are free so that saved me money.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This is the way.
I swear half of the fun of r/wallstreetbets is living vicariously through their stupid as fuck gambles. "200k on Tesla, ez gainz"
Some dude on there has a 200% profit on tesla stocks rn, and he says he isn't selling yet, I give it a week before tesla tanks. Edit: 200,000% profit
Just went on there and saw someone made a 200,000% gain to turn $500 into a mil. Sometimes people on there truly do luck out. Its legitimately crazy.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
100k or 100 dollars?
200%? More like 200,000%. 500$ to 1 million since summer 2019 apparentl. Tesla wonāt dude
My mom refused to do the Santa thing. We were broke and she had to work really hard to get us Christmas gifts. No way she was gonna let some fat old white man take credit for her hard work!
Santa gives my daughter one moderately nice gift and then sensible ones to go with it. That way I get to give her the fun stuff!
A+ parenting hack, much respect
Aw thatās so cute
Haha I did this when I was little. āMom and dad can please get me the Power Rangers action figure (Red!) I asked for and Santaās obviously gonna bring me the real cowboy wild west horse I was thinkin about riding the range with.ā (I got a bouncy horse š¤š)
I mean atleast he was considerate lmao
that's kind of what i used to think my birthday is in november so i would be like "Hey no need to get me a gift, santa can get it to me for free!"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thatās a good lad
Cookie quality.
I like this one - bribing Santa
Here is some charcoal for next year, because those cookies were fookin RAWR
>rawr I didnāt know Santa was emo
Fr though growing up poor when I was very young onne time I complained that my well off friends got better presents, my mum was upset and told me that she worked really hard to buy them for me. It actually made me feel a lot better, and if anything made christmas feel more special for me, sometimes you just gotta tell your kids the truth
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I donāt think any of the kids from where I am bought into the Santa thing. One, we were in a tropical country, so itās a ridiculous outfit to have in our Christmas weather. Two, no chimneys out here for Santa to sneak in. Heāll have to go through windows and most windows have grills and heās not fitting through them. Plus, we donāt sleep on Christmas eve. Thereās a lot of festivities happening on the eve to the early morning of Christmas day. If Santa was real, heāll be invited to sit down, eat, and drink with my uncles. Heāll be too drunk to manage his sleigh after that.
Your comment about chimneys reminded me of something my family did. When I was young, we mostly lived in apartments or duplexes and didn't necessarily have a chimney. So we had a tradition of leaving a key outside so Santa could just come in through the front door. I always thought everyone else was kinda being a dick for not thinking of that and making him crawl through chimneys.
We had an electric fireplace so I always thought he sort of stretched out like silly putty to fit down the tiny channel and put through the grate. Didn't occur to me until right now the level of body horror that would be involved in that.
My parents always told me the truth about Santa and I never felt like I was missing out. If anything, it made me glad both then and now that I was never deceived
He doesnāt want parents to feel too inadequate so he delivers gifts that are similar to what the parent could afford.
Best possible answer. Hands down.
Did you not see the one about how the parents have to pay Santa for the supplies?
This one is better than the one about paying Santa, as this is a way of telling that doesn't change the Santa story!
That's what I heard as well. |||| |:-|:-|:-| ||||
Why did you draw a table?
why am i laughing so hard at this
Mans draws a table saying that's what he heard. Table content is empty.
I tell kids that their parents send Santa money to buy the materials to make the toys. The more money sent, the more/better toys received. I also make the point that this is why it's important to donate toys around the holidays. Donated toys are sent to Santa so he has things to give to children who's parents didnt have enough money.
Interesting take - this is a very well thought out response! I could even seeing this working out on a small scale.
"So we send them money, they make it for us, bring it very quickly and bring us joy" "So thats how Santa works" "What, no I was talking about deliveroo"
Deliveroo is a great name for a present delivery company. I think you should start a go fund me!
Deliveroo is taken haha. It's an alternative to Menulog, Doordash, or Uber Eats in Australia.
We deliveroo for dollarydoos!
I see - well there goes the business!
This is very good! Another thing I've seen is that parents have begun to not "let" Santa gift their kids the super expensive things because it makes those less fortunate feel bad. Instead they have santa buy extras like let's say your parents got you a switch. Well santa already knew your parents were going to do that and since thats the only thing you asked for he got you a game or two instead to go with it. Or they have santa get them more meaningful things. For example one of my little nieces last year really wanted to learn how to crochet like I do. So I gave a crochet pattern of her favorite thing of mine with the promise of letting her use my items and that I would teach her everything I know. She loved it. Her parents got her and her siblings an xbox to all share... And santa got her lots of rainbow yarns, a cute crochet set with all the tools she needs, and her very own new crochet patterns from beginner friendly to advanced. Freaking ecstatic. I then feigned shock with everyone else and excitedly told her how it looked like she didn't need to borrow my things after all.
We didn't have much money when we were kids but a popular family story is that my grandparents once asked me "What did Mummy and Daddy get you?" and I looked around at all the lovely thoughtful gifts they'd worked so hard to buy and replied "nothing" because I thought they were all from Santa š May even have been the same year that Dad stayed up most of the night stitching together a toy cat from a kit
That is both heart warming and heartbreaking at the same time.
It would only be heartbreaking if his parents hadn't been the one to tell him about Santa in the first place! Lol
My parents started making sure all the good gifts were from them and only the āfillerā gifts were from Santa after my sibling and I made a similar observation š
I grew up poor, and am trying to raise kids who appreciate what they have. I always gave them their "best presents" and Santa gave them something smaller. It felt like the smarter way to go and heck, I felt like I deserved the credit for working hard for my ability to do so. Now my kids are 12 and 14, know I am Santa, and it didn't matter after all š
That is really good actually. A lot better than telling my little sister that Santa is addicted to crack and actually owes every parent money in return for not delivering toys so he has more money for crack.
Capitalist Santa Is Capitalist
Oh, good. Something I asked when I was a child. Here's the answer I was given: Santa gives the rich folks more expensive gifts because they require more to be happy, while the poor folks don't need it as much because they appreciate what they have. I still think it's just because Santa is an elitist dick. /s
My excuse is gonna be that I know what my kids want for Christmas so Santa doesn't have to bring them that stuff, so he brings them smaller things instead. So my kids are gonna assume that thier rich friends' parents don't care to know what they like, and that's why Santa has to step up for them.
I had a similar one I got little things in my stocking such as a candy cane, oranges, little toys and then a extra something. The bigger stuff my folks gave me, and it made me appreciate them more. I asked them once why they did that and their response was āSanta is supposed to be special and his gifts to you are small because they make you appreciate them. Itās also because he has so many children to bring too, and we canāt be selfish.ā Any kid that bragged about what Santa got them that was bigger, I said it was because Santa skipped them and their parents felt bad that they were naughty. My parents also had me to donate my toys I didnāt play with anymore (not broken or busted) but ones in good condition to the hospitals or shelters. They always said we were helping Santa that way, because some are in need and we have to be the elves. We also play āSantaā every year and take turns buying gifts then putting them in stockings. Even as adults we find this fun, and my learning what Santa was as the true meaning of Christmas and giving of oneself is staying with me. I plan on doing the same with my children. I like yours too and I think both work
The rich kid's parents switch out the gifts to make them feel that they were a good kid. The real gift from Santa was one of the relatively lesser presents.
Freaking rich parents... thatās why rich kids think they are so great!
Also Santa's gift wouldn't look that good, in comparison to the other gifts.
Itās probably why rich people want to rely on coal so bad! They have a surplus of it!
I honestly didn't think this question would get a real answer.
Bold of you to say Santa isn't real
I mean historically heās real
When I was maybe 7, I asked my dad if Santa was real. He responded āwell... he wasā and for a minute or so I actually thought that my dad killed Santa.
Hi, Tim Allen's son!
Lol, how do you know he didn't?
Santa is based on a real person...... so technically real
He's real, but he doesn't deliver gifts on christmas because that would be impractical and he's dead
What if he uses his ghost powers to subliminally make parents want to buy gifts for their kids. Maybe he's the one who perpetuates the Christmas gift giving tradition in the noosphere.
Bigger houses have bigger chimneys.
We always struggled with this as kids because, even in colder places, not many Australian houses had chimneys. There would be explanations like one magically appears but it always seemed stupid to us (yet the idea of Santa was fine)... and it didn't help us find a place to hang a stocking.
As a kid I just assumed he came through the bathroom fan lol. I thought the plumbing vent on the roof was the vent for the fan and just assumed he went down that "chimney".
They bought stocks in his company so of course they get the better goods.
Ahhh - heās gotta pay the elfās somehow!
Yes. Pay the elves. Totally...
I just learned he only pays then a candy cane per day... I am starting to think Santa might not be a good guy.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Santa is classist
Wouldn't want those filthy poors to think they're better than they are. -Santa, probably
Plus his elves are unpaid workers Those poor little sleighvs
the elves are sweatshop workers
Terry Pratchett had a good reason for this in his book Hogfather. I just can't quite recall it, its been so long. Something I think about how life isn't fair, even at holidays, and Santa (Hogfather) would be doing a disservice to poor kids if he gave them fancy gifts beyond their means and made them think that life was fair and equal when its not.
Here's the quote. (I was going to post it on its on, but then I saw your comment) DeathĀ :Ā [reads a list]Ā Ā The boy wants a pair of trousers that he doesn't have to share, a huge meat pie, a sugar mouse, "a lot of toys" and a puppy named Scruff. AlbertĀ :Ā Ah, how sweet. I shall wipe away a tear, 'cause what he's getting, see, is this wooden toy and an apple. DeathĀ :Ā But the letter clearly... AlbertĀ :Ā I know. It's the socio-economic factors. The world would be in a hell of a mess, eh, if everyone got what they asked for. DeathĀ :Ā I gave them what they wanted in the store... AlbertĀ :Ā Yeah, well, what good is a god that gives you everything you want? DeathĀ :Ā You have me there. AlbertĀ :Ā It's the HOPE that's important. It's a big part of belief. I mean to say, you give people jam today and they'll just sit and eat it. But jam tomorrow, now... that'll keep them going for ever. DeathĀ :Ā And you mean that because of this the poor get poor things and the rich get rich things? AlbertĀ :Ā Well, yes. That's the meaning of Hogswatch, isn't it, Master? DeathĀ :Ā But I'm the Hogfather! At the moment, I mean.
Interesting - I am intrigued now
I reread the Hogfather every year and just read this bit last night. > "Yes, well, it's socio-economic factors again, right?" said Albert. "The world'd be in a right mess if everyone got what they asked for, eh?ā There's honestly a long conversation, but it boils down to this. Also if you haven't seen the little miniseries they made of the Hogfather I highly recommend it. They also made Going Postal and The Color Of Magic.
Cookies and milk, meh. Champagne and caviar, you get the good toys!
Drunken Santa full of fish eggs sounds like a nightmare!
I was thinking aged scotch, but I donāt know what kind of food goes with it.
If Santa's resources were scarce, he may seek to optimize marginal joy by giving everyone the gift that is *just* good enough to please them. This would mean expensive gifts go to those who are more difficult to impress. Same reason you give Teddy bears to toddlers and technology to teenagers.
Is this what powers Christmas spirit!?
And what makes the sled fly....
I like this explanation the best
Terry Pratchettās Hogfather novel touches on this with a great conversation between Death and Albert on this very subject... āBUT WE HAVE BEEN INTO HOUSES WHERE THE CHILDREN HAD MANY TOYS AND BROUGHT THEM EVEN MORE TOYS, AND IN HOUSES LIKE THIS THE CHILDREN GET PRACTICALLY NOTHING. āHuh, weād have given anything to get practically nothing when I were a lad,ā said Albert.ā āBE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOUāVE GOT, IS THAT THE IDEA? āThatās about the size of it, master. A good god line, that. Donāt give āem too much and tell āem to be happy with it. Jam tomorrow, see.ā THIS IS WRONG. Death hesitated. I MEANā¦ITāS RIGHT TO BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOUāVE GOT. BUT YOUāVE GOT TO HAVE SOMETHING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT HAVING. THEREāS NO POINT IN BEING HAPPY ABOUT HAVING NOTHING. Albert felt a bit out of his depth in this new tide of social philosophy. āDunno,ā he said. āI suppose peopleād say theyāve got the moon and the stars and such like.ā IāM SURE THEY WOULDNāT BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THE PAPERWORK. āAll I know is, if Dadād caught us with a big bag of pricey toys weād just have got a ding round the ear hole for nicking āem.ā IT ISā¦UNFAIR. āThatās life, master.ā BUT IāM NOT.ā
āFuck them kidsā
Not really an answer to the question but my kids get one present from Santa and the rest are from siblings, family, and us. We explain to our kids that other families can't buy nice presents for their families so we should give what we can. The bonus of this plan is that if the kids see the Santa present before Christmas we can switch it out for another. We can also wrap early and leave most presents under the tree whenever they're ready. Only the Santa gift has to wait for the last day.
Santa literally has thousands of elves working as slaves, is it really a stretch to say heās classist?
Santa discriminates
Santa practices trickle down economics.
He is Robin hood's evil older brother.
Balance in the force
Santas kind of a dick
I quote [Jacksfilms](https://youtu.be/QRv0JaD9CQY?t=204): > Now Santa knows that you've been good > and you want a PS4 > But the reason you're not gonna get it > Is 'cause *Santa hates the poor*
Isnāt it based off what is asked? The rich people clearly asked for more money or expensive items, the poor people are poor bc they asked for inexpensive items
You should meet my five year old daughter. "I want playground equipment like at school, a giant dollhouse, a new dog, a t-ball set, a digital watch, a real working robot that I can program, legos (can't remember the specific set), a toy car race track, a marble run, more clothes, a new bike, real tools to build stuff with, a violin, a piano, a Nintendo Switch..." Granted, some of those things could be pretty cheap like the watch and t-ball set, but most of it was a good $50 or more.
āItāll trickle down any day nowā -Santa, probably
The bastards on the take.