The holidays alway remind me how we as children believed in Santa, the Easter Bunnby and the Tooth Fairy and oh yes, the Monsters under the bed or in our closets. How old were you when some of these beliefs diappeared? Or have they, I still check under the bed and in the closet. My Santa Claus is usually me now but stopped believing in most of them at around age 10 and have been told that was late. My kids stopped at age 6 or maybe 7....

Funny, I still look for surprises on the kitchen table on Easter morning and under the tree at Christmas.

I honestly believe that, because I never had kids, I never grew up.......still waiting to BE somebody's mother. My mother made things so "real" that I miss those times so much.

I also would not go to sleep without the hall light on. Of course, now, I like it completely dark!

My sister burst the Santa balloon while I was riding my trycicle (sp?) because she felt compelled to tell me he didn't really exist.

When my kids began to question Santa, I told them I did't care if they believed or not I believed and even if he didn't come anywhere else, Santa was coming to our house.

Problem solved.

smile

I was in the first grade when a boy at school named Jimmy told me there is no Santa.
He also told me to go check in closets and under the bed at home. I did, and sure enough there were the presents behind my parents bed! I was so shattered and really hated that boy for spoiling my Christmas. I can still see him today with those overly bulgy blue eyes. I wanted to deck him right there and then but I didn't.

A teacher at my children's catholic grade school went up and down the aisles asking each child if they believed in Santa. This was the week before Christmas when she did this. She then proceeded to tell them how the parents do it, not Santa. I found it ironic of her to do such a mean thing after parent-teacher conferences in which I told her my son still believed. She even commented on how nice that was to hear. Our young priest at that time even dressed like Santa and visited all the classrooms handing out candy canes. Of course all the kids in the higher grades knew it was their priest and not really Santa. To give our priest credit, they gave her the boot later.

[ December 17, 2005, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: ladybug ]

I think I was about 9 or 10 when I found out there wasn't a Santa - found a big pile of gifts in my parents' closet as I recall (!!) and asked Mom about it. I remember during the conversation we had when she explained she and Dad were "Santa", it suddenly dawned on me that if there wasn't a Santa, then there probably wasn't an Easter Bunny....so of course I asked. For many years afterwards though we still hunted for Easter eggs on Easter morning and had Easter baskets. I know my Mom enjoyed all of that as much as we did!

I've come full circle, in that, the whole concept of little people busy working away to make others laugh, way up in the coldest of places, flying reindeers, someone going down chimneys, with real magic, is so outlandish, it is wonderful.... absolutely wonderful.... and on christmas eve, i still search the sky, kinda hoping that maybe, just maybe......

Just prior to one christmas, when my son was 7, he told me he knew there was no Santa. We were leaving for NJ and I told him, well, then I suppose there won't be any presents under the tree for him on our return. I had a friend put all his gifts under the tree while we were gone, and when we came home , and he saw all the gifts, there wasn't a person that could tell him
again, there was no santa. He told everyone there really was a Santa. So cute....

Good for you Sandi and how smart! And Norma, there IS a Santa...always has been, always will be.

Course, I'm also the one who says Elvis is alive and working in Arizona....he is you know.

JJ

Hmmm, JJ, I hate to disillusion you on the Elvis thing, but I happen to know from PERSONAL experience that Elvis is alive and well and living in Tweed, Ontario right here in Canada. It's been a very well-kept secret all these years, but those in the know know that it's true.

Bet you can't find Tweed on the map...that's precisely why Elvis decided to settle down there after - well, you know.