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Funny Tales and Random Tidbits


Traveler40

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I found this hilarious so share it with you all.  Feel free to add your own tale or two below, we could use a little distraction once in awhile. Happy Thursday!
 

So, my 9 year old last night: “Mommy, the kids took a poll at recess today on who believed in Santa, and I’m the only one who raised my hand.” 🤭

 

He said, "Can you imagine Mommy?  They think you and Daddy bought us those Nintendo Switches, games, hover boards and all the stocking stuff last year! They just don't understand how much that costs and that you could never afford that!  How can they not believe that Santa is real?”

 

(He subsequently turned his closest friend back into a believer by the end of recess...😂)

 

At the same time, another friend had tried to make him understand that Santa, who comes to our annual party, isn’t the real Santa.  He pointed out to my son, “Come on, think about it! Where’s his sleigh?”   My son looked at me and said, “Mommy, really! Can you imagine Santa coming to our house in a CAR? Like he took an UBER here? Right!” 

 

So, thinking on it, I replied, “You should pull on Santa's beard!  That's how you know!”

 

(Of COURSE I’d prepped and planned for this very moment! Our Santa of the past 8 years was the President of the Fraternal Order of the Real Bearded Santa's...)

 

Soon after, my son asked all wide-eyed and in a hushed and shocked tone, "But Mommy, what if his beard comes off?!?"

 

I said, "It won't, he's surely the real deal!  I called the North Pole! Try it!"

 

I wonder how long I can keep it up? 🤔

 

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Follow on: You should know I’m somewhat dedicated to the delusion.  Here’s a bit more color....

 

2 years ago, my 7 year old (same kid) came home from school and announced that Santa wasn’t real. I froze (internally shocked), paused, then casually asked, “Oh really?  Who said that?”  to which he mentioned the child’s name.  

 

Then, without thinking much, I replied, “Well then, I suppose he thinks Jesus isn’t real either?!? 😲”  💥

 

That bought me 2 more years.....😂💪🏼

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How dare you suggest Santa isn't real.

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2 hours ago, Jade Cross said:

Santa isnt real? 😢

Of course he is sweetie. Ignore them, they’re just joking around, okay? :) 

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11 hours ago, Philip027 said:

How dare you suggest Santa isn't real.

Sacrilege, no?  
 

Apparently all of the important action is happening over yonder in announcements. SPFA is largely a ghost town. Shocker.

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I had always wondered how parents handled this..... because a lot of kids are raised to believe in Santa and others aren't. And I thought kids would know from other kids it isn't real even if parents didn't want them to know yet. Interesting convo!

 

Now I want to know how and when parents finally tell them Santa isn't real. And the follow up questions from kid. Asking those who grew up believing Santa to share :P

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14 hours ago, Chihiro said:

I had always wondered how parents handled this..... because a lot of kids are raised to believe in Santa and others aren't. And I thought kids would know from other kids it isn't real even if parents didn't want them to know yet. Interesting convo!

 

Now I want to know how and when parents finally tell them Santa isn't real. And the follow up questions from kid. Asking those who grew up believing Santa to share :P

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but when an older cousin showed me the presents my parents had hidden in the closet and that Santa wasn't real, I sort of felt like my parents ha betrayed me. I was embarrassed / shamed for having  told other kids Santa was real and in a very real way it eroded my trust in my parents.  

 

Sorry this is sort of dark, but its worth thinking about.  I clearly remember seeing the presents in the closet 50 years later. 

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2 minutes ago, uhtred said:

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but when an older cousin showed me the presents my parents had hidden in the closet and that Santa wasn't real, I sort of felt like my parents ha betrayed me. I was embarrassed / shamed for having  told other kids Santa was real and in a very real way it eroded my trust in my parents.  

 

Sorry this is sort of dark, but its worth thinking about.  I clearly remember seeing the presents in the closet 50 years later. 

Aww, I am sorry to hear that. I can see how it can be upsetting to some kids. Thanks for sharing. I dont have much idea about how these things are done, so I can't really judge the parents or children or the society where this is practiced. It is interesting to see how this is practiced and how this is played out :) Hope more people share stories like OP shared and then also the truth revelation stories :) 

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Ah, the magic of Santa.  I both lived and loved it and could never rob my kids of this experience.  There are modern ways to reveal the spirit of Santa to your kids which you can find online. We may do that with my son next year.  Who knows?  My children attend a private school where many do not believe, so the “is he or isn’t he real” conversations are alive.  I hardly think it will come as a shock. In the spirit of things however, I have another great story to lighten the mood:

 

Two years ago, an 11 year old attended our annual Christmas party for the first time.  He had already decided that Santa wasn’t real, but his Mom was holding on tight. So, to prove his point to her, he kept his list hidden and top secret. 
 

Now, this young man happens to be a voracious reader, and Santa always brings a lovely, hardcover book for each child.  However, since his mother never got back to me on what to get him that year, he just got the extra I had on hand: The Hobbit.

 

That night, he refused to sit on Santa’s lap and was super shy. When his name was called he basically grabbed his gift, mumbled thanks and got away quickly.  Later, he opened the present in a corner.  His eyes lit up, and he was SHOCKED! Apparently, the first item on his secret list was The Hobbit!

 

He spent the night floating and repeatedly thanked Santa.  His Mom was blown away by how magical it all was.  Tangentially, I’d hired a professional photographer who set up a studio outside with a view of the front yard. 

 

The next morning, his Mom was still glowing as she made him breakfast. She looked at him and asked if he’d finally settled his Santa question, to which he replied, “Come on Mom! We both know he’s not real...”

 

Yeah, she was floored!  How did he go from 60 to zero overnight?!? “What happened?”, she asked. He replied, “Mom, I saw Santa drive away in a Ford.” 😂

 

Magic for a moment though: Never overrated! 😉

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Have you heard of or read Tolkien's own Father Christmas letters he wrote to his children when they were kids? Marvelously hand-written and illustrated, with bits of lore and stories and humor. :) 

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1 minute ago, daveb said:

Have you heard of or read Tolkien's own Father Christmas letters he wrote to his children when they were kids? Marvelously hand-written and illustrated, with bits of lore and stories and humor. :) 

I have not, but will now look for them. Thanks for the tip!

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3 hours ago, uhtred said:

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but when an older cousin showed me the presents my parents had hidden in the closet and that Santa wasn't real, I sort of felt like my parents ha betrayed me. I was embarrassed / shamed for having  told other kids Santa was real and in a very real way it eroded my trust in my parents.  

 

Sorry this is sort of dark, but its worth thinking about.  I clearly remember seeing the presents in the closet 50 years later. 

My mum just randomly said when I was 13 "we have to wait until the other kids are asleep so we can eat Santa's bikkies and drink his milk" :o

 

I do actually still 'believe' in Father Christmas (as an actual historical person, though he's a conglomerate of a few different traditional archetypes and people), but yeah.. Until I was 13 I still thought he delivered presents into our stockings each year. Then mum made me eat his bikkies and drink his milk Y_Y

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Yeah, but weren’t the 13 years of believing lovely?!?  I recall how I found out as well, and it was shocking.  Most from back in the day generally do recall that moment I would assume. It’s a little different now from watching it unfold at my kids’ school.
 

I choose to focus on the magic before I knew, and the subsequent years spent incorporating the tradition and wonder into my own home. 
 

Decorating, traditions, parties and family gatherings make the years chock full of memories. I loved it as a kid and seek to pass those feelings along to our kids. My husband didn’t have that, but he’s learned the value in time.

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I don't want to be a wet blanket, but when an older cousin showed me the presents my parents had hidden in the closet and that Santa wasn't real, I sort of felt like my parents ha betrayed me. I was embarrassed / shamed for having  told other kids Santa was real and in a very real way it eroded my trust in my parents.  

 

Sorry this is sort of dark, but its worth thinking about.  I clearly remember seeing the presents in the closet 50 years later. 

Yeah, I had my moment when I found the gifts under the tree... on December 24th.  And yeah, it also damaged my trust.  Because of that I don't think this is something I could do to my future kids.

 

Quote

Yeah, but weren’t the 13 years of believing lovely?!?

Sometimes what you find out ruins everything that came before.  Kinda like realizing there's a giant penis on the cover of The Little Mermaid.

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1 hour ago, Philip027 said:

Sometimes what you find out ruins everything that came before. 

For some, sure. My brain generally isn’t wired that way as I tend to simply appreciate the good versus focusing on the bad.  It’s all a bit more enjoyable that way I suppose.  
 

Side note: I clicked that link and had to search for the giant penis.  I saw it and almost immediately shrugged. We love the little mermaid in our home, and that’s just a pointless tidbit in the grand scheme of it imho.
 

I don't know, but I steadfastly believe life is what you make of it. If you want better, do better. It’s all a choice.
 

Following that thought process, if you’re one that was scarred by Santa, do it differently or not at all. However, don’t fail to find joy in the seasons (usually through some tradition) as that’s where a lot of life happens. Make it as great as you can! 👍🏻

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Celyn: The Lutening
11 hours ago, uhtred said:

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but when an older cousin showed me the presents my parents had hidden in the closet and that Santa wasn't real, I sort of felt like my parents ha betrayed me. I was embarrassed / shamed for having  told other kids Santa was real and in a very real way it eroded my trust in my parents.  

 

Sorry this is sort of dark, but its worth thinking about.  I clearly remember seeing the presents in the closet 50 years later. 

I had a similar wake-up call, plus I'd never enjoyed the idea of Father Christmas. I was a shy and fearful child who would scream and run away from this big scary stranger and the thought of him breaking into our house terrified me.

 

Not planning on kids but if I was I wouldn't do the Father Christmas thing in a million years.

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My family is JW, so holidays are not celebrated. We had that all explained quite early and told other kids don't know things we know, so try to not ruin whatever lie their parents told them. My parents also told me basic facts about sex, childbirth, etc. So I knew reality and lived in it. 

 

So, I spent my childhood awkwardly trying to dodge around conversations with people my age, to avoid saying babies are born vs found in a cabbage patch. Getting annoyed trying to feign ignorance about what those dogs/cows are doing on top of each other when asked. Finding it ridiculous these kids believed fantasy stories about magic monsters delivering things. And basically quickly decided I could not stand being around people my own age because talking to them was exhausting and pointless, so I quickly went and found adults to talk to and avoided other kids like the plague. 

 

I remember my last attempt at being friends with these two girls I used to play with went something like...

 

"So, my dog... (mental reminder to not say gave birth) I mean I have puppies."

"Oh! How cute!"

"(Mental reminder you cant talk about your dog giving birth or using a warm towel to help her cause your parents werent around) Yeah, they are really cute."

(Girls start talking about how their parents found some babies in a cabbage patch and I slowly moved off to find an adult so I could gush with excitement over helping my dog give birth to her little tiny babies and watching her care for them and express disgust at her eating the afterbirth)

 

Basically, same thing with holidays and presents. "You have a nintendo?!? Did Santa bring it?" Verbal gymnastics to avoid topic and run away to find someone older to talk to so I can stop concentrating so hard on not telling them their parents are making up stories. 

 

I am glad my mom never treated me like such a kid though. I knew reality, read shakespeare with her, had adult history books, etc. I would probably have been annoyed if she had lied to me and tried to make me live in a fantasy world like a lot of kids live in. I get kids and parents find it fun, but I always hated lies, still do. So, I bet I would have been in the felt betrayed camp. 

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Perspective is a beautiful thing.  I suppose it’s just how one grew up and how this journey unfolds for each person.  Santa is an awesome part of our tradition and the kids get so excited as they look forward to the holidays.  
 

Rather than conversational calisthenics, I recall the sense of promise and the warmth of family tradition. Knowing that angle, it’s a privilege to gift it to our kids. Having walked through it differently than those who can’t fathom the fantastic, I can surely say it’s magical.
 

I just hired some carolers and bought the first of the books for the little ones coming to our home at the holidays.  It’s a piece of the essence that makes up our traditions , and the kids are already making their lists. We spent a whole day in Santa’s village last summer and now know what he gets up to in July.  My kids, they are all in on the fantasy, and I wouldn’t change a thing. ♥️

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I have to say that my kids know Mommy never lies. I take honesty very seriously as did my parents. With that said, I started laying groundwork for the reveal years ago explaining that in certain good circumstances deception is part of the deal.  We talked about surprise parties and secrets around celebrations.  We covered the concept of not ruining the surprise to heighten the impact of pleasure.  My kids understand that, and we touch on it periodically.  Our mindset is that the holidays are celebrations, and it is a both an honor and a gift to celebrate in our way, not a lie.

 

Parenting is an awesome adventure, and I hope you all had some wonderful traditions passed down from your parents that provide both warm and wonderful memories when you think about them. That’s really what the best parts of life are, lovely memories.

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Life is definitely what you make of it.  This past year, my husband had a very serious surgery and pulled through wonderfully for which we are all deeply thankful.  Prior to his diagnosis, I was handed a medical surprise from hell and had to work through it mentally and logistically for months. While I eventually wrapped my head around it, I am very type A.  It’s tough having zero control at the end of the day.  My issue is curable, but I will literally need to be put to death for a few hours to fix it.  So, I play time roulette as I consider the outcomes for my kids.

 

In the meantime, I choose joy. My kids think Mommy and Daddy don’t buy them presents as we value experiences over gifts. In time they will learn there’s a bit more color to that picture. I relish the moments that make up our lives. We’ve only got one shot - make it awesome folks!

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34 minutes ago, Traveler40 said:

 

 

Parenting is an awesome adventure, and I hope you all had some wonderful traditions passed down from your parents that provide both warm and wonderful memories when you think about them. That’s really what the best parts of life are, lovely memories.

Our traditions were singing at bedtime, reading shakespeares plays together taking turns reading the parts (my mom began that at like 8? ), road trips to see historical sites (my mom is into murder stories, so was often this is where Ma Barker was gunned down or something). 

 

My mom says me and my brother were born adults. So, we were always calm kids that found kid stuff childish. Reading about Pompeii or Aztec ritual sacrifice at 6-8 years old instead of reading about rainbow fish or arthur having hiccups. But she liked that we were always really well behaved because of it. :lol:

 

So, depends on the family. I teach 5 year olds so I have the kids with the huge imaginations and also the practical kids in class. Practical kids dont find the fantasy life much fun and are more likely to feel upset at the attempt. 

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1 hour ago, Serran said:

Practical kids dont find the fantasy life much fun and are more likely to feel upset at the attempt. 

Thinking on this, I had to chuckle. Santa is but a moment and hardly constitutes a life of fantasy.  As well, both of my kids are quite practical. Now LARPing is beyond me, so there’s that.  😬
 

Furthermore, I’ve never met more well behaved kids than my own, so I’m not sure that doesn’t simply come down to good parenting? 🤷🏻‍♀️

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20 hours ago, Traveler40 said:

Thinking on this, I had to chuckle. Santa is but a moment and hardly constitutes a life of fantasy.  As well, both of my kids are quite practical. Now LARPing is beyond me, so there’s that.  😬

If you believe in magic, which you must to believe in Santa, it is a fantasy world. Nothing wrong with believing in a world of fantasy, but it is seeing the world as a place where flying deer and magical beings are a thing. Which, if that is a thing, it is much easier to believe in other magics, since magic is canon in their world. It's like someone living in Xanth vs Florida, like in Piers Anthony's novels. Same shape... but one has magic and one doesn't. 

 

Which is fine. Often our students who have big imaginations and can believe in magic strongly are better in art and the like than those who have a more logical mindset (need facts to believe things) and don't have much imagination. 

 

20 hours ago, Traveler40 said:

 

Furthermore, I’ve never met more well behaved kids than my own, so I’m not sure that doesn’t simply come down to good parenting? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Heh, to be fair, literally all parents are biased. 😛

 

But, what my mom loved about us being "adult" from birth was not needing to parent much - taught ourselves to read, was just given books from K-12 and never needed her help to graduate (homeschool), cooked for ourselves, she could trust us with large sums of money by 7, was making our own medical decisions by 9 (which, was probably a bad idea, but she let us and we lived so I guess it worked out)... like she parented very little. She worked over night, slept during day so we mostly only saw either parent a few hours and we were home 24/7 - days off were only times she got to hang out with us and that was 2-3 days a week. After age 5 or so we were kind of a lot raising ourselves. No one would likely call it good parenting (she doesn't even). She gave so little attention to our school work that we just stopped studying at grade 3, as long as we passed the end of year final, the government didnt care and neither did she. And my dad was just mostly there as a paycheck, he wanted little to do with us and as soon as they divorced the relationship between us ended and who knows if he is even still alive. 

 

 Good parenting can guide any kid to mostly good behavior. And I didn't say is required for good behavior. My mom just dislikes kids and regularly tells me shes glad she never had normal kids and we were adults from birth, cause she doesn't think she would have had the patience for a normal child. 

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One of the joys I take in having multiple children (which is exhausting, I'm just trying to stay on top of Halloween right now) is that they are so very different, despite having largely similar parenting. It's magical to realize how inherently different people are, and how limited my role is -- to support their growth, but I cannot force it.

 

One child might easily integrate with school and peers, another may need consistent guidance & reminders & nudges coordinated between teachers and counselors and parents. (Our oldest is the latter sort; just on Thursday I was told about bullying behavior he & friends had done -- he's getting to the right place, with guidance, but it's not "natural".) He's not the only kid that struggles in his peers, nor do I think the parents of others are failing to be good at parenting. Eventually the guidance gets there, I hope, but if good behavior hasn't been a struggle I think it's good to be humble about that. There's a large element of chance.

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2 hours ago, anisotrophic said:

but if good behavior hasn't been a struggle I think it's good to be humble about that. There's a large element of chance.

Sure, it’s generally good to be humble about most things. However, I disagree that a child’s behavior comes down to a large element of chance. There may be medical issues that come into play which create frustrations and those are separate issues, but I do believe that given an inherently good and healthy person, behaviors are born from and reinforced by outside influences.

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@Traveler40 i imagine one day most if not all of those kids attending your Christmas celebration will remember you with fond and tender memories.   The  innocence of childhood, before we are all forced to face the harsh & inevitable  realities of adulthood, lasts so briefly.  Those moments were almost as fun for me as they were for my sons!!!  A gift (figuratively and literally) I happily tried to provide for them and wish I had done even MORE now.  
Sad But true that everyone can’t remember those precious early times with the same sense of warmth and understanding.    Thankfully for my  kids, those were bonding moments and happy fun times.   I am quite certain they don’t remember those years as being filled with malicious lies, deprived of educational experiences or or otherwise scarred and betrayed by Santa and Christmas 

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10 hours ago, Traveler40 said:

Sure, it’s generally good to be humble about most things. However, I disagree that a child’s behavior comes down to a large element of chance. There may be medical issues that come into play which create frustrations and those are separate issues, but I do believe that given an inherently good and healthy person, behaviors are born from and reinforced by outside influences.

I have two very different sons, academically and emotionally.   Same parents but very different.   My oldest had been a tremendous challenge academically and behaviorally through his early and teen years.   At many times I admit while I loved him, I didn’t LIKE him!!!.  (FYI- he’s a great, super loving guy now at age 24😊).   So I think there is some element of chance in a way, as to what we get when raising children.  Not to underestimate the importance of consistent loving parenting and stable home life.  What works for one may not work as well or at all, for another.  I found this out the hard way raising my two.  

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4 hours ago, SusannaC said:

My oldest had been a tremendous challenge academically and behaviorally through his early and teen years.

Thanks for the input Susanna.  Perhaps the academic challenge and likely frustration was the outside influence that created the behavior challenges?  
 

All children are different and therefore surely have different needs.  Honestly, I can’t imagine having more than two as meeting all of their needs would be seemingly impossible.  My post refers specifically to behavior. Whatever the outside influence, I believe it’s those influences that directly affect behavior. I could be wrong, but that’s what I’ve seen across 4.5 decades.
 

Your parenting is likely what got him to where he is today.  I suspect you had tutors and other outside help to guide him through those issues which supports the point: It boils down to good parenting including great patience and care.  Yes, he was dealt academic challenge which may be what you mean by chance? However, I see  the likely related behavior issues weren’t chance, but perhaps the result of the challenges he faced.
 

It may be a perspective issue that I can’t see yet as well.  🤷🏻‍♀️

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Academic challenges plus bipolar disorder/depression- which runs strongly in the family.  These problems combined with a lot of the normal challenges of childhood and the teen years made for some very dark and painful years.

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