It is getting close to Dani’s birthday. His eighth. Less than a month to go and we are considering presents for his birthday and others maybe for Christmas. Even though the shops have only just reopened here in Oz (after the lockdown) some already have Christmas trees and decorations out. Even I was amazed at that. But that’s not the point here… He will soon be 8 years old and still believes in the fat man with the beard, red suit and (more importantly) the sack of presents.

It’s great in a way. Better than great if I am being honest. But I think he needs to know before finding out the hard way…

How do you tell your kid(s) that Santa isn’t real?

He has known for some time that the giving of gifts at Christmas time comes from the Biblical story of The Three Kings turning up bearing gifts for the new born Jesus.

Whether you are religious or not, that is the simple truth. Being Spanish he knows and celebrates the Three Kings and knows where that comes from. He is also inquisitive enough to wonder, or rather question himself, as to where Santa comes from and why he exists. Understanding one and not the other has already led him to question the Santa story in the past. A ‘problem’ his mum dealt with.

I just don’t want him finding out the hard way and being ridiculed for it. Not having any older siblings he is sure to find out from the kids he plays with at home or school – all of them older than him. Kids can be cruel and if he is not careful he will stumble into a huge pitfall. And why should he be careful? He is a Santa believer! But for sure some kids will pick up on something he says in the next month or two and the game will be up. And he may not forgive us…

It wouldn’t be the first time… 

It’s a bit like the time last year when his class was discussing science stuff and the question of the hardest thing known to man came up. “Diamonds” said one of the girls in his group. “No it’s not” he replied. “It’s vibranium.” Ouch! That’s what comes from watching too many Marvel Comics movies with his old dad.

He was noticeably upset by the whole episode as he explained to me later that day when I walked him home. He had argued with the other kids and even his teacher that “vibranium” was in fact the hardest thing on the planet. Then someone (a fellow super-heroes fan classmate) explained that it wasn’t a real thing. He was obviously embarrassed. I want to save him from that embarrassment again. If possible…

A Couple of Ideas…

We have two plans. First is to watch a movie (or two) where the existence or reality of Santa is questioned. There is a subtle hint towards this in one of my favourite Christmas films Elf. And a more obvious querying in another great, more recent, Christmas movie The Christmas Chronicles. Dani loves both of those too so I will watch them with him and see what questions he comes up with. Then break it to him gently – ish…

There is also a scene in the movie Gremlins – a film he would probably like to watch – where one of the characters explains how she found out that Santa wasn’t real. That may be a more crude way of getting it out there.

The second plan is linked with the first. After breaking the bad news I can tell him that we need to make his mum believe that Dani himself still believes. Then we can buy her a present and label it “From Santa”. It’s that old double bluff thing. He likes that sort of thing. Hmm…maybe he will then be ready to watch The Sting; another great movie. But I am drifting off track a little now…

One alternative – I read about – is to just rip off the sticking plaster, hard and fast. Get it over with all in one go. Santa, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, the lot! Expose all of those frauds. But maybe not WWE wrestling though. Not just yet…

It’s an interesting angle but I am going to go for them one at a time. Oddly enough that bloody tooth fairy has hardly earned her (or his) stripes in our house. This kid has still only lost two milk teeth!! That fairy still has some serious money to hand over.

Come to think of it, that elf on the shelf isn’t earning his keep either. Maybe it’s time to blow his cover too.

So, over to you…

Does anyone have any ideas on this tricky subject? Is there a quick and easy way of doing this?

Footnote: There are a few posts on The Three Kings. Such as here , here and here by the way. The donut post is a good one LOL, I had forgotten about that one…