The Magic of Christmas Morning. (don't take it from our children)

As I write this, I am reminded of the 80's and my own memories of getting up before my parents, opening my stocking, and waiting impatiently for my parents to slowly getup, make coffee, and do a thousand other thing (all with a mischief grin) and finally make it into the living room with all of the presents from Santa.

Today, I get to pass this tradition and the mischief grin to my own daughter. promptly at 4:30 am, my Daughter comes into our bedroom yelling how Santa came to see her, and how she got a present from him. We do as my own parents did, and tell her that she can look in the stockings, but must wait on the gifts.

She quickly runs to the stocking to see what's inside, I lay there a bit longer with my wife, kindly look her way, and tell her that it is fruitless to try to go back to sleep. So like any parent would do, I savor the moments, and take forever to complete any task before finally sitting in our own living room for present time.


Now, what is it that makes this so great, for both the parents and the child, that is even more so than a birthday.

MAGIC! The magic I am talking about is in the heart of every child on around Christmas. The belief in things we can not see. The heart bursts with excitement, as the child knows that the Jolly Man has been watching over them, and will reward them for "being a good child".

This magic can not be explained away, no words can describe the feeling a child has on Christmas eve and Morning. It is beyond human understanding, and can really only be called magic.

I know of a few parents who wish to tell their children about how the parents are really Santa, The Magic is not in the heart of those children. Yes they are excited to open presents, but something is missing, that can't be described.

So for those of you who believe the Idea of Santa Claus is a conspiracy to lie to our children, do not understand the lasting magic with believing in more than your eyes can see. For those that think Christmas is Just another Day of the year, have never truly experienced the heart of a child on Christmas morning.

For those who think that we should not be telling our children "lies",

Why would I want to take the magic from my child?
Why can't my child believe in something amazing and good.
What is so wrong with a little Magic in a world of cruelty?

No Conspiracy in the belief of Santa Clause, just a Magical Being only seen in the eyes of a child.

Before you take the Magic from a child, Try to see into their hearts and find your own magic.

My Daughter is where the magic now lives, I have passed it on to her, and I am proud to give her that gift.

Perfectly said, I agree.

A lot of people on here probably won't though.

Well said. s&f

I was saying the same thing to my other half as we watched our 2 year old son open his presents from Santa.

He's still young but he knows that Santa has been and that is very touching to watch.

I wouldn't want to take that away from him and it will be hard when the time comes to tell him what's up.

Merry Christmas to you and to everyone!

Happy Holidays!

Hell I'm 27 and couldn't sleep last night because Christmas is still magical to me. I get to go see my family and watch the kids open presents, I love Christmas.

reply to post by tw0330


This reminds me so much of my own mornings waking up the folks in anticipation.....

You got to sleep? I always wondered why my Dad was so grouchy on Christmas morning until I learned first hand.

Part of the magic is putting things together for under the tree while the kids are asleep. Those cookies and milk make a nice snack while being up all night to do so......

I agree my friend.
Children grow up too fast, and taking the belief of Santa from them just makes it even quicker.
Are you lying? Yes.
Is it worth the lie in the end? Your damn right.

I don't have children. But i miss the magic that christmas once was. So excited i couldn't sleep. Up before 6am. Dragging my parents out of bed to open gifts with my brothers.
I never noticed as a child, but my parents could barely afford christmas most years, they tried their best. And pulled through.

Seeing smiling and happy children was worth the debt to them.
It would be to me too. Christmas will mean more to me when i have my own children to raise, and i CANT WAIT!!!

I will teach my children that 'santa' is not a physical being.
I still believe in Santa clause and im 23. I dont believe a man comes down our chimneys and lays out presents, or anything along those lines.
But the spirit of santa clause does live, i know this in my heart. I don't care if you do not believe me. I know what i heard. And my grandmother once told me a story about christmas time. When she walked out to get a drink she saw him, but he was translucent. He looked at my grandmother and disappeared. This happened when my dad was young. Is it a story? probably. I still like to believe though

Originally posted by tw0330
For those that think Christmas is Just another Day of the year, have never truly experienced the heart of a child on Christmas morning.

Just because people may disagree with you doesn't mean they've never experienced the heart of a child on Christmas morning! I've seen over 50 Christmases in my life, filled with children... Please don't assume what others have or haven't experienced.

...and I've BEEN the child who believed in this fantasy, only to have to face the hard reality of the discovery that my parents (the ones I trusted to tell me the TRUTH) lied to me. It made me wonder what else they'd lied about. They taught me about lying and how bad it was, then they lied to me... It was a big deal for me because we were very religious and lying is a SIN. How does a 6-year-old handle that?

For those who think that we should not be telling our children "lies",

Why would I want to take the magic from my child?

The "magic" of Christmas does NOT depend on believing that Santa is REALl. I'm not saying Santa shouldn't be a part of Christmas for kids, but they should be told that he's not real, just like the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Ghost of Christmas Past and Cinderella. If you think believing in fantasy is "magic", then do your thing, but some parents just don't want to lie to their kids.

Why can't my child believe in something amazing and good.

If you want your child to have a blurred line between fantasy and reality, that's your business. Raise your kid however you see fit. But many of us think it's wrong to let our children believe something is true when it isn't.

What is so wrong with a little Magic in a world of cruelty?

NOTHING! There is magic all around us. In a puppy's breath, in a snowstorm, in a song, in the sun and sky! There's more magic in this world that we can handle! Reality is WONDERFUL. I don't need to pretend anything to feel magical and special. Life is magical and special!

How about you raise your child the way you see fit and we do the same, while respecting each others' freedom of choice for the holidays?

Well said
The magic of Christmas and childhood memories sustain me even as a grumpy 60+ year old. Happy Christmas everyone.

I dont remember when i figured out Santa wasn't real.
It didn't scar me,
And i didn't mistrust my parents about it either. *shrug* Everyones different.

Oh a flood of memories from the words you shared...thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
How about you raise your child the way you see fit and we do the same, while respecting each others' freedom of choice for the holidays?

The problem with that is if some choose to tell "white lies" to their children, they know they can only get away with it if everyone else does the same.

If their kids learn the truth from other kids at school, they may believe that their friends tell the truth more than their parents, as I did.

My mother used to get angry with me when she would tell me a truth, only to have me question her whether it was really real, or another "white lie". I don't really care if some parents want to raise their kids to believe in Santa, but if they get angry with me for not backing up their lie, I'll come down on them like a ton of bricks.

At the end of the day, we all have to deal with the consequences of our actions.

Santa clause exists. Obviously not in our reality. But in a reality elsewhere or a dimension elsewhere. Who knows.

en.wikipedia.org...

The spirit of giving and sharing.

Originally posted by AzureSky
I dont remember when i figured out Santa wasn't real.
It didn't scar me,
And i didn't mistrust my parents about it either. *shrug* Everyones different.

Exactly. If you're willing to take the chance, go for it. Because I DO remember, it DID scar me and I learned not to trust my parents at a very young age. It is THE reason I wouldn't lie to my kids. About anything.

Originally posted by NuclearPaul
If their kids learn the truth from other kids at school, they may believe that their friends tell the truth more than their parents, as I did.

And that's the chance parents take. I learned about Santa, sex, my period and many other things from friends or on my own because I didn't trust my parents. I remember getting in trouble for lying and realizing what hypocrisy was even before I knew the word... I was a bright and inquisitive kid...

I wouldn't lie to my kids to protect another parent who chooses to.

Originally posted by AzureSky
The spirit of giving and sharing.

I hope no one thinks we want to do away with the idea of the spirit of giving and sharing. I'm talking only about the Santa Claus Myth, told to our children as reality.

My daughter loves Christmas and she never believed in Santa Claus. We didn't tell her he was real, and we didn't tell her he wasn't. We let her decide what she believed and not believed. (we let HER tell us) She was so scared of him in the malls that we had to make walk way away from him so she wouldn't be near him. I saw some parents forcing their children to sit on Santas lap ... all the while the kids were screaming and crying and scared. Horrifying. The presents under the tree were from marked as coming from us, the dog, the grandparents, and Jesus.

I wouldn't tell other children that there wasn't a santa claus. That's for their parents to decide.

But I wasn't going to tell my daughter that some ol' guy that she was scared of was sneaking into the house at night. Not a chance! I just let her do her own thing with that.

Side note - for some reason she believed in the Easter Bunny for a while. We never told her there was one, but she believed and then stopped believing in the Easter Bunny all on her own.

reply to post by FlyersFan

What a great attitude, well done

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Oh no, of course the spirit of giving and sharing should be perpetuated in our children more instead of the belief of santa clause, or at least teach them the real story of santa clause instead of the myth version of it.

"The spirit of 'santa clause' is in people. The woman down the road that donated all her extra money on food for others. The man helping feed the homeless. Giving a warm winter jacket to a homeless person without a warm jacket. Now lets take this gift here hunny, and bring it to Mr.(old man who lives alone)"

Santa is the kindness of others, i think that's something we should teach instead. Because i mean... look at some of the kids these days. HELLIONS! and lack those abilities to share and give and care for one another. And "How much presents can i get" shouldn't be the train of thought anymore.

I found out about santa a little earlier than most kids cause i was so curious and good at putting 2 and 2 together but my parents sat me down in private and told me about the true meaning of christmas after the cat was outta the bag on santa, and i found it just as magical as when i believed in santa. also i have 3 younger siblings and i never ruined it for them it was kinda cool to be in on the secret as a child myself and watch my brother and sisters enjoy santa they believed alot longer than i did. I still got up early to see what santa brought me but enjoyed the looks on my siblings faces alot also. Now that i have a son and he still believes its amazing hell its allmost 8 AM and hes still not awake what gives but its not lieing to your child to have them believe in santa claus just like its no lieing for a magician on stage to do magic tricks its all about perception.

My parents told us that Santa wasn't real. But I think I would have figured it out at my age anyway. I mean, if you live in an apartment project housing, how the hell is Santa getting through a chimney? There are none. And if he goes through the window, that's breaking and entering. So what, he's going to knock on the door?

Originally posted by AzureSky

Santa is the kindness of others, i think that's something we should teach instead. Because i mean... look at some of the kids these days. HELLIONS! and lack those abilities to share and give and care for one another. And "How much presents can i get" shouldn't be the train of thought anymore

Lovely post. Though I don't hold Father Christmas responsible for the greed and consumerism of modern society. We did that all on our own without him. Look at the recent mayhem in US of people trampling each other to get in the sales. Look at the recent looting in UK. Though we should all do our bit to try to turn the tide, parents have a huge responsibility here - though it can't be easy with the pressure they must be getting from their offspring.

edit on 25-12-2011 by starchild10 because: (no reason given)

I would like to see a christmas, that wasnt about anything but family. The magic of family not of Satan, i mean Santa :3 i just think people need to get closer to on another before santa and presents. Your a family and thats magical enough, we dont need bells and whistles.
I remember being spoiled growing up. I got mad one time because i thought i didnt get what i wanted. Then i did end up getting it. It was the most shameful time in my life. And i was 13. I believe we can get someone a gift, because who doesnt like the joy of giving. But spending days shopping for crap, thats not what it should be about.