Last Christmas was the first time we did not talk about writing a list for Father Christmas; it was implicit that the list was for us parents. It was also the first time my children didn’t receive personalised letters from the North Pole. It was all rather bittersweet.
What age do they stop believing in Father Christmas?
In honesty, I’m sure my youngest didn’t believe a few Christmases ago (aged 11), and questions were raised way before that. They were hedging their bets and I kept up the pretence. There were lists for Santa and a tray of goodies were left out on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas Day most of the presents were from Father Christmas. Last year it was the official goodbye even though we hadn’t specifically discussed it.
I’m glad they came to their own conclusions. It would have been awkward if they still believed in Father Christmas when they went to secondary school! However, it highlighted again the relentless march of time and the fact that they’re growing up fast 😭.
Does it ruin the magic?
It’s sad that we no longer watch Father Christmas’ progress on Santa Tracker or leave out carrots for Rudolph and that I’ll never again utter the immortal words: “has he been?”. However, there’s still plenty to be excited about. I can see that the kids love and appreciate what the festive season means and offers. They’ve even said that presents are only part of it. They enjoy being with family and extended family, having time together, playing games and sharing special food.
The run up to Christmas minus Father Christmas
The start of advent is a very exciting time for all of us. I don’t let anyone play Christmas music in the house before December 1st. That means everyone’s ecstatic when they can finally unleash the festive tunes. Then of course there’s the advent calendars (old favourites and new)! Starting every day with chocolate; what’s not to enjoy about that!? We also love our annual advent candle.
Whilst we do have an Elf on the Shelf, I’ve never subscribed to the whole narrative. Neither have I spent hours I don’t have agonising over 24 creative ideas for him. Cheerfully, my twins enjoy setting up elf for the rest of us to enjoy. We’ve never done the whole North Pole breakfast thing on the first of December. However, I do dress the table festively and make special hot chocolate on a stick; they even have personalised mugs.
The Christmas books come out with the advent calendars. We’ll still be reading Santa is coming to Surrey and Santa is coming to London alongside other favourites including Mog’s Christmas, which is one of my eldest’s favourites despite being a mature 16!
We might not visit Santa in his grotto any more. However, we always do something special. We’ve been to National Trust Christmas events, Christmas at Kew, seen a production of The Nutcracker and done tours of the London lights.
The kids want to make a gingerbread house, and we generally do a lot more baking in December.
I no longer have to provide explanations/answer awkward questions. I don’t have to do different wrapping and labelling for Santa presents and our presents, which is a huge relief! My husband no longer has to avoid Santa traps at 2am, and can now have his whisky earlier! I’m happy that us hardworking parents now get all the credit! On that note, I’ve noticed that the girls are being more conservative with their lists. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty on there but there isn’t quite the wild abandon of previous years. Plus they all now get a lot of joy from giving presents too.
Embracing the Christmas spirit
The children are looking forward to plenty of family time, and passing on the magic of Father Christmas to their young cousin; and that’s what it’s all about.
It’s a wonderful time even without the big man in red.
PS love some of the ideas here: How to tell your children Santa isn’t real
