i didnt mean to you say you lot dont give presents out of love.. i just meant that i would want rhys to know that i bought them not santa etc. layla i think thats a lovely way of doing it x

i have always kind of done it that way, when they write out there lists they give it to me rather than send it to santa, then we buy them and wrap them and send them to santa lol

I make letters each year and post them to them from santa, just saying hes got the pressises and if they are asleep and good on xmas eve he will bring them, i dont use teh good thing all year round, just on xmas eve coz they are always so hyper lol

One year we stayed at my nans house for xmas, my dad has the tipical santa body shape, so i brought a santa suit and asked him to dress up. at midnight my sister stood out in the back garden under tehre window and rang some bells that i got and i woke them up. they heard teh bells and then we all crept downstairs....we opened the front room door a little and they saw santa(mydad) with a black bin bag putting presies out on teh sofas, Ethan nearly pissed his pants lol he was so excited, they both ran bak up stirs saying they needed to be asleep.

They have never forgotn that to this day and are convinced thery saw teh real santa, im not sure i will ever tell them the truth, it was to sweet lol

x

that is so sweet layla.........

I love having pressies round the tree, so I've always bought, wrapped and put them under the tree as I went. Then a couple of days before Xmas, I used to get my parents to come round while we were out, and take them all away. That was the elves who had come to fetch them! Kayleigh used to love that part. Then on Xmas Eve, after she'd gone bed, Santa, aka Grandma and Grandad, would deliver them. Then we'd all have a little Xmas drinkie, and early to bed.

Kayleigh (and now Charlie) would know that I had bought all the pressies, but Santa delivered them.

It also solves the problem of where to store all the pressies on the build-up to the big day!

This is along the lines of what my parents did with us and what I intend doing with my children. I don't believe in lying to children. We always knew that santa wasn't real, but we would all pretend that he was. This way we still had all the fun of leaving out whiskey and carrots for santa and rudolph, writing letters and getting excited on christmas eve. We always played along with other people/kids when they went on about santa so we wouldn't ruin it for them. It was all like a big game.

I guess its what your experience is. I love looking back on my memories of christmas remembering how excited I was about santa coming along, in fact they are some of my most treasured memories of my parents - my dad was a bigger kid then me. It was never what we got, it was just the excitement. My mum eventually told me that santa wasn't real, (though I had already began to guess)and I never felt cheated or lied to, and am glad that they let me believe in a bit of magic beforeI had to grow up. And that is how I want Seren and this baby to look back on their christmases. It doesn't really bother me who Seren thinks the presents are of, its not why I buy them her (not that I am saying thats what anyone else does), but I will be ecouraging her to appreciate the meaning of christmas by helping others.

Phew!! just had a lucky escape with Charlie lol

Just walking back from school and Charlie and Ethan were talking about what pressie they want, i said its to late as i have already brought them and santa has them ready for xmas eve, she asked me how he gets them and i told her that he comes to get them a few weeks before (was the first thing that came to mind)

Charlie went quiet for a while them said 'mum, i think you are santa' my heart sank! lol i know shes 9 but i wanted to keep her beliving as long as i could, i asked her why she thought i was santa and she said..... 'santa only flys once a year so he cant come to get the pressies and bring them to us on xmas eve' ha ha smart kid!

So i didnt know what to say, she then went on to say ' i think you buy the presies and hide them somehwere in the house safe and santa just comes on xmas eve and puts them out in piles for us ready for the morning'

i laughed and said ok you got me, thats what happens, she now thinks she is a super sluth bless her lol but at least she still belives for another year!

x

Iv been doing the same as you Layla, because I am always with Ella when shopping ect its hard, so when I buy her pressies she has been with me, when she has asked for them Iv said that they are gonig to santa and he will bring them back on xmas eve, and she seems to understand, whenever she see's any presents she says that its santa's

Im really looking forward to xmas this year, Ella understands about santa and that the presents are going to go under the tree and she is getting excited herself, I cant wait to see her little face on xmas morning!

Christmas eve afternoon our fun starts (mornings are for last minute bits)......We all put our santa hats on, Jade puts her Santa suit on, I put tinsel in my hair and have the novelty earrings in, we make sausage rolls play christmas music and watch Christmas films, and get her all worked up with excitement.......we check off her doorhanger before bed which Santa sends her every year, then she will have a little baileys or cap of whiskey in milk, then she puts the carrot out for Rudolph, a mince pie, milk & brandy out for Santa, then off to bed she toddles! Once we know the coast is clear, out comes santa's presents ready for us to do her stocking and put under the tree. Paul then eats and drinks the goodies for Santa and snaps the carrot and nibbles around the edges, then we shoot off to bed exhausted

The next morning, she comes running in our room at silly o'clock (which is the way I like it) all excited as Santa has been!!!! Paul then gets her stocking and sack and she opens them on our bed and leaves a mountain of paper for us to worry about when we go to bed and the same for downstairs too....On Christmas day, she can make as much mess as she likes as it is for her to enjoy......so when we can no longer see eachother for paper, I tell her to stop for a mo whilst I get the black sacks out and bag it all as quickly as I can

We then all go down in our PJ's and go into the lounge to see what Santa has left under the tree......Jade's face is a picture!!!!!! (Santa's pressies are all in a different wrapping paper to the ones from us, so whatever paper matches what was in her stocking, she knows is from Santa, plus she has her own wrapping paper from us, we all do, so we all know who's are who's and don't have to worry about tags falling off) Then Paul does breakfast, Jade opens some pressies, I then put the Turkey on, then make all my phone calls to wish people a merry christmas and then we open pressies on and off (as Jade only opens them when she has us with her so dinner gets in the way a bit )for the remainder of the day! We then have a wicked dinner where we have a 3 course meal,(which we all always struggle to eat ) crackers and a table pressie, then back to playing with toys and working out how things work etc Then just when she thinks it's all over (although she has been known to still be opening pressies on Boxing Day ), Jade gets her big or main pressie if there is one.......then we just enjoy the rest of the day/evening until little Jade gets pooped!

It just always goes sooo fast

That is exactly the same for me and no way would I want my kiddies to miss out on all that excitment and the magic of it.......I never got told he didn't exist I just sort of found out at some point, but I don't even remember finding out, but I must have been about 11 - 12yrs, but it never ruined it for me,and I certainly never felt lied to, I felt sorry that I had found out for my Mum & Dad's sake as much as anything as they got as much enjoyment out of the whole thing as we did. I still like to think that he is about til this day, I think it a lovely thing to have! Paul never had the excitement as a kid, he got presents, but never got excited as it was something his parents didn't bother making an effort with, and he found it all really strange how I was at Christmas and it has taken yrs for him to understand my excitement and fun, but now he loves seeing Jade so excited.......

I just feel so sorry that he never got to experience what I did, Paul is sorry he never got to either and I find that really sad, he thinks it all sounds great, even tho it is not something you can truely explain to someone who has never experienced the magic you did, especially when you are an adult, as logic takes over and magic is no longer and innocent word.......but I will make damn sure that my kiddies enjoy it and have all the excitement I can mustre! But I will also instil that Christmas is not all about presents, it is about family and being with the ones you love, that is the most important part!

I know each to their own and all that.......but Santa is not about who bought the presents or being lied to...........He is about imagination, magic and excitement. I make sure Jade has pressies on her list from Santa as she worte to him asking him nicely for certain things, so why would he not have some of those for her?, tbh I couldn't care less if all our pressies were from him, what does it matter? It is about the magic and excitement for her, one day she will know who really bought her pressies, why is it such a big deal? We don't mention anything about being naughty because of santa thru out the year, that enters her own mind as Christmas approaches, but we never mention it!.......... He is just a magical thing to have and an exciting thing to look forward to once a year! You are only a child once and I think it is a sad thing to take away the chance for kiddies to use their imagination and have that magical feeling, it is soon gone, and living with someone who missed out on it all, makes my feelings even stronger. As Beanie says and I agree, it can make up some of your most treasured memories!

But this is of course, just my point of view....I am very protective of Christmas and Santa