The Truth about Santa

[dialogue]

I've got the germ of an idea for a post/essay about how the role of Santa Claus has changed from the time I was a kid, and how "believing in Santa" has become a bigger deal, and how all the Christmas movies where believing is a major plot point, even shown as a redeeming force of good against all the cynicism and evil in the modern world, or

Comments

[avengangle]

Um, second or third grade, can't quite remember, and I have no idea how I found out. I don't think someone told me; I think I put together the fact that Santa had my mom's handwriting (or my dad's, depending on the year) and that Santa always used paper that we already had or that mysteriously showed up the next year (yeah, I could remember things like that). Also, my mom, every year, has a list where she makes little check marks for each individual gift she buys each person (so one check may equal a book, or a doll, or a sweater). I may have also figured out the code and counted early on.

And I'm 27 now, which I'm guessing you know as we went to school together.

[edtel]

I was 7, which would have been 1980 or 81. I didn't come out and say I didn't believe until the Christmas after, due to the fact my 'Santa' image was shattered by the fact I was snooping around when I shouldn't have been. My parents never told us that all our presents were from Santa - he would bring us one special gift each year, which was usually the thing that had been at the top of our list. I found the gift that was supposedly supposed to be from "Santa" under my parents' bed, which is where they always stashed the gifts. Then when I got it from 'Santa', I put two and two together. I didn't peek anymore after that.

The fact I saw the Wii Fit box in my mom's bedroom a couple weeks ago was an unintentional accident.

[hi_amity_an_elk]

i was 8 or 9. my mom bought easter candy at the bulk candy store (i feel like there used to be one in the mall?) & i found the reciept in the car. we almost never had candy around & easter was coming up & it came to me all of a sudden that my mom had bought candy for our easter baskets. also when i looked at the reciept & then looked at her, she looked extremely guilty. if she had played it off better i might have gone on believing for a while. anyway, the easter bunny was a really easy one to topple for me because it never made a WHOLE lot of sense-- seriously how does a bunny carry a basket? is it a human size bunny? also, how does the bunny get in the house? there's no equivilant of chimneys for the easter bunny. anyway, once i figured that out, it was only a couple of days later that i asked my mom if there wasn't any santa either & she said no. & then she said don't tell your sister. and i didn't.

[hi_amity_an_elk]

receipt!! i mean

[danosuke]

There was a toys'r'us UPC barcode on one of my presents from Santa. I figured it out at that point. I think I was in first grade.