No Santa, No Easter Bunny, No Tooth Fairy...

[Anonymous]

I don't let my son walk around in heels and prend to be mommy. He is not a woman and he is certainly not an adult. What is wrong with people? Next thing, these parents are going to say that Bigfoot is real. I vote no for the fat guy in the tacky red suit!

[Anonymous]

I get that some people think not doing Santa, et.al. is silly, but I don't see the need for mocking. There are families who choose to focus on the Christian elements of the holidays - the birth and resurrection of Jesus. I don't see what's so wrong about that.

We do Santa, I grew up with Santa, but I have full respect for people who don't. Bravo to them for eschewing the commercialism of the holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't let my son walk around in heels and prend to be mommy. He is not a woman and he is certainly not an adult. What is wrong with people? Next thing, these parents are going to say that Bigfoot is real. I vote no for the fat guy in the tacky red suit!

Hey wait...what're you saying about Bigfoot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, not all of us are Christians and celebrate Christmas, Easter etc. (Yes I know you said your neighbors celebrate those holidays in some sort of fashion, so I take it they are not of some other faith). Doesn't mean our children are deprived. We have wonderful holidays/traditions of our own. You probably didn't mean it that way (I hope), but your post came off as somewhat offensive.

It wasn't about what people of other faiths do, it was about traditions associated with the holidays they celebrate. Even we Jews don't celebrate in the same way - look at those whose parents allowed them to believe Santa came to Jewish houses. You're much too defensive and quick to take offense.

[Anonymous]

i started wanting not to do the santa or tooth fairy or easter bunny thing... but ended up going along with it when dc expressed really really wishing it was real. so we do santa and the tooth fairy now. somehow the bunny didn't make the cut, but i do hate when we invest in a nice christmas gift and santa gets the credit.

[Anonymous]

What's funny is that these parents who want to bar santa, tooth fairy, et all from their house think it's that easy. the man with the red suit is EVERYWHERE!! there is NO getting around any of this commercialization. your kid will hear about it at school, see it on tv, in the stores, etc....you might as well embrace it. what's wrong with a little magic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's funny is that these parents who want to bar santa, tooth fairy, et all from their house think it's that easy. the man with the red suit is EVERYWHERE!! there is NO getting around any of this commercialization. your kid will hear about it at school, see it on tv, in the stores, etc....you might as well embrace it. what's wrong with a little magic?

I agree. There was a family in my neighborhood growing up and the dad was Jewish, mom Christian, but she converted and became Jewish. They had three kids and even though they raised them Jewish, they still did the tree and everything. They thought it was really fun and the mom had grown up decorating the tree with her family and wanted the tradition to continue, plus the mom's family was really big and the cousins and aunts and uncles etc. were always over there and they celebrated Christmas so it seemed silly to just put it to rest.

The kids are now all adults, and all three are wonderful people, and they are still a really tight-knit family. I don't think it confused them in any way.

Sometimes I think it is the ones who eschew these traditions (Santa if you are Christian, etc.) that actually put more stock in them than some of the folks who do the whole Santa thing. They can just be fun traditions. Not everything has to MEAN something, all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's funny is that these parents who want to bar santa, tooth fairy, et all from their house think it's that easy. the man with the red suit is EVERYWHERE!! there is NO getting around any of this commercialization. your kid will hear about it at school, see it on tv, in the stores, etc....you might as well embrace it. what's wrong with a little magic?

I have friends who don't do Santa. He's not banned from the house. But they've chosen to teach their child that Santa is a story, just like Scrooge or Frosty the Snowman or anything else, and that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. But they're also very involved in their church, so around Advent through to Christmas they're steeped in church activities. To them, that's magical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't let my son walk around in heels and prend to be mommy. He is not a woman and he is certainly not an adult. What is wrong with people? Next thing, these parents are going to say that Bigfoot is real. I vote no for the fat guy in the tacky red suit!

And NO to Santa's friends, the super heroes and the fairy princesses. Absolutely. Very unrealistic and I don't want my children to think that some SUPER HERO could swoop down and help people in trouble. Ridiculous. No capes or tiaras in our house.

And trains that TALK - no way. You won't find any Thomas in our house either.

[Anonymous]

I make a half-hearted attempt at playing the Santa/Easter Bunny game, but if my kids ask, I tell them the truth. I totally saw through the charade when I was little, so I suppose that's why I do it this way with my own kids.

[Anonymous]

If my kids ask, I tell them that the only superhero around is their dad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know Christians who chose to skip Santa and the Easter Bunny because they say it confuses children and distracts from the Christian holy days. Recently I read an article by a Christian writer who said that the disappointment and disillusionment children feel when they learn the truth (there's no Santa Claus and no Easter Bunny) can lead to questions about the Christian faith - if Santa isn’t real, then maybe Jesus wasn't real.
While I was disappointed when I learned at age 6 that there is no Santa, I didn't have a crisis of faith.

But Jesus isn't real.

[Anonymous]

PP that's mean and disrespectful.

[Anonymous]

My child knows-- and always has known-- that Santa and the Easter Bunny are part of the fun games we play at holidays, and she seems to enjoy that just fine (she hasn't lost a tooth yet but she already knows that I am the Tooth Fairy). She likes thinking about things the same way she likes thinking about storybooks or her stuffed animals or any other pretend play. It doesn't seem to be less fun for her just because she doesn't take it literally.

[Anonymous]

I grew up with all three and always thought I would do all three but don't do Santa or the Easter bunny.

Its not that either are banned, I just say they are both stories that go with the holidays. We still go to see Santa and do all the Christmas hoopla but she doesn't believe that Santa is going to come down our chimney and bring gifts. The Easter bunny didn't even really factor into anything this year and I don't think she even noticed. I gave her a basket and truthfully she wasn't that into it - I just threw out the Easter candy recently - untouched - after it sat in the basket for a couple months on our sideboard. She loved doing egg hunts - that was far more of a hit.