Anonymous wrote:In elem school My friend told me that the mall Santana were his elves filling in while he worked.

This is what my parents used to say. We generally do what we can to avoid all Santas other than the one at Tyson's corner (same Santa for many, many years running!) but if we have to see another one, I will probably tell my 6 year old it is not the real Santa.

Had this conversation with my 4 YO this weekend. She got really upset with the idea that the Santa she meets is not the real Santa so I told her I was probably wrong about the whole Santa's helper thing. I hope I didn't blow the whole thing. Right now she's just really concerned that Santa's list is going to blow away on his sled and he won't know what toys go to which kids.

Anonymous wrote:Our kids are 5 and have asked questions about Santas on TV or in the malls. We tell them that the real Santa is at the North Pole working on getting all the toys ready for all the kids world-wide which is a full time job; he doesn't have time to do anything else. So anytime there is a request for a Santa, Santa sends an elf or a helper to fill in for him so he can keep up his regular work. All of the Santas that they see on TV or the malls are Santa's helpers or elves and they will report back to the real Santa at the North Pole whatever he needs to know. So my kids are pretty satisfied that they know that the Santas that they see aren't the REAL Santa Claus, but that they talk to him!

Yup this is similar to what my mom told me growing up- worked for me!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We usually go with "what do you think" followed by "any other possibilities?" And finally we throw in a "I think any of your ideas could be the answer." And we leave it at that.

I think only a simple kid would accept that.

Your "not very smart kid" comment got removed, but you still felt the need to call someone's kid "simple". Why? Because you are a miserable person? Because you need to make others feel less in order to feel better about yourself? You seem like a nasty person. Insulting children is as pathetic as it gets. Loser.

Our kids are 5 and have asked questions about Santas on TV or in the malls. We tell them that the real Santa is at the North Pole working on getting all the toys ready for all the kids world-wide which is a full time job; he doesn't have time to do anything else. So anytime there is a request for a Santa, Santa sends an elf or a helper to fill in for him so he can keep up his regular work. All of the Santas that they see on TV or the malls are Santa's helpers or elves and they will report back to the real Santa at the North Pole whatever he needs to know. So my kids are pretty satisfied that they know that the Santas that they see aren't the REAL Santa Claus, but that they talk to him!

Anonymous wrote:We usually go with "what do you think" followed by "any other possibilities?" And finally we throw in a "I think any of your ideas could be the answer." And we leave it at that.

I think only a simple kid would accept that.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think that's necessarily true. I answer a LOT of questions with "I don't know--what do you think?" They know thee is a LOT their mom does not know when it comes to science, history, theology, etc. lots of mysteries and unanswered questions in this world. I don't pretend to know it all.

Agree. Giving a direct answer would mean you ACTUALLY know and how do you ACTUALLY know? Did you talk to Santa? Does Santa let the adults know which one is the real them.

I ask too and we all wonder together. I usually say I think they are elves helping out for Santa but it is not 100%. The wonder is half the magic

I don't think that's necessarily true. I answer a LOT of questions with "I don't know--what do you think?" They know thee is a LOT their mom does not know when it comes to science, history, theology, etc. lots of mysteries and unanswered questions in this world. I don't pretend to know it all.

Anonymous wrote:We usually go with "what do you think" followed by "any other possibilities?" And finally we throw in a "I think any of your ideas could be the answer." And we leave it at that.

I feel like this is confusing and intentionally vague. There's a perfectly reasonable explanation to the plethora of Santas that involves neither non-answers nor lies. All the Santas your child sees are men dressed up pretending to be Santa Claus. That's why there are so many. At 6, OP's child is probably going to assume "what do you think?" or "any of your ideas could be right" means "Santa is a big fat lie." Because she's probably already considering that possibility. If you want to continue the Santa tradition in your home, you can add that the real Santa is busy, and so people dress up as him for pretend and to take pictures. If you're not interested in continuing with Santa, you can explain that people dress up as Santa because it's fun for little kids, especially the ones who still believe.

When you give children these "I don't want to lie to you so I'm not going to give you a direct answer" replies, it just confirms their skepticism. That might work if your child is older and really pretty much finished with believing in Santa, but you want to keep them guessing just a tiny bit.

They're all fakes. The real Santa is too busy this time of year to hang out at the mall. We go and get a picture with fake Santa every year because it's fun and a family tradition. But it's not the real Santa.

We usually go with "what do you think" followed by "any other possibilities?" And finally we throw in a "I think any of your ideas could be the answer." And we leave it at that.

"Santa is a make believe character and that is an adult in costume."

In elem school My friend told me that the mall Santana were his elves filling in while he worked.

Santa is busy and can't be everywhere. They might be Santa but they might be a helper.

We will see Santa Claus several times this year, and I'm pretty sure my perceptive 6 year old will pick up (and ask about) the different appearances (yesterday's Santa was thinner than she expected, for example!) How do you all handle this with your kids?