For me, it was a compromise. I'm very much of the ita school of thought, and probably for the same reasons. I believed when tiny, but had doubts for as long as I could remember. I just knew my parents had no money, so I couldn't work out who bought the presents, if there was no Santa.

I'll tell you though, kids want to believe in Santa. Ben figured it out when we forgot to leave tooth fairy money once, then got total amnesia about it. The amnesia was such that when his (3 years younger) sister asked me point blank about Santa (and I told her the truth), and then told him, he was utterly shocked. They both told Chris, at the time. Chris blocked it out. Julia has now blocked it out, even though she spent the better part of a day or two, in tears.

Chris asked me this week. I asked him if he really wanted to know the truth. He said he did. I asked him if he really wanted to know the truth, even if the answer was, "There is no Santa." He said he did. I told him there was no Santa. He asked where the presents came from. I told him that his dad and I bought them. He then started arguing with me, and didn't want to know, and said I was wrong and he didn't believe me. I told him that he didn't have to believe me, and he was free to believe whatever he wanted.

He has since totally wiped that from his memory. And of my three children, he's the least capable of maintaining a pretense about this sort of thing. He's flat out convinced himself I was teasing, even though I never said, indicated, or acted like I was.

My minister and his wife always presented Santa as a fairy tale that people very much liked to pretend was true. I wish I'd known/thought of that approach, when Soctt and I were negotiating over how to handle it.

So that they don't have to wrap presents?

Our presents from Santa were always wrapped. My mother even bought different wrapping paper to use for the "Santa" presents instead of the presents from her and my father to help the facade.

ETA:

He has since totally wiped that from his memory. And of my three children, he's the least capable of maintaining a pretense about this sort of thing. He's flat out convinced himself I was teasing, even though I never said, indicated, or acted like I was.

That's interesting. I recall figuring it out and asking my parents about it and believing them, but now I wonder if I'd asked previously and blocked it out. I don't think I did, and considering how found of telling tales of me that I don't remember happening my mother is, I imagine she would have mentioned it.

Why do parent's make their kids believe in Santa Claus (and the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny)? Is it just because their parents made them believe? I mean it's a decision we're going to have to make in regards to our child, and even though my parents had us kids believing, I'm not sure why I would want to intentionally decieve my own.

I agree, except it might interest you to know that, despite my parents not doing the whole Santa thing, when very young I still sort of believed in him--even though my presents were always from Mom, Dad, or other family members. The cultural force of it is that strong.

I will say that getting tons of presents from Mom and Dad instead of a random fat stranger? Just as good, if not better.

I kind of believed in the tooth fairy for the first few teeth I lost. Like, I knew that it was my parents (I'm a really light sleeper -- it was impossible for them to take the tooth and leave the money without me waking up a little) but I kind of willfully blocked that, because I liked the story. Then, when I was a little older (third or fourth grade) and I told my mother I didn't believe, she told me that the tooth fairy wouldn't leave money for kids who didn't believe. I said fine, and wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying that there was a recession going on, and money isn't worth what it used to be, and so I really should be getting much more than just a dollar, since a dollar was what I'd gotten three years ago.

I got $10.

I don't plan to have presents from Santa.

Oh my word, Hil. That's the best story!

msbelle, if it isn't something that is important to Mac in any way, I wouldn't, either.

I agree, except it might interest you to know that, despite my parents not doing the whole Santa thing, when very young I still sort of believed in him--even though my presents were always from Mom, Dad, or other family members. The cultural force of it is that strong.

Interesting.

I do recall arguements on the playground between kids who believed and those who didn't, and whichever side happened to outnumber the other at the time teasing them.

I got $10.

Wow. Guess there's something to be said for making a good arguement, even with mythical creatures.

I don't seem to recall my parents ever doing the Tooth Fairy thing. Probably because they didn't want to go through the hassle of sneaking into our room in the middle of the night, finding a tooth under the pillow without waking us and then replacing it with money. They always just gave us a nickle or dime directly when we handed them a tooth.

ETA: My parents, particularly my mother, were big on Santa Clause, though, I remembering me asking and her answering and unending stream of questions about him over the years.

To this day my parents will still give each of us kids a gift from "Santa" even though we're all grown and moved out of the house and long since disillusioned.

I don't think I ever believed in the tooth fairy either. I did believe that I should get something of value for my tooth--but I never got money. The first time I did it I got a puzzle book. A really cool puzzle book. Then my parents explained you couldn't get stuff twice for the same bed. When I changed beds, they said they'd meant the same house. We changed houses and they told me to just leave them alone.

I don't really recall believing in Santa or the Toothfairy. I mean, I may have at some point, but the transition was such that it wasn't a big deal. I do recall family lore as Santa coming through the garbage disposal, since we had no chimney, but that may have been more idle musing (my family can be warped) than a response to an earnest question.

I don't get earworms much, but when I do....why must they be so strange?!

 
All I wanna do is to thank you
Even though I don't know who you are
You let me change lanes
While I was driving in my car. . .
 

I don't think I ever believed in the tooth fairy either. I did believe that I should get something of value for my tooth--but I never got money. The first time I did it I got a puzzle book. A really cool puzzle book. Then my parents explained you couldn't get stuff twice for the same bed. When I changed beds, they said they'd meant the same house. We changed houses and they told me to just leave them alone.

That's just mean. Hilarious, but mean.