“Are you really santa?” asks the little girl, standing back and squinting at the costumed freak before her.
“Ho ho ho, Of course I am” says sweaty nervous santa.
“Then Why don’t your shoes fit?” Asks the little girl pointing at the poorly constructed “boot” portion of the santa costume.
Santa looks at mom. Sweats some more and mumbles something about them fitting fine in the north pole.
I have to be honest. I did not think that I would have to deal with this so soon!
She’s 4! (okay she’ll be 5 in January, but still!)
She has apparently already decided that she might not be so sure about Santa. She is also sharing her doubt with her little brother. And I am not sure how to handle it.
Because I don’t want to lie.
So I have decided to approach it from the basic idea that I believe in the “spirit of santa” and I try to answer her questions from that perspective. I told her flat out last year and the year before that it simply is not true that Santa does not bring toys to bad little girls. I told her santa might be more giving if she were especially good but I refused to use old white beard as a threat.
How do you handle the santa question?
Do you have one child who believes and one that doesn’t?
These are the questions keeping me up at night. Please help!
The Life You Choose 
Welcome to the new site!
My oldest is still all about Santa but has announced that Rudolf is “just a story.” I thanked him for waiting until the little one was sleeping to mention it and dropped it from there so as not to bring up too much.
Last year, the oldest asked if Santa was “a character, like Mickey Mouse.” I said yes.
Meanwhile, I should really have gone your much kinder route on the lump of coal threat. Our older one is totally convinced he earned the coal fair and square and it is sending him in to spirals of ever-crappier behavior since there’s nothing left to be good for. Ugh.
Good luck to you, too; we have gotten around the idea that Santa can’t be everywhere at once, so he does have “helper Santas.” Doesn’t help with your poorly shod Santa though!
I go ahead and ask her what she believes and tell her that I believe. To say you believe in Santa, or the spirit as you say isn’t really lying. I do believe…because without him the day wouldn’t be the same. I know, I know, Jesus is the reason…but without Santa it would just not be the same. Besides, don’t get me started on Jesus, I’m just not sure about him either. Anyhoooo…..I digress…….I believe. I say this, and even if it’s a fib in some ways I think it’s ok. I ask my girls what they believe and I smile and nod. They want to believe, and I want them to be able to, if only for a moment, because to believe is magical.