A little background info:
I am the oldest of 10. My Youngest Brother is 18 and my oldest is 16. My youngest is 7.

I have ALWAYS had Santa in my life. I cried when I admitted to the oldest two (16 and 15 now) Santa was Mommy and Daddy. I explained that Santa was real in Spirit and that I will always believe in Santa.
I cried just reading the other thread. I'm almost scared that I will one day real soon have a Christmas without Santa. Christmas was/is a HUGE deal in my family. My dad is Santa. He does it for various local charities and is even in my high school year book as Santa. We even got a fireplace so we could hang our stockings there when I was little and when the family room at my parents was built, they made sure the celing was extremely high so my dad could get the biggest tree he could find.
I guess my question is what's Christmas like with out Santa? I Love the kids going to bed and trying to stay awake to see or hear him, writing out the letters to Santa, I love the whole Santa thing. Don't get me wrong my children know the real meaning of Christmas and we do a lot of teaching them its better to give.
My 9 yr old is already saying he knows, but I'm not ready to admit it. I know he'd tell my 7 yr old DD.
I'm afraid this may be the last Christmas with Santa and I have no idea what to expect.
The Polar Express was a book I read to the kids long before the movie. I still hear the bell!!!!!!

__________________
I have OCCD
Obsessive-Compulsive Coupon Disorder!!!

Well, as I posted in the other thread, my oldest DD10 quit believing last year, but my DD9 and my DS5 still believe and hopefully my DS will for quite a few more years.

I think we will still "have" Santa even after they all believe though. We always did at my house when I was growing up. Heck, my mom still fills stockings from Santa for all of us!

I guess there won't be the letter writing and some of those things, but I still plan on having unwrapped gifts from Santa under the tree. I'm sure my kids will think I'm nuts, but I even picture leaving cookies out for him!! What else are we supposed to snack on getting it all set up?

Well, my two are 14 and 17...nah, they don't believe in the jelly-bellied Santa anymore

However, I still fill stockings after they go to bed Xmas eve; I still get them a present from "Santa" every year.
They have progressed to now being "secret Santas" and picking little ones from their Angel trees at their High Schools. They know about the spirit of Santa and that makes it all bearable.

I, too, love Christmas!! We decorate early and a lot (but tastefully) early in December (but don't worry; our outside lights and everything else is down by Jan 1st). Did not have much in the way of Christmas when growing up...which is maybe why I always so much loving "doing" Christmas now. Always try to "make" Christmas for friends/colleagues/neighbors, etc. who might be single or otherwise alone on Holidays.

Don't worry; Christmas will change, but it will still be special if you treat it that way and make the traditions just a little different.

__________________
"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

my parents were wonderful Santas... it wasn't until I had kids of my own that they shared their secret... sure I knew it was them but didn't know how they did it (I'm talking through college here)... every year we'd go to midnight mass and when we'd get home Santa had already visited... come to find out when we were getting in the car, my mom always "forgot" something and boy was she a quick santa!

I'm very lucky that even though my brother and I were "too old" (in some's perspective) to believe in Santa... the magic was always kept alive for us...

I'm not sure how my oldest will take it... when she was pre-kindergarten her and dh went to the aquarium... she came home all excited that she HEARD the sea horses niegh... every time we went to one she'd put her ear up to hear them... years later when we were in Munich she did the same and she figured out it was daddy... oh the tears and the heartbreak that we LIED to her... I hope its not the same for Santa... I think when she does figure it out we'll induct her into "the secret club"