Santa, Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy

Jess - posted on 04/11/2010

We celebrate all of the holidays, its great fun. My partners family are JW's and don't participate. My partners 13 year old nephew was a little put out when he learnt his baby cousin was getting christmas presents and he wasn't. The expectation will be that they don't tell my daughter anything that apposes santa, the easter bunny ect.

Nikki - posted on 04/11/2010

I will let my children believe, it is not a religious thing for my family but rather a time to all come together. I love the excitement of Christmas especially, and I want my children to have that magical experience of believing in something special. I was a little heart broken when I found out the truth, I think I was 9 or 10 and a friend from school who was a JW told me a couple of weeks before Christmas :( but I still would't change all of those years that I believed for knowing the truth.

Suzette - posted on 04/10/2010

Our daughter will have her own choice of religions, I don't really have a religion but I grew up celebrating Christmas, Easter, and having the Tooth Fairy as well. I view them as a family thing, not a religious thing. We'll celebrate them in our home... but she'll know the real truth. My husband is Wiccan and we'll make sure that our daughter knows all aspects of the holidays, not just one. Later in life she'll be able to decide what she wants her religion to be, we're not going to force religion on her. We've decided that she'll partake in the fun stuff, like Easter egg hunts and stuff like that, since we live on a military base and they have things like that for children we don't want to leave her out of holiday celebrations that they often have for the kids. It would make her feel like she's purposely being left off for some reason. As another mother on the thread stated, I'm not going to tell my daughter that someone magically comes into our house and gives her money for her teeth, I think that would creep her out. I'll tell her she'll get money her in piggy bank for them though. lol.



I honestly don't think it will damage her imagination any. Actually, it upset me even worse as a child when I found out that everything I'd believed was lies. I'd rather our daughter know the truth up front.

Jessica - posted on 04/10/2010

My kids will know Santa and the Easter Bunny, imagination is great! When it comes time to learn about the reality of the holidays they will be taught the actual history behind the holidays, which are the pagan beliefs that came before the christians need to conform people to their religion.

Emma - posted on 04/10/2010

I actually think telling my kids some guy could get in to our house would freak them out, Living in SA our houses are a little like prisons when locked down for the night. LOL

Emma - posted on 04/10/2010

We don't do Christmas or Easter, we do not follow Christianity or any of the pagan religions that hold these days in hight regard. I think it would be hypercritical of me to its just like i don't celebrate Hanica, or Ashura as that is a date for believers in those faith's
i will probably use the tooth fairy as a story im not going to tell my kids she is real

Alison - posted on 03/10/2010

We don't do the Easter bunny at all because Easter is the most important part of our faith and I want it to be about Jesus. We still do easter eggs hunts though. We do santa and base it on the real life examples of secret giving and charity.

We do the tooth angel. Not really, that one just came to me as I was typing this, but it's a good idea and I might actually do it now I've thought about it.

All these things can be a good teaching tool so I don't see the need to avoid them altogeather, but I am cautious about not over doing them.

Amanda - posted on 03/10/2010

I don't ever remember believing in Santa, the tooth fairy or the Easter Bunny, but we played the part. Stockings from Santa, money under our pillow ect. I do the same thing with my kids. However, I am also open with them. i have told them the story of Saint Nicholas, and I haven't got to the point of explaining the toothfairy yet. I do plan on leaving the Easter Bunny out of it though. I believe in Christ's death and resurection, and I want to make sure that Easter is about Christ and not some bunny that lays eggs. However, We still do an egg hunt, Jenna just knows that Mommy and Daddy are hiding the eggs and gifts. As far as when the tooth fairy enters our life, I will tell her about the tooth fairy, and let her know it's also make believe and fun.

I think that an important part of letting our kids imaginations flourish is letting them know and understand when something is make believe. If they don't know, then it isn't really imagination, to them, it's the truth. Just my humble opinion.

Shavaune - posted on 03/10/2010

I think its more of a traditional thing than a religious thing. I grew up with all that stuff so I was excited for my kids to experience what I enjoyed so much as a child. But by the time they were going to school they knew that that stuff wasn't real and that it's just fun for little kids.

Teresa - posted on 03/10/2010

We don't do any of them and all 3 of my kids have GREAT imaginations.



It just wasn't something that felt right for our family.

Melissa - posted on 03/10/2010

I will do Santa and the Easter Bunny. But I will not be leaving out the birth of Christ, His death, or Resurrection. Christmas isn't Christmas without Christ. We will also do the Tooth Fairy and Halloween. I am all for make believe and creativity! I think it is important in childhood.

Lady - posted on 03/10/2010

Yep we never did the Easter bunny - I think it's creepy. We do do Santa and the tooth fairy though up until they come right out and ask, my 11 year old knows the truth and was very pleased to find out his dad and I were the ones responsable for buying all his toys all this time. My 9 year old is starting to ask some awkward questions so I think it's almost getting time to tell her the truth as well. Last christmas when seeing the adverts for present appeals for poor children she asked why santa didn't just give them presents and she wants to know why her friends get more money from the tooth fairy than she does!
I personally was pretty devastated when i found out Santa was not real and was slightly hesitant about carrying on the fantasy for my kids but the amount of magic it adds to christmas was worth it in my opinion and i think I found out before I was ready to really know so have been careful to wait until I think the time is more right for my kids.

Jennifer - posted on 03/10/2010

I always had the Tooth Fairy and Santa as a child but not really the Easter Bunny. I don't think it's particularly commonplace in the UK - more of an American tradition.

Amy - posted on 03/09/2010

I love Santa, the easter bunny, the tooth fairy ect... I think it helps my kids imagine things and I love their expression when they wake up in the morning and things have arrived that weren't here the day before.

WHen my child was five we went to the sand dunes on four wheelers. She lost her tooth and was upset that she couldn't put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. I got on the computer that night and wrote a note to her as the tooth fairy, put it in different script and told her that the sand fairy had found her tooth and gave it to the tooth fairy. She got her money and she still has the note to this day. She was so excited. Also every summer we plant what we call a fairy garden. I like my children to believe in Magic or imagine things that might be impossible, but you never know. I think imagination is how things are invented.

I also have never lied to my kids about it either. My 11 yo knows the truth but my 5 and 4 y olds still beleive. I almost think their imagination is more for my benefit than theirs.

Amy - posted on 03/09/2010

For us it has nothing to do with religion. It's just that we don't want our daughter thanking an imaginary person for the few gifts we bought her. And nothing in life should be about material things over people. but that's just us. Easter bunny---i think it's creepy. no idea why. and tooth fairies --- my daughter would probably freak if she knew anything or anyone could sneak into the house via magic. plus we don't like lying to her. we don't think it's fun. and money for teeth...we don't do that either. if she does chores beyond daily stuff we all do, she gets extra money for her piggy bank. i have told her the history of santa claus and why people do that. i just don't understand the bunny thing. lol. i guess it's just not something we did. at easter my parents helped us color eggs but i think it was because it was a fun craft and supplies were there. for me it basically comes down to my ideas of a relationship with my kids. i don't want to lie to them. for fun or any other reason. if i don't know something, i tell them i don't know why. if i'm wrong, whoops, mom's not perfect and we learn together.

Laila - posted on 03/09/2010

Brandi, I agree with you. After a certain age, they should definetly know the truth and when my youngest does start questioning it, I won't lie to him as I didn't lie when my stepson asked. He is 12 now and he has known for a couple years now and he did not take it badly.

Brandi - posted on 03/09/2010

I personally think the fun of Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc are all really good for children. It teaches them to have an imagination! But I personally know a couple of people who grew up without that stuff and they don't feel like they missed out on anything and still had very good childhoods. It might be hard to imagine for some of us, but it's probably hard to imagine believing in that stuff for them.

Going off on my own point here-I also think there is a time when children need to be in the know about the truth. I have nieces/nephews who are literally about to enter high school and still believe. That's ridiculous, in my opinion.

Amanda - posted on 03/09/2010

We participate, but we dont lie to our children about just who Santa, Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy truely are.