Who gives the wishes/asked for gift?

We do cheaper more affordable things from Santa and the bigger gift from us parents not really for credit as he’s a toddler but bc when he’s older and kids discuss what Santa got them I don’t want my kid to be like I got a switch while someone else got playing cards for example .

I don’t need the credit

I don’t want my kid to go to school telling others what he got and having a lower SES (poor kid) think Santa’s loves him/her less than mine because they didn’t get the big good from Santa. They got socks. Or whatever

What if someone can’t afford what their child asks Santa for? It’s better to do stockings from Santa so it looks like he is treating everyone equally

So what are you guys doing when it comes to Santa letters?
Don't you let them write it/ask for what they want?

We have done one gift to ask Santa for (my oldest doesn’t fully believe in Santa so it’s weird) last year she asked for a bubble machine because hers broke this year it’s a frozen Lego set. We’ve always do something small for Santa present because not every family can afford a new bike or a video game for Christmas. So often I would see kids talking about their Christmas presents after and how Santa would bring them these big extravagant things and other kids got socks and underwear because they needed it and that’s all their family could afford

Santa is not real so for my family we won’t participate in that sort of thing. I am teaching them not to ruin the magic for other families. & For us it’s not about needing credit, it’s about them knowing mommy and daddy hustle to give them what they wish for but im not judging anyone who does it differently. When it comes to what other kids get or don’t get that’s not something I put on my child or even worry about. They will know bragging isn’t polite, and everyone has a different situation every family handles the holidays their own way.

Santa letters are just wish lists. Not every wish is fulfilled.

It’s the way me and my oh grew up that stockings come from Santa. Growing up we’d always get the obligatory satsuma. Big presents come from us. My kids write a list for Santa and family. I’m not going to get everything on their list. Apart from anything last year my daughter asked for a slide going downstairs from her bedroom and a walk in wardrobe. This year it’s a mobile phone…she’s 8.

My kids are teens now, but when they were little their big gift came from us and the rest were Santa. For the same reason others stated. We didn’t want our kids to discuss what they got from Santa with someone at school who might not of been as fortunate. As far as the lists go, it’s wish lists lol. They can write 100 things on that list, it doesn’t mean they are going to get it all. And it doesn’t matter if they ask Santa for the big gift. Christmas morning they are going to see the big gift and not give a care who got it. They will just be happy they received it. I never once had my kids say, “wow my big gift! But this tag says from mom but I asked Santa for it?”

My LG isn’t old enough to write letters yet, but when she is, we’ll encourage her to ask for a few different things that she would like, but that Santa won’t bring everything she asks for. But sometimes he shares the letter with us so if there’s something he can’t get, then we can get it (within reason). It’s completely fair and reasonable to want the bigger presents to be from us and the smaller bits from Santa, and also the other way around. But I don’t want her growing up thinking she gets big expensive presents by magic just because she asked for them.

We don’t do Santa or other mythical figures like the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny because they’re just not real it’s not about religion at all :) We just prefer keeping the magic in real moments, and skipping the whole “what if they find out it’s not real” meltdown thing.

So growing up Santa always gave the bigger gifts and I never questioned because they were more expensive and I always heard my parents saying how money was tight for us. When I had my first I gave the big ones from Santa as well for the “magic” of Christmas BUT as I got more financially independent I started giving those gifts from me and gave her still a gift on her list but not as big from Santa because I worked my ass off and being a single mom her knowing I gave it to her and how appreciative she was made my Christmas as well as hers. Now with my husband he agrees our gifts should be the big ones and Santa a smaller gift they want from the list. We want to teach our kids to be thankful for what they receive and not be greedy there is still magic in Christmas and excitement with Santa gifts but more importantly they are learning to be thankful and grateful as not everyone has the things they do.

Santa only brings stockings in our family. I’ve already explained to my kids that families sign up for different packages and can decide what Santa does or doesn’t bring to their home as well as signing up for elves and things like that. They also know that not everyone even signs up for anything and some people have other religions and don’t celebrate Christmas. Every option is acceptable and fine. In my opinion people do too much explanation and trying to over explain things and it makes it so complicated and to me takes the magic and fun out. They write a letter saying what they want from Santa and from their parents and family. Requests aren’t always granted. We don’t put a lot of time or energy into the letters it’s a quick 5 min activity.

We don’t do Santa really at all, we have the local fire squad come out to my mom’s street and they dress up like Santa & elves and hand out one present per kid on the street, (and it’s never a big or expensive gift) That’s the only Santa my kid knows lol
he knows of Santa as like a fictional / folk lore character more than anything.

I don’t have the whole “I need credit” mindset, more so there’s no point in “pretending”, cause to me it feels like an unnecessary lie.

We aren't doing a typical Santa... The gifts come from his Daddy and me, he will be taught that Santa is the mascot or a character of Christmas and the gift he gets is when he goes to Santas grotto and they always give a wrapped book. It's not about credit it's thinking ahead of what if he has a less fortunate friend and that friend wonders why Santa gave them nothing. It's not that big of a deal if families don't do Santa. I want our son to grow up and know that Mummy and Daddy made the Christmas magic and that the true meaning of Christmas isn't Santa or what Santa brought but time together, cooking together, laughter. It boggles my mind when people get their panties in a twist when someone doesn't wish to do Santa

No not you, I have seen others on here saying parents are ruining Christmas for the kids if they don't do santa

He writes his letter and gets one ‘big’ thing from him and a stocking. Rest is from us.

Completely agree with this, I don't need the credit for the presents I know where they've come from!! If it's on her Christmas list to Santa then Santa gets it her plus gifts that aren't on the list. I also don't agree that Santa only brings the small cheaper gifts so other kids don't feel sad (maybe get some hate for this)

It is not clear, we say Santa is coming but the presents are from mum and dad. Maybe our child thinks Santa is the delivery company.

We do letters from Santa. I give a small gift from Santa. Not for me to take credit for the big stuff, but incase another child they talk to at school hasn’t had a big extravagant gift off Santa because their family can’t afford it so the other child isn’t sat wondering why Santa doesn’t love them as much. But that stems from my job more so and working with families who can’t afford a gift at all.

To me the Santa wishlist is a sort of "magic of Christmas" situation. You can't just send a bearded guy a list and expect everything on it, you can send a list and he could choose something off of the list, or maybe he can use a bit of magic to help people that love us find out something that we might like. We're doing a sort of Santa postman situation too 😂 the people that we see close to and on Christmas bring their presents and put them under the tree, as do we with our family ones, and Santa brings the presents from people who are further away, fills up a stocking and gives a little present. And we won't be doing naughty and nice or using Santa as a threat in the lead up to Christmas 😂 he's just some jolly delivery guy who's a bit magic! It's not about credit, it's about what works for your family, understanding where things come from and being grateful. You don't need a bunch of presents from someone you don't know to make Christmas magical and special 😊

My daughter writes a Santa letter and then a separate one from us! I always tell her she has to ask for something smaller that Father Christmas can build in the work shop. Like last year she asked for a wooden highchair for her babies. This year she’s asked him for a playdoh ice cream machine and play dough!

He also fills her stocking!

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I’ve never been a big fan of telling kids that Santa or any other magic is literally real. I understand why people do it: it’s fun, it creates excitement, and for many families it’s just a warm tradition.

But for me, it always felt a little strange that at some point a child discovers they were told something untrue.

And more importantly, I’ve always felt that the real world already has so many genuinely exciting, wonderful moments to share with kids, without needing to add made-up magic.

I don’t judge anyone who enjoys the tradition, you should absolutely do what works for your family. In our family, we simply explain that Santa is a story, a cultural tradition that people share in different ways. And that’s been completely fine.

I don’t think about it like needing credit, but I don’t think it’s fair that Santa is give some kids amazing gifts and other kids very small things that are more like necessities, unless Santa is a classist a-hole. So if Santa give more basic gifts and big gifts come from family, that feels better to me.

We do spirit of Santa, as in the spirit of giving in whatever form they like like for you.

Spirit of Santa fills the stocking with something too read, something you need, and a small want. This isn't because we want credit. Its because I grew up believing in Santa and I also grew up poor. Most xmases I didnt get anything on my list and didnt understand why other kids got everything on theirs and I would feel like "what did I do??" Or "he doesnt like me" and I dont want any child to feel that way, especially not my own. Most families are living paycheck to paycheck and so xmas looks different every year yk? If next year its not a hot year for us and the gifts are small then it isnt because Santa didnt like us or skipped us yk? We make it magical here. We bake every weekend. We have hot cocoa. We watch a movie. We listen to xmas movies when making dinner. We go xmas related crafts and invite friends over to participate. We wear xmas jammies. We do an xmas related activity outside of the home.