If you happen to have a small child strolling around the house right now, you may want to turn the screen away, because we’ve collected some of the wildest, funniest and occasionally disappointing ways people discovered Santa Claus wasn’t as real as they’d thought.
Mom and Dad are to blame…
“When I was 4 or 5, my mom accidentally labelled the gift that was supposed to be from Santa ‘from Mom and Dad.’ Even though I got everything I had asked for, I was absolutely devastated at the thought that I hadn’t been good enough for Santa to come. When I wouldn’t stop crying, my mom decided it would be best to let me know who Santa really was.” — Alexandra
“At a certain point I started to think something fishy was going on. So I begged and guilted my mom into telling me the truth. When she did, I wouldn’t stop crying.” — Hilary
“One Christmas Eve, I came upon my dad eating the milk and cookies and my mom signing a card from Santa. That certainly did it!” — Kirsten
Sometimes we’re just too clever for our own good…
“I was travelling the world with my parents and saw an African Santa, a Middle Eastern Santa and an Asian Santa. I determined it wasn’t possible for Santa to change his appearance in every new spot he’s in and knew he must be fake.” — Anne
“I measured the chimney and determined no normal person could fit through it. When I asked my parents, they were so flabbergasted by my cleverness they admitted it.” — Lee
“When I got to a certain age, the fact [that] all of Santa’s presents came wrapped in the same paper as the ones from my mom and dad became a little too glaring to ignore.” — Colleen
Those darn kids…
“A kid was joking about Santa not being real at school, and I just pretended I knew, but secretly I was crushed. My brother, on the other hand, was not too quickly convinced and actually got into fights at school, defending Santa Claus. In the end my parents had to cave and tell him the truth.” — Alison
“My next door neighbour, who was younger, spilled the beans and ruined Christmas for me.” — Ruth
Never stop believing!
“I grew up in a small town in Labrador, Newfoundland, and my mom always wanted us to believe in Santa Claus for as long as possible. So no matter how many times I asked, she always assured me he was real. Then when I was 9, I decided to hide by my long green stocking (even though it was freezing in our unheated home at night) and find out the truth. As my mom reached for the stocking to fill it, she suddenly noticed me shivering in the corner amongst the coats and boots. I told her I wanted to know if there was a Santa Claus or not. She turned to me, folded her arms and said, ‘Stephanie. Do you really want to know if there is a Santa Claus?’ I blushed, mumbled a ‘no’ and hurried back to bed. I’m now quite a lot older… and to this day, we’ve never brought up the subject again. I still hang that green stocking every year when I go home for Christmas. And as far as I know, I’m still pretty much on Santa’s good side.” — Stephanie
Tell us
Now it’s your turn! How did you find out Santa Claus isn’t real? Share in the comments below!
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