I had a religiously ambiguous childhood. Having a Jewish mother and a Catholic father theoretically meant that I was exposed to both faiths. So when December rolled around, we lit the menorah and received small gifts each night of Hanukkah. But this minor Jewish holiday couldn’t hold a candle (pun intended) to the big guy in the red suit. Christmas was purely secular in my home; I’m not sure that I even realized the religious significance of the holiday until I was a tween.
Yet every December 24th, Santa visited, magically sneaking into our chimney-less house while I slumbered in my footie pajamas. As I approached double digits, I heard disquieting whispers from my peers about Santa’s true identity. I didn’t want to believe that my parents were St. Nick, but I wanted proof of his existence.
Christmas Eve arrived, and my sister and I put a plate of cookies and a glass of milk next to the tree. Then I wrote a note to Santa, which I have recreated here:
Notice how I changed my handwriting to look like a little girl’s? That will come into play later.
I thought I was being so clever. Before I headed up to bed, I asked my parents and my grandparents to sign Santa’s name on another piece of paper. Now I could compare Santa’s autograph to my family members’ and I would prove or disprove Santa’s existence. My nine-year-old self was not going to be fooled.
The next morning, Santa’s autograph was sitting on top of a present wrapped in paper I had never seen before. I eagerly unwrapped it to find a typewriter – how did Santa always know what I wanted?
Mine may not have been this old, but it was close.
Wait a minute…how DID he always know what I wanted? I pulled out the paper with my family’s signatures, and compared each one to Santa’s. No match – he must be real! What a relief. I wasn’t ready to not believe. I spent the better part of Christmas Day happily banging on my typewriter, oblivious to the fact that my father was capable of disguising his handwriting.
I don’t remember exactly when I learned the truth. I don’t even remember how I felt about it. But I do remember that Christmas long ago, and that tenacious little girl who tried to prove the existence of magic.
How did the Santa thing play out when you were a kid?
Smart child! I love the magic of Santa and he has lived on in our house. The older guys haven’t spoiled it for the younger ones, but they are suspicious and I think this will be the last year of some real believers….
That’s sad…but it has to happen at some point, I suppose. How nice that the older kids keep the magic alive for their younger siblings – you have some good kids 🙂
Love the image you designed for the post! Too funny! great post Dana!
Thanks, Jodi. It was harder than I thought to write in “proper” cursive. I messed up a few times and had to start over!
Oh what a GREAT story Dani!!! Love that you were so into figuring out the mystery of Santa and how well you thought of a plan to do so!!
My Cassidy is 10- and still not a clue. She’s a young fifth grader who believes in everything…. and I am not sure who will break her innocence. I’m sure it’s coming soon. UGH.
Great memory to share!!! 🙂
Thanks, Chris. I think it’s great that your daughter still believes – why rush growing up?
Every night Abby writes to her elf. Which means I have to write Abby a letter every freaking night from her Elf. She hasn’t caught on yet, thank goodness
Oh my gosh – what a pain! But I suppose it’s worth it. I have to say I’m not envious of the whole Elf thing, though.
I have to agree with Alexa…you were quite the detective! My youngest decided through his own reasoning that Santa couldn’t possibly be real and told his 2nd grade classmates why. Every parents worst nightmare, right…their kid being the one to ruin it for everyone else. His poor teacher had to run damage control. And of course we had no idea he didn’t believe.
Ugh – hope you didn’t get backlash for that, Michelle. When we told our kids, we told them not to ruin the magic for any of their friends that still believed. But yours was sneaky and didn’t even give you the chance to do that.
Boy, you were crafty! I never even thought to ask Santa for his signature, to say the least of asking my family to sign his name to compare it. I think you missed a calling as a Detective!! 🙂
Maybe I did. Although they totally fooled me with the fake signature, so I think I would have been a pretty crappy detective.
When my daughter, now 15, figured out that her dad and I were actually Santa the part she was most confused about, the only part she had questions about was…what happens to the cookies we put out. I mean really? LOL
Well, the cookies are the most important part. 🙂
How clever you were! I gave up believing when I was nine. I don’t even know what made that change. I was done. How did your children find out? OOOH That would be a good post for your daughter to write.
We don’t celebrate Christmas, so my kids found out when I told them and they said, “Oh, that makes sense.” That would make for a very uninteresting post, Jean. 😉
I’m such a dummy! I even remembered that as I started to read your piece. DUH, me. I’m blaming it on all the birthday cake I ate today.
look at you…little miss private investigator! so smart, and your family just as smart to outwit you. it’s weird, i didn’t grow up with all of the myths (tooth fairy, santa) so i’m not sure whether i’ll use them when it comes to my own parenting. i actually think it’s rather deceptive (why can’t presents come from the people who bought them versus these made up characters?)…but then again, i didn’t grow up with these traditions so my husband and i will have to discuss.
I know what you mean. As a parent, I like not having to deal with Santa – my kids know who gives them gifts and who to thank. But it is wonderful to see your child believe in the magic of Santa or the Tooth Fairy. Just one of a million parenting decisions you’ll have to make as a team!
I love this Dana! First of all, how cool that you wanted a typewriter, and now you are a writer? Foreshadow! And you always crack me up, I love that you recreated your little girl note. You were pretty smart. It was funny I love to tease my mom about how I finally figured out Santa wasn’t real. I was thinking I might write a post about it!
Foreshadowing for sure…especially since I never majored in anything close to writing. I’ve just always enjoyed it. And yes – write a post about it. I’d love to read some holiday posts that don’t have to do with Elf on a Shelf!
I’m not really sure when I figured it out… But I do remember being convinced when I was little that my brother and I actually saw Santa. We were hiding behind the couch when we were supposed to be sleeping… 🙂
Aw – I love that! I wonder if it was one of your parents that you saw. Or maybe a figment of your sleep deprived imagination!
That is SO cute. I was always a little suspicious of Santa because he had identical handwriting to my dad’s. Eventually, I started getting gifts not only from Santa, but from Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, the morning DJs on my favorite radio station…and they all had the same handwriting as my dad!
Ha – your dad didn’t try too hard to fool you! But if you are getting gifts, don’t ask too many questions – that’s how I roll.
You were very clever for a nine year old. I believed until about 9 or 10 too. I wish that my friends hadn’t blown it for me. I remember driving home from Christmas shopping with my Mom and asking her if Santa was real. She took a minute to answer and told me that Santa is real only he doesn’t look like the image we see on tv and in stores. She told us Santa looks like Mommy and Daddy. So there was her non-answer. It was the answer I gave my boys when they asked.
I like that answer – the spirit and idea of Santa certainly does exist. It’s just up to us to keep it alive, right?
What a great story! We always put great thought into which of us (and what particular script) we use when signing special “notes” such as these. My darling husband had the brilliant idea that the Tooth Fairy would also leave notes. Thanks a lot, hubby. She leaves them on glittery paper, too. Way to set the bar high.
I made that mistake too, Stephanie. I answered a note to the Tooth Fairy in intricate loopy handwriting, and then was stuck doing it everytime a note was left. You know how long it takes to write out a note like that? Minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
So cute. I love parent ‘trickery’ It makes it so much fun for all 🙂 I recall a very fresh teenager in our neighborhood bursting my bubble about Santa. I was heartbroken, it’s so much better for kids to figure it out on their own. I love your ‘detective’ tactics to uncover the mystery. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a kid that smart. Great fun!!
Thanks, Kim – I did think I was pretty smart at the time! Just not savvy enough to realize that my parents could be even smarter.
Aren’t you clever? But Dad was just a little more clever! I remember trying to stay up to see Santa but never actually made it. This is the first year that my eleven and nine year old don’t believe in Santa any more, which is kind of a bummer. I do still have my five year old, so we get to hold on to a little of the magic just a while longer.
You still have a few more years, and I’m sure you’ll cherish them knowing how fast they grow up!
Absolutely LOVE this post & SO happy that you shared it with us on this #LOBS weekend!!! 🙂
Thanks Amber – always happy to link up with the ladies!
Your dad is a genius! Of course he knew that you’d be inspecting handwriting! I bet you were a fun kid to hang out with!
That’s sweet of you to say, NJ. I don’t know if my sister would agree with you, but I’d like to think I was fun back then. Not as much fun as I am now, though. 🙂
Ha – you were a thinker even as a child!!! I would never have thought to compare signatures! I got a typewriter for Christmas when I was 9ish – so much fun to type and then swing the return!!!
And listen to the click of the keys – I loved it too! And yes, I was a thinker even back then – not much has changed!
Brilliant!! I remember finding out the truth. I was sitting with my older brother and one of his friends after school waiting for the bus. They just told me. I argued, but they pointed out that he couldn’t have gotten bikes down the chimney we didn’t have, etc. I went home, asked my mom, and she told me.
Pretty unceremonious, huh? I don’t think I told my younger sister. But I’d say to your brother…if Santa can get in without a chimney, then he certainly could get two bikes in. He is magic afterall!
Dana, your handwriting is really beautiful 🙂 I totally have script envy.
And wow – your very own typewriter! That’s so cool 😀 I’m blown away. We used to have an old typewriter, but it was busted and didn’t type so well.
Also, way to go you for trying to figure out the Santa thing 🙂
I haven’t written that way in years – it as a challenge to remember “correct” cursive. My son never learned it – can you believe they don’t teach it anymore in his elementary school? Ridiculous.
I can, sadly. We never ever learned it here. I think people used to, before my parents’ generation. Or Copperplate. Nice Writing, anyway. Nowadays it’s all a mess of crap.
I’m still dead impressed that you can do it. I wish there were adult learning handwriting classes or something…
Do you still celebrate both holidays?
I remember my sister believed in sister for an embarrassingly long time. My parents eventually used the same wrapping paper for all our gifts (Santa and non). She burst into tears when she found out the truth. I think she was 12 or 13!!
Nope, we are raising the kids Jewish, so no Christmas in our house. We help my in-laws celebrate every year though, so my kids have ornaments on their grandparents’ tree. 12 or 13 – that’s pretty late. I think I was 10.
awesome post! thanks for bringing a smile to my face with this one….I was raised Jewish and always wanted to have Santa come visit our house but he *sniff* never did…today we celebrate both holidays in our home and the kids enjoy lighting the menorah and all but as you said “the big guy” is what they are more interested in! My daughter Lily came home from kindergarten the other day and said “JP from my class said Santa is not real.” Luckily I didn’t have to explain much because she chimed in right away with “I don’t believe him at all Mom, he’s just trying the ruin the spirit of Christmas.” I love that kid!
=)
Jen
Lily has a great attitude! Santa doesn’t visit our house, but my kids have never really minded. They do love the whole spirit of the holiday – and that you can appreciate whatever your religion.
We had the opposite experience. I finally clued in to the fact that my Mom was really Santa when I actually looked at the tags and realized they were in her handwriting! A sad Christmas indeed! 🙁
Aww, I’m sure it was Chris. It does stink to find out the truth.
That wasn’t as bad as the year my sister and I found all the wrapped presents stacked in the master bath – guess they figured we’d have no reason to go in there, but they guessed wrong. We opened one end of every package to get a peek at what was inside. What a letdown on X-Mass morning when we already knew what everything (almost everything) was. We never pulled that again!
Couldn’t help myself when I saw that wonderful cursive writing on a note to Santa (mine used to be barely legible)! Visiting via LOBS from over at http://www.ritewhileucan.com where I get a little carried away about letterwriting and all things paper. You might enjoy.
Oh, I know I would enjoy, Barb – going to check you out now! Glad the note caught your interest.
LOVE this!! Love that you got a typewriter and love that you were smart to get everyone’s signature ahead of time…GENIUS! :)-Ashley
Why thank you, Ashley! I thought I was being pretty clever too.
Dana, another wonderful blog. I do remember that event and we did laugh about it. Considering all the things I have saved from my childhood and yours (black corduroy prom dress, etc.) I don’t know why I didn’t save that letter. BTW, your typewriter picture was probably even before my time!
I think I remember it being old – I know it wasn’t brand new. But I loved it!
What a wonderful childhood memory! I bet your parents got a huge kick out of your Nancy Drew investigative skills. My husband writes a letter to our girls from Santa every year, and it’s a huge hit. I can’t wait to see how it goes over this year. My 4 y/o is head-over-heels into the magic of Christmas this year. Love it!
What a perfect age for magic -old enough to appreciate it and young enough to be completely convinced in it’s existence. Enjoy every second, Nicole!
I think we had the same religiously ambiguous childhood! And now, lucky me, my kids have it too.
I remember writing to the tooth fairy and getting letters back on neon pink computer-typed paper. And my parents didn’t have a computer, so the tooth fairy had to be real, right? (it was my grandfather)
Oddly, I found out the truth about Santa when I was in the Hebrew school car line. I took it well because I was 11 and my mom explained it well about the spirit of Christmas and Santa being very real and magical.
My kids took it well too. They never complained about not getting visits from Santa, so the reveal wasn’t a big deal for them. Start practicing your Santa signature – you never know when you’ll need it!
Oh I love this so much! I have so many great memories like this. My dad used to write PAGES of letters to us from Santa and didn’t disguise his handwriting at all and we believed!! We still have some of those letters and I love bringing them out and reading them at the holidays.
Keep the spirit of that little girl alive Dana!!
How cool that you still have the letters, Allie. And I will keep that spirit alive – people can create their own magic, right?
Yep, I’d like to see if your D’s look like that now. That is perfect cursive. I got a typewriter too back in the day. How much did yours weigh? Mine was 500 lbs. LOL! Funny story there.
Someone at school in the 3rd grade told me. I had received a letter from Santa and I took it to school for show and tell. She she busted my bubble. I can’t believe I don’t remember her name to put her on blast now. My brother was born that year so I got to carry on the magic of Santa for many more years for him.
I tried hard to write in perfect cursive – it was a challenge! My D’s are loopless now. My typewriter wasn’t that heavy – yours was like a boulder!
It was more like 50lbs. I’m going to have to write a post about that. I am book marketing that idea for a rainy day.
Dana, this is so cute! I have a cousin that when we get together, the stories of how we thought we were clever when we were this young always come out. I can’t think of any specific Christmas ones right now…maybe when me and my brother got spankings because we went downstairs and opened gifts before we were allowed to lol. That was pretty funny and traumatic all at the same time. hehe.
Naughty kids! I loved being surprised on Christmas morning, so I never did that 🙂
That is too cute! I love how you tried to “prove” it too. Thankfully your parents caught on and changed their signatures 🙂
I remember writing to Santa and leaving the note on my desk, waiting for it to be whisked away to the north pole like I had seen in the movies. Of course it was still there when I came back, but even that didn’t deter me from not believing. It was a few years later when I finally caught on.
I love how kids hold onto the magic as long as they can. My kids have never once asked me about the Tooth Fairy, even over a year since her final visit.
This is the year Dana, Isaiah is asking so many questions, and I am trying so hard to continue to suspend his disbelief. He is only 8 for pete’s sake! But he’s asking so many questions!!!
Cross your fingers for me.
And dramatic reenactment? LOL!
Fingers crossed. It doesn’t surprise me that Isaiah is asking questions – he’s a bright, inquisitive kid. But I hope he believes for a little while longer.
Brilliant to ask yout family to sign Santa’s name! I mean seriously!!! Brilliant!!!! I got a similar typewriter, also my favorite!!
I did have good ideas every now and then. I wish I had held onto that typewriter – it would be an artifact today!
I love how you were astute enough to question but also not ready to not believe – and how your parents were onto your game. My son – the middle kid – believes with all his might. Like you, my kids have one Jewish parent (me) and one Christian parent (dad) and the man in the red suit wins hands down every year.
Hanukkah just can’t compete! But my kids don’t seem to be any worse for the wear, and Santa has never visited them.
Very, very clever of you to do the signature comparison. Love to have been a fly on the wall at your house that night …
I know – I do wonder how it all played out after I went to bed. I’m sure my parents and grandparents got quite the chuckle out of my plan.
I honestly don’t remember how I found this out, but I do remember spoiling it one Christmas for my younger brother. Yes, I was a total pain the butt an almost teen (there is 6 years between us). So, I still remember being the one to educate him on this. But seriously, now as an adult, I want to believe again and love seeing my girls reactions to Santa now and hope they don’t lose the believe of Santa for some time to come now. Thanks Dana for sharing and linking up with us again this week!! 🙂
There is really nothing like watching children who believe in magic – be it Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny…I hope your girls hold on for many years to come!