Woman Fuming After Sister-in-Law Tells Kids Santa Is 'Just a Myth' on Christmas
In a post on Reddit, the woman writes that her four- and six-year-olds are "still at that age where they truly believe in the whole Santa thing"
A woman's sister-in-law told her kids on Christmas Eve that Santa Claus isn't real — and now she's fuming
In a post shared to Reddit, the woman writes, "The room went so quiet you could hear a pin drop"
"Christmas was ruined for the kids, and I can’t stop feeling like she totally destroyed the one thing they were excited about," the post adds
A woman says her sister-in-law "ruined Christmas" for her kids after telling them that "Santa Claus is just a myth" and that the parents are actually responsible for all the gifts under the tree.
In a post shared to Reddit, the anonymous 32-year-old woman says she has two kids — a 6-year-old daughter, and a 4-year-old son — and that her family has "always gone all out for Christmas. Like, I’m talking Christmas lights that can probably be seen from space, decorating cookies, watching all the Christmas movies, and of course, the magic of Santa Claus."
"We’ve always wanted to make Christmas special for them, especially since they’re still at that age where they truly believe in the whole Santa thing. And for me, that’s the fun part watching them light up when they see the presents under the tree and hearing them talk about Santa’s reindeer and the North Pole. It’s just ... magic," the woman adds in the post.
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The woman writes that this year, she and her husband hosted Christmas at their house — but things "went south" after Christmas Eve dinner.
"We were sitting around the living room on Christmas Eve, after dinner. The kids were getting a bit hyper and asking random questions like they do, and somehow the topic of Santa came up. My son asked, 'Aunt Sarah, how does Santa get all the presents under the tree?' " the post continues.
Sarah, the woman's sister-in-law, then "looks at my son dead in the eye and says, 'Honey, Santa isn’t real. It’s just your parents who buy the presents and put them under the tree. Santa is just a story. I’m sorry to break it to you.' "
"I was in complete shock. The room went so quiet you could hear a pin drop," the woman writes. "My daughter’s face just fell, like she was trying to process what she just heard. My son, on the other hand, looked like he was about to burst into tears and asked, 'So ... you and Daddy bought all the presents? There’s no Santa?' "
The woman writes that she was "livid" at her sister-in-law, "Not just because she told them, but because of how casually she did it like it was no big deal."
"Like she had the right to destroy their excitement and their belief in the magic of Christmas," she adds.
While she tied to remain calm in the moment, the woman says she confronted Sarah, telling her, "You don’t get to ruin Christmas for my kids. We are their parents, and we’re the ones who decide when they’re ready to know the truth. You just took away the one thing that’s been magical for them. How could you do that?”
Sarah, meanwhile, "looked totally unbothered, like she was proud of herself for 'telling them the truth.' She even said something like, 'I don’t like lying to kids, and it’s better they know sooner than later.' "
"At this point, I was done. I turned to my husband and said, 'We’re done here.' I asked Sarah to leave, and she didn’t even try to apologize. She just said, 'Whatever, I’m not gonna apologize for telling the truth.' "
Later, Sarah's husband (the poster's brother) called to say he felt she was overreacting. But she disagreed.
"To me, it was a big deal. Santa is magic. It’s something we create as parents to give our kids a sense of wonder. What she did was selfish, cruel, and totally out of line," she writes.
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Stock photo of Santa ClausThe post adds: "Christmas was ruined for the kids, and I can’t stop feeling like she totally destroyed the one thing they were excited about. My daughter didn’t talk much about it the rest of the day, but I could tell she was upset. My son kept asking if Santa was real, and I tried to comfort him as best as I could, but I could see the magic was gone."
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Fellow Reddit users are weighing in, overwhelmingly agreeing with the original poster.
"Your sister is a real life grinch," wrote one. "I’d be livid."
Added another: "Disappointed? You are too kind. I would be furious. Livid. Irate. A volcano at the verge of eruption. A meteorite, ready to destroy dinosaurs and the Grinch. What she did was cruel and it was absolutely not her place to "tell the truth"! Which is just an euphemism for 'ruining Christmas for your kids.' "
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