When you caught the white fuzzy things that fly through the air, that was part of Santa Claus' beard and it meant you were being good.

elizabethany

i once caught my christmas list in my dad's office, when it was supposed to be at the north pole. i became upset until my father explained he had santa's fax number. i was duly impressed.

Anon

When I was 5, my dad was a cop. He was involved in a high-profile drug sting, and as a result, there were death threats on him and on my family. We got used to him checking the door with a pistol in his hand.

One night in December, Dad went outside for a few minutes to "check around" as he did frequently. Suddenly, I heard bells and a loud, "HO, HO, HO!" coming from my bedroom window! I shrieked and ran for my mother in terror, and Mom asked me, "What's wrong, honey?"

My panicked response: "Mommy, we've gotta stop Daddy! He's gonna shoot Santa!"

Jaede

Every Christmas we had parties at my grandparents and from when i was from about age 4 to 7 and i used to believe i talked to Santa Clause up the chimney. What i now know is, that 'Santa Clause' was actually my grandad upstairs with one walkie-talkie and the other inside a vase (with flowers) next to the fire place!! The family always joined in the fun, with uncles and aunties all running in saying that they have seen him on the roof! Great tip for youngters, it used to make my Christmas!

Anon

I used to believe that thunder was Santa making toys.

Anon

My dad is a police officer and works the night shift. When I was younger he had me convinced that he was Santa Clause and went to the North Pole at night to get ready for Christmas. I even told my friends at school.

Anon

When I was little, I didn't believe that Santa and his elves made all the toys he gave. I thought that he sent out elves in disguise as humans to buy the toys at stores. My classmate Ryan had large ears, and I thought that he might be an elf because of this.

Anon

When I was a little girl, I used to think that Daddy's turned into Santa Clause. My father dressed up as Santa one year.Later that day, I walked passed the bedroom and saw him taking the beard off. Instead of assuming Santa wasn't real, I just thought that he had turned into Santa.I just knew I had the Secret to Santa Clause. I told all of the kids at school.

Anon

My mom used to wrap our presents and put them under the tree as she bought them. This, of course, made my brother, my sister, and myself question the existence of Santa. When asked about it, my mom said that there were just rocks in the boxes and that Santa came around to put the real presents in on Christmas Eve. This was, apparently, a completely reasonable explanation for us that we accepted for years to come.

Jess

when i was young my dad would say that "christmas was around the corner" and so i would ride my bike to the end of the block and around the bend looking for snow and christmas lights.

jessie

My dad used to tell my brother and I that the reason Santa's elves shoes were pointy was to poke out the eyes of any boys or girls who caught him delivering presents. Needless to say we were in bed asleep through the night on Christmas eve in order to keep our eye balls intact.

Jessica F.

One Christmas I noticed that my mom and Santa had the same handwriting. When I pointed this out to my mom she said, "Santa has lots of helpers." It suddenly all made sense. My mom was one of Santa's helpers and she didn't go to work because she was secretly making toys somewhere. Maybe even in our house! I never did find the secret toy factory in my house.

Anon

My sister and I used to believe that Santa saw you through the light bulbs, and thats why he knew everything you did.

Joree

I used to believe in father christmas until I tied a string across my bedroom doorway and my dad fell over it in the dark

johnboy

When I was a kid my dad once tried to explain to me that the fictional Santa Claus wasn't real by telling me that He was in fact the one leaving the presents for me. After this I assumed my dad WAS in fact THE Santa Claus. I remember being so proud to have Santa Claus as my father!

Saint Nick's daughter

Every Christmas eve, I left out milk and cookies for Santa and his reindeer just like every other kid. For some reason however, I became convinced that Santa was a cannibal and if I didn't leave any cookies, he would become so hungry he would eat me.

I think my parents wondered about the huge plate of cookies I left by the fireplace every year.

Chris

I used to believe that Santa's elves had hidden cameras in every place in the world. They reviewed the footage in the North Pole, in a big futuristic base. I also believed that in addition to the cameras, each house had it's own elf watching their every move and documenting every bad deed. Needless to say, I was a very well behaved child.

Ms. Mole

When ever I saw a Santa at a Mall or at my school once, I used to think that they were hired by the real santa to make people believe in him.

Anon

i used to believe that coal from stockings was santa's poop because i was bad

dylan mcdonald

My grandmother always told me that pigeons were 'Father Christmas' birds who went back and told him everything you did (this was after a expressed my scepticism that Santa could really know all that stuff). Also, when I was really little and was getting excited about Christmas, my mother told me that it wasn't the next day but the one after. Then, when there were presents under the tree the next day, she would admit that she must have been wrong. It's almost embarrasing how long I believed that and how often I fell for it.

KB