This happened last year with my than 2.5 year old. I mean Santa's in the stores, Santa's ringing bells, Santa statues he just became petrified.

I thought this year he's older he will be fine, now 3.5. Nope!! We went to the mall before Thanksgiving sometime, and already there was a Santa there. We just walk by and he panics, cries, shakes, hides, runs, screams. He has begged again this year, please tell Santa not to come, please!!

We have always told our children Santa only brings them a few gifts, because he visits other children that really need him. We do stress the true meaning of Christmas. I assured him Santa would only make a brief visit. But to no avail, he wants Santa not to come :lol: . I think last year the only reason he allowed Santa to come was because we were in a very small travel trailer and we put our tree on a porch outside, so Santa never had to "come inside" so to speak. When I also told the children we can just e-mail Santa our list this year, he told me to mail him when he isn't around, he doesn't want to see him.

Oh gotta love little ones.

Oh and another thing I have never had luck getting my kids on Santa's, or the Easter bunnies lap. How do you moms get your children to sit there? Sure when they are teeney tiny I could.

Yeah, well... David's noticed that they all look different. Everyonce in a while he'll say such and such is the real Santa, but most of the time, he says they're not.

LOL, our town's Christmas Parade was this past Tuesday. One of the floats had Mr. and Mrs. Claus in the convertible waving... David recognized them as a product from Wal-mart :oops:

Renee and David's mom-

:lol: :lol: :lol: *snork* hahahahbwahhhahehwhhheeehhehwhah ahahah awwwww *sigh* phew - that's funny stuff :D

Tooo funny!! hahaha

When my brother and I were kids my parents told us that Santa wasn't real and that it was just a nice man dressed up... we would refuse to look at the santas :) even if we were the only kids walking by and the santa would call us, we would stare straight ahead :lol: poor santa :lol:

All I know is I always hated santa and all that stuff as a child. Just hated it! I remember my mom took me to see Sesame Street on ice or whatever that was and I was ok to watch in the audience, but afterward we got to 'meet' them and I freaked. I hated every bit of it.

But then I also freaked when one uncle shaved his beard and another uncle grew one LOL :roll:

sorry no help here, as we don't do Santa, or any of those, but it's not abnormal for a kids that age to be scared of a lot of things, esp. "weird" things that they don't see every day.

I am thinking it is anything that looks odd or is in a costume just scares him to death, because he hates clowns as well. But you know what at my age I still don't care much for clowns, and as a child I remember I had to sit on Santa's lap and hated it. So we know just to be on the look out when we are out and about for odd looking characters trying to be funny to the kids.

We are heading to Disney campground tomorrow, hmmm wonder how he will take to all the characters once we visit the parks. This should be interesting :lol:

My almost 3 yr old dd is the same way. We were at the mall last weekend and they were setting up decorations and she was freaking out. Santa wasn't even there yet!!! My husband's little sister (she's 6) will probably go with us when we visit Santa at the mall. My dd adores her and will follow her lead. I'm thinking if she goes and sits on Santas lap then maybe my daughter will too. She does everything that her Aunt does. She likewise used to be scared of Santa until last year. I just think it has something to do with a strange person in a wierd costume. But my daughter does love Christmas and she talks about HoHo (Santa) but its just when we see him in person is when she freaks out.

At this age, new people are a little scary...you know because they hide behind you, and barely peek out. Then along comes this guy wearing the most hideous emsemble you ever saw. Yikes!!!
And we teach them to not talk to strangers...but it's ok to sit in his lap and tell him secrets?

And my son completely lost it when people would mention that this weird looking, fashion-challenged, hairy little creep was going to break into our house while everyone was asleep?!?!?

No Way!!!

So, now when we see Santa, he is a granpa, dressed up to make everyone laugh and have fun. He does not come to our house, and you only see him at the mall if you want to. But you are sworn to keep his identity a secret to all other girls and boys, so you don't hurt his feelings.

:P My son is 3 1/2 yrs. & is very scared of clown's as you mentioned your son is Renee.

My son is 4 in a couple of weeks and I could tell he was a mite weary of Santa this year when he sat on his lap.
Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he didn't even answer LOL, poor kid - lucky his twin sister was sitting on Santa's other knee and had pleanty to say....

Must be the beard???

Don't take my opinion too seriously, here, lol, since I am incredibly anti-Santa. My children are not going to believe in any of that stuff, but I know we'll have to contend with all their friends believing in that junk and them asking about it. And then I'll have to read up on the whole St. Nick thing, and arrgh!

Anyway, you have to consider what you'd think as a kid (or, heck, even now!) if someone told you a strange man came to your house with a bunch of animals in the middle of the night while you were sleeping, ate your cookies, left some gifts for your family but doesn't want to have any contact with anyone in the house, other than by email. Do you know how weird that's gotta sound to you son? He's thinking something's not right about that, and he doesn't want anything to do with it.

As for the Easter Bunny, you gotta laugh at that one. I mean, even as a child, I was like, "A giant rabbit goes around giving out candy because they killed Jesus? That is so stupid!" Of course, I will freely admit that I was the weird, dorky kid who read and thought too much, lol. Having children has put a temporary halt to the reading and thinking stuff, but they'll go to college someday!

It's normal for kids to be scared of someone in costume...and a stranger! We just tell our little ones that Santa is a character for Christmas but not real from the beginning and that people dress up for fun for the holidays out of traditiion.....that's just our personal choice! Many of my friends say he's real too! :D
Anyways...after a friend of mine and my experience taking our kiddos (both 2.5 ) to visit Santa...I think SANTA will need medication! :lol: They both very warily visited him together...and then took off screaming in opposite directions at the same time! Poor Santa...poor kids...poor Mommies running/waddling after hysterical boys in the mall, both of us being 9 months preggo! I'm sure we were a sight to behold! Geeze....then everytime we would walk by afterward...they'd get upset again and so we had to skip that end of the walking lap after that! :shock: Ahhhh, the joys of the moment that make you laugh AFTER you get home! :lol:

in our home, old satan, i mean santa went out long ago! we told our child it is just a man dressed up. we have relaxed a little around him, but quiet frankly, i just feel he is someone that comes to take the glory away from Christ.
in the end, the kids are more concerned about the man in the red suit than the Man that came to bring them salvation!
The "tree" is also out. (read Jer 10: 1-7)
nope, we just have some good family time without all the comersial stuff.

don't know if that would help - i mean, those guys are still in every shop. but maybe if they know it is just a normal person dressed up they might relax.
otherwise, just don't fuss over it. don't force the child to go to him. there is no rule that says your child MUST go sit on his lap or anything.
Be honest with your child. i think they will appreciate it more in the long run.

Oh, I still do the tree... The passage from Jeremiah is about crafting idols, and I think that as long as you aren't teaching your children to idolize the tree or gifts, as long as you teach them the gifts are a symbol of the original and true Christmas gift, it should be cool with God.

Interesting factoid about the tree, actually. I can't remember the name of the dude who started it all, but and English missionary to Germany started it when he started using the fir tree's triangular shape to teach about the trinity. I think that if you use the tree as a symbolic reminder of what the holiday is all about, you should be cool. (As for decorating it, I believe it's symbolic of giving riches to my King. But I was a French lit major, so I'm big into symbolism, lol!)