Elf/santa plans for kids on verge of not believing?

[Bid]

What does everyone have planned for the kids in the run-up to xmas? My DS isn't even 5 yet but is already questioning the whether santa is real so we're wanting to go all out this year - either it will make him believe again, or will at least make our last year extra special! He's so cynical about things and already tells us the tooth fairy and easter bunny are just fairy tales, so this really could be our last year.

In previous years Buddy Elf always appeared on 1st December (he's a cuddly toy type rather than the small elf on the shelf kind). And with him he brought DS's wooden advent train. Every night Buddy would get up to mischief and leave a chocolate in one of the train drawers. Occasionally he would leave an xmas book or DVD. Then Buddy and the train would go home with santa on Xmas eve. Unfortunately a few weeks ago DS told us he knows Buddy is 'just a silly stuffed toy' and not a real elf, and it's really us that does all the stuff So I sat him down and told him he was a big boy now and obviously old enough to be trusted with the real truth....that he's right, he IS just a toy. But it's not us that moves him - it's the real elves! Like in 'Ben and Holly', the little elves aren't allowed to be seen by big people. So because they like to have fun and be mischievous, the first year they brought the Buddy elf toy with them so they could pretend he'd done it all! And that's why they bring him back every year, because they have so much fun doing it. He seemed to believe it but says he'd rather just have the Buddy toy in bed with him at night instead of leaving him for the elves to play with, so now I need to think of ways to convince him!

This year I've ordered the advent letters pack from International Elf Service. It's a letter every day telling stories about what's happening at the north pole - like a story sent one page a day. Some days it talks about cinnamon dust so I thought I'd sprinkle some cinnamon in the envelopes. And red thread on the day they were sewing, and a scrap of ribbon when it's mentioned, and so on. Just little things like they've fallen into the envelopes by accident.

So I thought when Buddy and the train appear on the morning of 1st December, I'll leave a note with him saying because DS knows the real truth now, Buddy elf will just be for cuddling and the elves will send him letters about their adventures instead (and leave treats in his train drawers obviously). And then each morning he can have a letter and a treat. I've also bought quite a few xmas books, activity packs and craft sets etc, so rather than just give them to DS I thought on the days he's been extra good the elves can leave him something. Maybe wrapped?

One of the days I'll get him to write his letter to santa (plan to print a template off online and put it in the envelope with his daily letter) and leave it for the elves to take back with them. And I'm going to order a letter/certificate from Santa telling him he's on the nice list, which can have 'arrived' through the letterbox a few days before xmas when we get home from school.

Can't decide whether to buy an elf door or if it'd just be one more thing for him to question? Last year I downloaded the Santa Spy Cam app where you can superimpose little elves on photos and videos, so that might help to convince him.

I'm also unsure whether to take him to visit santa this year - seems a shame not to but it could be a disaster when he's already so close to not believing. Should I tell him it's not the real santa but is just a helper instead? Or give it a miss completely?

I feel like I'm walking on egg(nog) shells this year!!! So scared I'll do something to tip him over the edge and he'll not believe any more. He's not even five

Lots of polar express getting watched this year

 

[CoffeeAndTV]

What about using some festive websites that 'prove' Santa is real- for example the Norad Santa Tracker https://www.noradsanta.org/- he must be real because how else could they track him?

Similarly, the How Big is Santa's Sleigh visual https://www.findmeagift.co.uk/topics/how-big-is-santas-sleigh/ is great because "of course he's real, look at all the science and maths behind it"

Hope that helps!

 

[Vickie]

For taking him to Santa I would just tell him Santa has a big job and can't be everywhere at once so he has lots of helpers around the holidays who help him out. That's what we've always told ours as they see multiple Santa's around (we live in a big city). When we get pictures and they ask if it's the real Santa I ask them what they think first and then go with their answer

Hope this isn't your last year I will be sad when my kids stop believing

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

I hope you get a few more years yet. Your Ideas do sound lovely but I honestly think the more you do the more they have to question. Some children are so much more curious than others. The elf never worked here. My six year old(he's 8 now) pointed out how silly it was and really peed on my bonfire haha. Your child is much younger though and u have it in place already: just be ready to commit haha. Mine just kept trying to trap me in my own lies. Good luck

 

[Elphaba12]

I agree that the more you do the harder it is to keep up the pretence. We have an elf but it's a cuddly one and DD takes it to bed, plays with it etc. The original elf that you're not supposed to touch would just never have worked for her. I'd just take your sons lead and answer all his questions. DD knows any santa she sees about isn't the real one, it's just one of his helpers and she's always been happy to accept that. I'm not sure how people convince kids they're real as hnrh see so many and they all look different. Our eld will bring DD'S advent calendar the first day and that night he will take away her santa letter. Other than that we keep it simple and follow DD'S lead eg if she says elf would like to do some colouring then a day or 2 later he would be sitting there when she came home from school with some new xmas colouring things.

 

[motherofboys]

You could make a portable north pole video when they become available. I'll probably do them this year. I haven't for a couple, but I've got 2 now on the verge of not believing.
Ds1 stopped when he was 8, so ds2 (9) is probably about the right age and I won't push too hard, but Ds3 is 6 and it makes me sad that he is questioning it. He keeps saying "but what if it is the parents" and then deciding that parents couldn't do all that, they would have to go shopping in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. And convincing himself that santa is real again.
I'll be really sad if this is the last year for both of them. I can't see Ds3 being as good at keeping the secret from ds4 as ds1 has been. Ds3 is a loud whisper in front of you kind of kid

 

[Rags]

Ds told my mum last summer that Santa was mythical - he was only 5 and I was gutted, I wanted him to have the excitement and mystery in his life for a bit longer. This led me to get a bit carried away and I booked us a trip to Lapland to meet Santa. It was a fabulous day (and Ds's first flight which added to the whole experience). No Lapland this year as it's a bit of a once in a lifetime thing really, but we are going away for a couple of days which includes seeing Santa at a Reindeer sanctuary.