Woman Disinvites Daughter From Christmas So Her Son, Who Doesn't Believe In Santa, Wouldn't 'Ruin' The Christmas Magic
Many people criticized her for prioritizing her version of Christmas magic over family unity.
Andrei Porzhezhinskii, Maria Sbytova / Shutterstock A mother has turned the holiday season sour for some of her family after she decided to uninvite her eldest daughter from the celebrations. She reasoned that she was concerned that her grandson could spoil the “Christmas magic” for her younger children.
While the woman said that her husband agreed with her, she worried that she was acting a little bit too “high-strung” and wondered if it was fair to alienate her family from the festivities.
The woman uninvited her daughter and grandson from Christmas since her grandson does not believe in Santa Claus, while her younger children still do.
Sharing her story to the subreddit, r/AITA, the 43-year-old woman revealed that there is a significant age gap between her eldest daughter, who is now 25, and her two younger children who are nine and seven.
According to the woman, her younger children believe in Santa Claus. Although her eldest daughter’s son does not. And while she respects her daughter's parenting choices, she is worried her grandson might reveal the truth about Santa to her kids.
Photo: Evgeny Atamanenko / Shutterstock
“She raised him not with the Santa magic, which is perfectly okay I just rather not have it ruined for my children who do believe in Santa,” she wrote.
Since the woman is hosting Christmas dinner this year, she asked her daughter if she would talk to her son about pretending to believe for the sake of her children. She did not want “the magic” ruined for them. “I still put packages under the tree with ‘from Santa’ on them, and leave out cookies and reindeer treats (bird seeds),” the woman shared.
However, her daughter said that she wouldn't lie to her son, and didn't expect him to pretend that Santa Claus was real to protect her own siblings’ feelings.
Her response did not sit well with her mother.
“I told her if she wouldn’t talk to her son, they could spend Christmas at their apartment,” the woman wrote. “My daughter didn’t like that and said I was choosing my younger children’s happiness over hers, and that I was being completely unreasonable.”
While the woman claimed that she had her husband’s support, he acknowledged that she can get too worked up over certain things, especially as their children are growing older. “I just want to keep the Christmas magic alive,” she argued.
Most people believed that the woman went too far by disinviting her daughter and grandson to Christmas over a Santa Claus disagreement.
They emphasized the fact that every family has their own unique values and traditions and that it is not a reason to exclude them from gatherings.
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“I empathize with wanting to give your children the happiest holiday memories and feeling unhappy when wrenches get thrown in those plans but it seems like there should be creative solutions here that don’t make other members of your family feel unwelcome,” one Redditor commented.
“Christmas magic includes asking a five-year-old to lie and if he doesn’t he and his mother will be isolated for the holiday? Maybe estranging yourself from your daughter?” another user noted.
“Your need to keep the Christmas magic alive but your definition does not negate that another part of Christmas magic is about family,” another wrote. “Your willingness to shun your daughter and grandchild over Santa speaks volumes about you and what you think is important in life.”
The decision of whether or not to disclose the truth about the man in red to children is ultimately up to their parents.
Photo: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock
While no one is on the same page about Santa Claus, we do have to respect others’ choices about how they raise their children, and whether or not they decide that Santa will be a part of their Christmas traditions.
It is important to note that differences in values and tradition do not make up a family, but that love and respect for each other does.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.