Santa - Santa Question - How do you explain to you your child why Santa can't bring everything she wants?

Santa Question - How do you explain to you your child why Santa can't bring everything she wants?

My daughter's 4 and this is the first year that she's had a huge list of toys that she wants for Christmas. Do you limit your kids Christmas list to a certain number of items? If so, what reason do you give as to why Santa can't bring them everything they want?

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with my 6 year old i tell her Santa wont be able to fit everything on his sleigh because there are lots of other boys and girls that are expecting gifts and he cant other wise deliver everyone Else's presents the other option which i know wont work is this year im skint because of the credit crunch
Just tell her that there are many other children in the world that Santa has to give toys to so he may not be able to bring her everything on her list. Just leave it at that. If she continues to ask why, then explain to her that Santa likes to pick a few things from each list to give to the children. This should help. Good luck with everything, and Merry Christmas!
Well my child's list grows daily and i have told him that once the list has gone in that's it, and even Christmas eve if he sees an advert on TV he would say MUM! can i have that can i can I! But i really think that Christmas morning when they have opened there gifts they are that excited with what they have got they totally forget kids Christmas lists can go on and on so don't worry your child is just like any other Merry Christmas! x
WE just simply tell our children, "You do understand that kids don't get EVERYTHING they want, right". They answer, "Yeah, I know".
ask santa
Tell dem dat " Santa is very buzy makin other kids stuff bcuz there is alot of kids out der who wants alot of stuff like u so he cuts ur list he gves u wat u really want and the rest if u send him another list next year and u still have sumthin on it 4rm dis year den he will make dat 1 next year"!!
tell her "sweety santa has a hectic sched. and he cant bring all your toys beause rodolph is complaining its to heavy to bring them all".. lol...
This is easy try telling them the truth . There is no santa I'm the one giving you the toys ect. ect. ect..
Why are you training your child that they can have everything they want? There is a downside to all this gift giving. Good luck*
Tell them that Santa brings things for all the children. He can't give too many to some or there won't be enough for the others. Now you wouldn't want some little girls and boys not get anything, right?
say santa is very busy most of the time, and sometimes he gets to tired to deliver things, say that santa gives younger children the gifts and as they grow older he sometimes doesnt because they are grown up. i say that to my nephew he too is 4 and he says that "i rather santa has some rest he must really be tired if he cant give me a gift"
You could tell him that Santa decided to keep some of the toys for himself and the elf's because during the year, they get bored. Next year, if h still wants that toy then they will give it to him because they are very kind and like to share.
Well, I wouldn't limit them. I would get them what you can. I mean Christmas isn't about the presents, but it's fun to open them of course. And just the look on their faces when they open them is priceless. But I mean what you can't get her just tell her something like: Santa is really busy and he can't fit all the toys in his sleigh. He has to have room for the other little boys and girls Christmas toys too. I would say you could tell her that some little kids don't get a lot of toys or any at all, but then she could bring up the question well why can't Santa bring it to them, so I wouldn't even go there. lol. I would get her the main things she wants. Have her put them in order from what she wants the most to what she wants to least. But I would also make sure to get the point of Christmas across so she doesn't think it's all about Christmas. Like the old Christmas shows Rudolph, Santa Clause Is Coming To Town, etc...
santa has to make sure all the kids get a fair amount of toys and he doesnt have enough to give everyone everything they want
you should see my 16 year old daughters list!!!!! I call it the "recession what recession christmas list" She says that its just a guide but its scary. She wants a f*ckin horse for christmas (apparently we outgrew ponies)- she does horse backriding. She color coded it aswell green for 25-50 yellow for 100-200 red for 200-500 black for 500+ SCARY! we always said santa uses the list as a guide and pickes 1-2 things for each little creature.
We tell our kids to ask santa for that ONE thing that they really want. That's what Santa brings. He usually brings more but this way they aren't expecting it. All of the rest are on a list for anyone else that gets them a gift - grandparents, aunts, uncles friends etc. If they don't get everything they want, we teach them to be thankful for the things that they did get. If they get a gift card and still want something, they can get it.
I would change how I talk about Santa. I'm guessing you set yourself up for this. That's what happens when you tell kids that Santa will bring them the toys they want if they are good. Then, all of a sudden, you can't and don't want to keep that promise. So, I would change how I teach about Santa. Instead of teaching that Santa will bring the toys she wants, I would teach that Santa will bring her what *he* thinks she will enjoy most. I would say that Santa appreciates knowing everything she wants, and that he will pick out (maybe from her list, if you want), what he thinks would be the perfect gift for her. Model a different example of Santa, make sure you don't use Santa as a motivator (be good and Santa will bring you what you want), and follow through with your new Santa. I would *not* tell her straight out that she can't get everything she wants, or that Santa is on a budget, or that Santa can't bring her everything she wants, because those she either just won't understand, or will make her feel slighted. You could *try* telling her that Santa can't bring her everything she wants because he doesn't have enough room on his sleigh for everything, but that probably wont' work too well. After all, Santa is magic and can do anything, so he can have as much room as he wants. Besides, what happens when you tell her that Santa can't bring her everything because he won't have enough room, then three of her friends got everything they asked for? Is she going to think that Santa likes them more than her because he had enough room for their toys but not for hers? No, I don't plan on limiting Christmas to a certain number of items on the list, because I don't plan on ever encouraging the making of a list. Santa is magic, he hears and sees the kinds of things my kids like, and he will listen to the things they tell him that they want, and he'll bring something he thinks they will really enjoy. Santa is never a manipulator in my home. Santa will come and bring presents even if my kids aren't good, and Santa will bring something special for everyone. Mo, I won't let Santa get them everything they want, but I won't teach them that they can ask for whatever they want. That just sets me up for trouble in the long run, as you can see.
gargoyl , I needed that laugh! ha ha color coded by price.. a horse.. LOL
I don't need to. Santa only brings small treats in our house. Look at it this way - how do you explain to your kid that you don't give her any presents at Christmas? Isn't she confused that you give presents to Daddy, grandma, cousins...and nothing to her? If Santa can't give her something, why can't you buy it for her? You haven't bought her anything else, after all. Have "Santa" give her some treats and be honest about where the big presents come from. Alternatively, be clear that the list is of things she'd like, not of things she's going to get, and that no matter how long her list is she'll only get a few gifts.
What we have always done is Santa only brings one(the major one) present. We get to get credit for the rest.It also makes it easier as they get older,b/c everything gets more expensive.
Just don't give her everything she wants and she'll figure it out.
This day and time you half to limit gifts to stay on a budget,although it's hard not to be able to get them what they want,i told my son to make a list of the things he wants the most,and santa will choose which one he thinks he deserves the most,that santa has millions and millions of other kids he has to get presents to,that way other children won't be left out.
I'm not a parent, but it seems to me that it's pretty impractical for a parent to buy everything their kids want. For that reason, I would definitely limit the amount of presents to a reasonable amount. A good base to work with when explaining why Santa can't bring everything is that Santa has so many kids to give toys to, that his elves can only make a certain number of toys for each child.
I don't know if this is the best way but it has worked for us. My oldest is a very inquisitive 8 year old who has an autistic spectrum disorder. With him you can't just say because it has to be a logical explanation. And this doesn't just pertain to santa. At 4 we told him that we send santa money because things are expensive. He still buys into this because he sees us mail his list to santa. Recently at 7 years old he makes a statement in a restaurant with my parents there remember in 2005 when you swallowed Reed (his brother) and he grew in your tummy? I said that's not exactly what happens. Then before I could say anything else as my mind is rapidly spinning my mom chimes in babies are a gift from god. He pauses and then says why doesn't god like everybody? My mom immediately says god loves everybody. My son immediately says yeah well why doesn't god love aunt Jan enough to give her a baby, she wants one and is very sad about it. So now my mom pauses, then says life isn't fair, son roles his eyes, he's not buying her story. I say babies grow from eggs. He said like bird eggs (my mother smirks), I say no like a soft egg in finding nemo it just grows in mommy's bellies. He said oh I thought you bought baby medicine from the doctor (fertility) to grow a baby like a seed grows a plant. So I said yes I bought medicine to help grow an egg that will be a baby, sometimes it doesn't work but it did for us.
I was told by my parents that Santa brought what he could but that there were soooo many boys and girls in the world that he could only bring them what they wanted the most.
tell her that santas elves has to make toys for everyone and he wont have time to make all those toys and if she keeps asking question tell her to write a letter to santa asking him why
Tell her, santa cant bring everything on his sleigh and that if shes good she may get it next christmas. Santa was in a rush and he didnt have time to drop off everything.
Explain to her that gifts and toys are not the reason that we have Christmas. Show her that being with family and God are a much higher priority than mere toys. Santa brings toys, but more than that he brings the Christmas spirit.