Kate Beckinsale Keeps Santa Real for Lily

Flynet

Last Christmas, the paparazzi very nearly squashed 9 ½-year-old Lily Mo Sheen‘s belief in Santa. So said her mom, actress Kate Beckinsale, during a Tuesday appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, recalling that while opening her presents on Christmas morning Lily made an astute observation. "She said she’d figured it out, because [I] said that this gift was from Santa and [she] saw me in a magazine coming out of Target with it," Kate explained. "So that kind of tipped it off." Unwilling to "let go" of her daughter’s ability to believe, Kate "kept with it."

"I said, ‘You’re going to look really stupid in front of all your friends, because you’re saying there’s no Santa, and everyone’s going to laugh at you. How about when he comes, I’ll have him yell at you and wake you up in the middle of the night, and he’ll be a big bearded fat old man?’ And she was like, ‘It’s okay, it’s alright. I believe, I believe in Santa.’"

Host Jay Leno proceeded to tease Kate for shopping at Target, joking that she was "cheap," but Kate begged to differ. Not only are the family — which includes Kate’s husband, director Len Wiseman — faithful Target shoppers, Lily is also a big fan of the dollar store. "I didn’t realize though that [the dollar store] is a lie," Kate said. "Because they add tax." Wherever Lily’s presents come from this year, the 35-year-old actress revealed that her daughter is in for a bit of disappointment come Christmas morning.

"She wants a cell phone, but I don’t know what she wants one for. She’s not getting one. What do you want a cell phone for, when you are 9 years old? No, I think she’ll have a nice wholesome wooden toy from Target…I said to her, ‘I was in college and I didn’t have a cell phone’ and she said, ‘But they weren’t invented then.’"

Lily is Kate’s daughter with ex-boyfriend Michael Sheen. Her new movie Nothing But The Truth opens December 19th.

Source: The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Comments

Cute story! Good for her for playing along! And kudos to not giving a 9 year old a cell phone??!!!

- Lis on December 15th, 2008

ah…today’s kids and the technology they get to grow up with. i’m 30, and a few summers ago, i was an anthropology summer camp teacher for kids K-6. while outside painting flags for a unit on the cultures of mexico, the kids started complaining about the lack of an AC in our classroom (the university shut down the AC every thursday at 1130am). when i told them they didn’t realize the luxury they got to live with, they asked, “like what?” when i pointed out that cell phones didn’t exist, cable tv only had a handful of channels, and video games were colored squares on a black screen, they were incredulous. then they asked me if movies were in black and white when i was a kid. ha!

- trina on December 15th, 2008

The story about no Santa is so funny! lol (I can already imagine the “perfect” moms that will be mad about the santa story) lol

Good for you Kate for not letting your 9 year old have a cell…while I dont judge parents that get them for their kids…I still believe that a 9 year old should not have a cell…maybe once in high school or once they star driving…just my personal opinion!

Oh and I LOVE TARGET!!! Give 5 thousand dollars and I can spend it all at Target!! lol They have everything!

- XOXO on December 15th, 2008

9 is definitely a little young for a cell phone. Kate’s right, who is she gonna call? haha but I see the advantages of those phones that only store like 5 numbers and they’re for kids.

- Natasha on December 15th, 2008

I just finished all of my Christmas shopping at Target last night!

And I agree about 9 being too young for a cell phone. My daughter (9 in January) had one for a few months this summer, but only because her dad got a new job that came with a cell phone for work and personal use. Our contract on his other cell wasn’t up until this last Nov. 30th, so it was cheaper to just pay the monthly fee than to break the contract. Anyway, she just kept calling the voicemail over and over, even though we wouldn’t allow her to give out the number and no one called her. The phone is now disconnected and she is still allowed to play with the camera and video features, but to have a call plan for a 9 year old is just too much.

- finnaryn on December 15th, 2008

Good for her not giving her daughter a cell phone. I didn’t get one until I was in 11th grade (10 years ago), and I had to beg and plead with my mother to get it. And my husband still doesn’t have one! He hates them and is waiting until work tells him he needs one or gets one for him. Personally I don’t go anywhere without my Blackberry, so I can’t understand him not having one, but a 9 year old does not need one.

- Devon on December 15th, 2008

Hm. I really don’t mean to sound rude, but do almost 10-years-old really still believe in Santa these days? I’m sure I didn’t… It’s weird to me that she would read tabloids of some sort, but still be so ‘childish’ lol

anyway, she’s a gorgeous girl:) does anyone know why her middle name is mo? It’s a cool name:)

- kaya on December 15th, 2008

Kaya, my nephew and my niece are 10 and 12 and still believes in Santa…he knows that his parents and other family memebers buy them gifts but Santa still brings them one gift. I am sure they will find out soon but they still get excited! They are not expose to a lot of TV or magazines so maybe that has to do with it…who knows!

- XOXO on December 15th, 2008

I think it was a right choice to not give her a cell phone at her age. I am 19 soon to be 20 an I still don’t have one and don’t have a desire to have one either. Who on earth would I call? LOL

- Kim on December 15th, 2008

Good job. LET HER BELIEVE! Don’t give her a cell until high school!

- Mary on December 15th, 2008

ha I’m not a perfect mom, I don’t even have kids. But still that story about Santa was pretty manipulative. What happens next year when she has to completely acknowledge to her daughter that Santa isn’t real and that she manipulated her in order to keep the myth going another year. Seems like the kid will just wonder if she can believe her parents about anything if they turn down the truth so fast in favor of fantasy. (just an observation, no evidence beyond my own experience)

- Ems on December 15th, 2008

I can, to an extent, understand parents who get their kid a cell phone and only program in mom and dad’s numbers, or other emergency numbers. But I think that’s a really hard thing to do, as kids will be kids and naturally be curious and want to use the phone, and really, who, before the age of at least 14 (though I didn’t get, or need, a phone until I was 17) needs a cell phone for entertainment purposes?

And I like the Santa story – I think it’s nice that older kids still get to have the magic. I know Reese Witherspoon has said her kids still believe, and Ava is 9 too isn’t she? Plus, Lily Sheen and Ava Philippe seem to be pretty well-rounded kids, from what I can tell. As for the story being manipulative to Lily, we don’t know HOW Kate told it to her, which I think makes a big difference. If she did it in a mean way that’s one thing, but if she was just being lighthearted and Lily went with it, I think it’s another.

- Jane on December 15th, 2008

I volunteer as a teacher to 5th graders at my synagogue and they all have cell phones… we have to tell them to turn it off. I didn’t need a cell phone until middle school, when I started staying after school for activities.

- Allison on December 15th, 2008

i doubt that Lily will not trust that what Kate says is true just because she told her that Santa was still real. i trust my parents and they told me that santa and the tooth fairy existed. i know plenty of people who still get “presents from santa”–if anything, it’s tradition and keeps a bit of childhood around, which i personally don’t think is a bad thing

- Melissa on December 15th, 2008

my son just turned 9 recently and we’ve been hearing for the past year about wanting this cell phone.
our answer…. A BIG NO!
but 2 months ago he was diagnosed with leukemia and so of course, my mother had to go and get him whatever he wanted, so he got the phone!!
not much i could do about it now…..but i did make major rules and restrictions that he knows he must abide by.

- gigi on December 15th, 2008

You know what they say… when you stop believing in Santa Claus, you just get underwear! Who wants to take that chance?!?

Sincerely, though, a lot of kids do play along another year, even two, because they can tell their parents want them to.

- christina on December 15th, 2008

I got a cell phone when i was 13 @.@ now im 22. I only got one because when i entered middle school i had to catch the public bus and then walk 1 mile to get to my house. So if anything happened or i got stranded they want me to call them.

- Lauren on December 15th, 2008

I didn’t get a mobile phone until I was 19 and had a job where they wanted to call me at 5am to come in and fill in for other people.

I think driving age is a good age for a mobile when there’s a chance they could get stranded and need to call for roadside assistance, etc. Then the phone becomes part of the responsibility of driving and not a luxury entertainment item.

I must be a big ol’ meanie though because I think children should also be paying for their own phone calls. Two families in our area gave their kids phones on their normal plans and they ran up close to a thousand dollars (AUS) worth of calls. I think pre-paid credit is the way to go, then kids have to earn those phone calls and don’t abuse them as much.

- Lilybett on December 15th, 2008

All but one of my fifth graders has a cell phone! I understand the phones that only allow 5 pre-programmed numbers (some parents argue that for kids who walk home from school, good for emergencies, practice cancelled early, etc.) but otherwise, it’s a pain getting them to turn them off, leave them alone, etc. My son is 2 and I’m afraid the way things are going, he’ll be the only one in his Kindergarten without one!

As for Santa, all of my students are 10 or 11 and most still believe. There are a few who make comments but the others shut them down pretty quickly. When Lily is old enough to know her mom was pretending (NOT LYING) she will be old enough to understand the tradition as well

- brannon on December 15th, 2008

I agree children don’t need phones and when thye do get 1 (maybe around age 16) they should pay the bills themselves. That will keep them from spending 1000euro/month! I know teenagers that don’t have to pay anything and they’re on the phone day and night.

- Anna on December 15th, 2008

I’m sure I’m the candidate for most indulgent mom of the year, but my 10 and 11 year old each have a cell phone. Actually, I didn’t think it was really too extravagant and most of their friends have them. But, like most things, it’s up to the person who pays to decide. lol. As for Santa, I don’t think we have any believers anymore. Once the oldest one knows, it like dominos falling. I think Kate can probably suspend the disbelief longer since Lilly is her only child. We never really pushed Santa too much anyway because it feels a bit like lying even though it’s all in good fun. As soon as they were old enough to ask, I told them it was like a fun game that parents play. I also told them not to go sharing the news with all of their friends.

- melanie on December 15th, 2008

I will be 25 in less then a month and am the baby of the family and my mom still tells me that Santa exists. We also still get gifts that are listed as being from Santa, even though they show up under the tree before Christmas Eve. I grew up though knowing the real story of Saint Nick and how his legacy turned into the Santa Clause we all know today. So we always believed in the spirit of giving and not that Christmas is about getting gifts from Santa Clause. But back to Kate Beckinsale I saw her appearance on Jay Leno and found her to be quite funny, I didn’t know much about her except for seeing pictures of Lily on this site.

- Karen on December 15th, 2008

I am a little annoyed that Kate described her daughter as possibly feeling “stupid” around her friends b/c of her belief in Santa. Whether or not she believes is her choice…not the parents. And under no circumstances should the word “stupid” be used to describe a child.

- Laura on December 16th, 2008

My son will be 9 in January… I totally agree with Kate… no need for a cell phone.

When they are teenagers, sure… so you can keep tabs on them and because they go places without adults and need that emergancy line… but they shouldn’t be gabbing on one until they are old enough to pay for it themselves.

Great call, Kate… and good job keeping your daughter’s feet firmly planted on the ground.

- Kat on December 16th, 2008

I’m floored at the ages that some kids still believe at. I stopped believing at 4 or 5 and was under the impression that 9 was a bit old to still believe. I wonder how the parents keep it going that long?

- Elizabeth on December 16th, 2008

I don’t understand why parents think that telling their kids about Santa is some way damaging or hurtful to the kids. Its a kind story – not a horror tale. My neighbor told her children at ages 3 and 5 that presents came just from Mommy and Daddy’s money and people who believe in Santa are poor. It really put me off. I don’t understand my friends who are new moms who are absolutely adament about Santa not existing around their kids.

As far as cellphones, kids don’t need them. They’re young – let them stay that way. I feel like giving a child a cellphone at a young age is equivalent to putting a tracking bracelet on them or putting them in high heels and makeup; it crosses lines of over-protection and growing up too quickly.

- Heather on December 16th, 2008

I love how sensible Kate is – no nine year old needs a cell phone!

And I bet Lily really does know Santa isn’t real – she just goes with it because it’s fun to believe in Santa I figured it out earlier than that, but it was still fun to get caught up in the whole Santa thing.

If I have kids, I don’t think I’ll tell them Santa is real because I want them to be realistic about the kind of presents they can have, but I don’t think there’s one right thing to do.

- Molly on December 18th, 2008