Why?

To be quiet blunt, I don’t want a nonexistent fat man to take credit for my hard work and money. I want my children to appreciate the things we give them and to understand the reason behind it.

You can still be creative, imaginative, and etc without Santa Claus.

On the other hand, my folks, both atheists, let us have the fantasy when we were little. We did the tray of cookies and glass of milk for Santa, and I once suggested we leave a carrot for Rudolph, which started a whole new tradition. The tooth fairy left us a quarter, and the Easter Bunny left written clues that led us on a treasure hunt, at the end of which was a big basket of goodies. Now, being a very inquisitive child, I figured things out pretty early on. I’m pretty sure I had outed Santa by the time I was 5 or 6, and the rest followed pretty quickly. But I still played along, because it was fun.

So yes, I’ll let my son believe in Santa for as long as he likes. Of course, I’m not going to take extreme measures to persist the myth. The moment he starts asking questions, I’ll be happy to sit down with him, and help him examine the evidence so he can come to his own conclusion. And now that I think about it, it makes sense as a lesson in how much trust to put in your sources of information.

I was devastated. She had a very definite understanding of fantasy vs. reality, but could not understand why in a million years we, her loving parents who encourage critical thinking and skepticism at every turn, would have done such a horrible thing to her. It very nearly ruined that particular holiday season for us all, but somehow we got through it. Within a few days she had puzzled out the Tooth Fairy, too, and the Easter Bunny (who brings spring-related, nonreligious goodies to our house every year). I felt like the Worst Mom Ever.

But not long after that, when she realized that the gifts she had most treasured from Santa had actually come from us, the gratitude was immeasurable. She made thank-you cards for gifts received for many Christmases Past. She even apologized for asking Santa for a particularly expensive and hard-to-find gift, knowing Mom and Dad wouldn’t have gotten it for her. “Santa will get it, Mom,” she had said at the time, “because I know you can’t.” When she did get the gift, Santa got the thanks, not us. But she made up for it in droves.

She’s now nine and knows exactly where the gifts come from. But the fun of the season isn’t lost, since she has lots of younger cousins who fervently believe. Now that she’s in on the secret, I think it’s even more enjoyable for her.

Do I still feel terrible for that horrible realization from two years ago? Yes, actually, I do. We had encouraged critical thinking and skepticism in her, but somehow she had come to trust us, her parents, implicitly. It wasn’t the loss of Santa that bothered me and bothers me still. It was the loss of innocence that I mourned.

Does nobody question why we unremittingly do this? We all do it because even though we fully comprehend that there is no fat man coming down my non-existant chimney, it was and still is, FUN!

The time when we would wait anxiously, listening closely for any sound that Santa may be coming was, for many, the highlight of the year. Whether you put out cookies, or just watch the History Channel’s documentary on the History of Santa Clause, it is still a wonderful time full of magic, hope, joy, and love (also gross commercialism, but that’s another story). Those alone are worth encouraging, and maybe it makes me selfish, but there are few things sweeter than watching your child’s excitement when something magical happens.

Happy Holidays to All!