Santa for one more year.

My husband and I agree that we love how honestly naive our children remain, even as our eldest daughter turns eleven. We love that the magic of Christmas is a buzz of static electricity charging the air with excitement and anticipation. One recent afternoon, as we were discussing our holiday plans, our three girls looked quietly at one another as one of them bravely asked, "Mom, is Santa Claus real...or do you just buy us presents and write that they come from him?" I paused, breathed deep, and asked, "What do you think?" M answered quickly, "Well, a kid at school said that his mom and dad told him Santa isn't real, and that all the moms and dads have to pretend and buy the kids presents." I looked at each of them carefully and asked, "But what do you believe?" They each looked into their laps, as if waiting for the right answer to simply fall into them. Then O, the oldest, said "Well, do you believe in Santa, Mom?" I dove in head-first..."Girls, I do believe in Santa Claus and the spirit of Christmas. And there may be some moms and dads that do need to buy gifts for their children and say that they are from Santa...but those might be the children who didn't make it onto Santa's "Nice" list. Remember, Santa doesn't bring gifts to boys and girls who are on the "Naughty" list. And I imagine those children are pretty sad on Christmas morning...and maybe those moms and dads just don't like to see their children sad. But your mom and dad are very lucky because each of you works so hard all year long to stay at the top of that "Nice" list, that we never worry about whether or not there will be a present under the tree for you from Santa." They each smiled so sweetly, nodding their heads. B, the youngest, added, "That's what we thought, Mom. Because Santa always brings us something that we like...and you just give us socks."