To tell or not to tell

Like a lot of young kids, Kenzie still believes that Santa Clause is the one who delivers all of the gifts to children on Christmas Eve. She gets so excited when she sees the big man dressed in red at stores and in parades. She made a Christmas list and instructed me to send it to him in the mail and she wondered if she was good enough this year to be on the "Good" list. I assured her that she probably was, although, whenever she won't listen or is being "naughty" I tell her "he" is watching her very closely so she had better straighten up. In a way, I almost feel somewhat guilty when I say things like that, knowing good and well that it just isn't true. Every year we lie to our children about jolly old Saint Nick but at the same time, I just don't think it would feel quite like Christmas if we left him out of the picture. I mean, I grew up believing in Santa and it just seemed to make Christmas that much more exciting. I remember lying awake on Christmas Eve, wondering if I would be able to catch Santa in the act.

Today after I picked up Kenzie, she tells me, "Mom, guess what (insert classmate's name here) said to me. She said that Santa Clause isn't real and that our parents are the ones who get our presents! Well she's just not right because thats not true, right Mom."

I didn't quite know what to tell her. I'm just not ready to break her heart and tell her that he isn't real, especially right before Christmas. I remember how disappointed I was when I found out the big news that the big jolly guy wasn't real. So, as of right now, she's still a believer. Maybe we'll tell her next year.

Just a side note: We do make sure she understands why we celebrate Christmas, and that it's Jesus's birthday. We try to let her know that Christmas isn't all about getting presents from Santa, but about being with family and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.