My mom always told us "if you don't believe, Santa won't come". Even if we were doubters after that, we never said it out loud......or else the presents wouldn't be there, (or so we thought). It worked for us, and with a 7yo and 7mo old, I plan to use the same strategy when the time comes. I hope it still works!!

You're basically calling your older son a liar for wanting to tell his brother the truth (which is what it is - it's not just "his own version of the events"). Although I understand the thrill of the whole Santa Claus business for families, this is clearly going too far with trying to play fast and loose with reality.

One of my fifth grade students said to his mom that Santa must be real, because in this economy, "Who else could afford toys?"

I always say that Santa is real for those who believe; Christmas magic, if you will.

Mr. Klein, previous poster, I hope you get some Christmas magic this year, as it seems you are in need of it.

Is Mr. Klein an only child? Sometimes, Mr. Klein, older siblings choose to burst the younger child's fantasy balloon. Some - not grandmothers, of course - could almost see a little mean-ness.

I like Kate's response. My father, a kid who had it rough during the Depression, insisted on the existence of Santa Claus. We used to say that we'd tell him "the truth" when he turned 50, but my son - the first grandchild - was born that year, so we let it pass.

My nephews are 4 years apart and when the older one found out the truth when he was 8 or 9, he was told not to spoil it for his younger brother. It became a game for him to keep the magic alive for the younger sibling. He got to go toy shopping for the younger brother and got to play up the mystique for another couple of years.

My nephews are 4 years apart and when the older one found out the truth when he was 8 or 9, he was told not to spoil it for his younger brother. It became a game for him to keep the magic alive for the younger sibling. He got to go toy shopping for the younger brother and got to play up the mystique for another couple of years.

Sometimes I wish I had said from the start that Santa is a myth but a lot of people believe and we shouldn't spoil it for them. But alas we didn't approach it that way, and I remember being absolutely devastated as an 8 year old when, confronting my mother, she said "no, there is no man in a red suit who comes down the chimney; but Santa IS the spirit of Christmas."

But Christmas spirit and the sparkle in kids' eyes is too much to resist and Santa visits every year. My boys are 8 and 10 and we have taught them that no one has ever seen the "real" Santa, and, like Christina, have taught them that those who believe in Santa get presents from him.

As for me, I'm not convinced that there isn't some magical place with jolly old St. Nick who delivers presents Christmas eve. He sure inhabits the personalities of a lot of people around this time of year...

Kerry,

I do feel plenty of Christmas magic indeed - and have never felt that it depended on anything other than the magic of being with the people you love. That kind of magic stands on its own, and doesn't require mythical embellishment - why do you need to believe in anything other than the precious people in your life?

That being said, I'm in no way questioning families who choose to introduce the Santa story as part of that magic. However, when it gets to the point of practically calling one child a liar so another child continues to believe in Santa, that's just going *way* too far.

I guess I would want you to ask yourself why your older child wants to tell your younger child. Something is not quite right, either in the parent-child dynamic with the older child, or with the older child-younger child dynamic. My older child, and all of his friends that I know, want to keep the magic of Santa alive for their younger siblings as long as possible, and seem to feel very good that they are partnering with the parents to provide this traditional Christmas tale for the younger children...