Going into parenthood, I loved the idea of telling my kids about Santa Claus, the magical benevolent character whom so many of us revered as a child. But the older my kids get, the more discomfiting it is to perpetuate the myth. There are so many lies.
They love the idea of the magic, but their questions keep becoming more complex and the lies keep snowballing — all in an effort to keep the magic alive. After all, kids love this guy who dedicates his life to hookin’ up sweet swag for “all” the children of the world. Lie number one; just ask any Jewish kid.
This year my husband and I played the “Santa knows” card and immediately cringed. The Saint Nicholas myth requires us to tell children there is an all-knowing man who watches their every move. We don’t like making them think some dude on the other side of the earth knows what they’re doing all the time. So creepy… yet so effective.
Magic goes a long way in explaining things, or rather, making up explanations. There’s the story that the elves make the toys, but of course my kids are smart enough to be skeptical that elves make Star Wars toys, tablets, or Nerf balls — the same ones they see at Target. Now I have to lie and say Santa has to order some stuff online because there are so many kids he has to get to.
When my 6-year-old tries to cast doubt about whether Santa is real, I even find myself using my mom’s old stand-by, “If you don’t believe, he won’t come.” That’s just dirty pool.
In a way it’s a testament to the trusting nature of kids that they believe that it’s even possible to travel the world via a weighted-down sleigh propelled by magical flying reindeer, delivering billions of gifts. Plus so many people don’t have chimneys, including us, so then I lie about how Mr. Kringle gets into the house. That M word again.
I’m sure they won’t be scarred by any of this, as most of us have no issue when we find out for sure that there is no Santa. I just don’t like to lie to them. On the other hand, maybe it’s a good thing to believe, even if only for a while, that there is magic in the world.
Besides, seeing their wide-eyed smiles and hearing the awe and excitement in their voices when they see all the things they think Santa brought makes all the lies seem worth it.
I’ll just keep telling myself that when I have to get out of bed while the stars are still out on Christmas morning.
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2015.