"Mom, Is There Really a Santa??"

On the eve of Christmas Eve, I thought this would be a fitting topic...also inspired by an article in Parenting magazine. This question is right up there with "mommy how does the baby come out" that I got this summer. Our family has 10 & 13 year old cousins, so this is how we handle the truth about Santa. First of all, when it comes to the tough questions my mom believes in the old motto, answer their question with a question like "what do you think" or "why, what have you heard", to get a gage on their knowledge. Then, really only answer their question not giving away anymore info than necessary. Once the truth comes out, we explain that we haven't really been lying all these years. That we believe in the story of St. Nick and we think that keeping that story alive and keeping the spirit of Christmas alive is a great and special thing. We then welcome them into our 'we know club' to make them feel special. THEN we scare them with the fact that if they are responsible for spoiling the truth for any other child, they will not get anything for Christmas...now that they know that mom & dad can control what they can & can't get...we figure a little fear goes a long way!

Hopefully we're a few years away from hearing this dreaded question...until then - we believe! From our family to yours, we wish everyone a magical holiday season...CHEERS!