What will you say when she asks?
One of the most disappointing things kids need to find out is the fact that Santa isn’t real. I don’t have kids yet, so I might not have to answer this question for a good 10 years, but I think this is the perfect, most sincere way of telling my kids that their bouncy, red-clad friend haven’t been filling up their socks with treats:
Dear Lucy,
Thank you for your letter. You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”
I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.
The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.
I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)
I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights.
This won’t make you Santa, though.
Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.
It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.
Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy.
With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.
So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.
I love you and I always will.
Mama
Full story: Truth About Santa
It’s the most profound yet incredibly honest things I’ve read in a while, and I plan to do it just like this. 
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at 7:15 pm
wow, I love the note…
at 10:16 pm
It is really a tough call…a friend’s daughter was devastated when she found out, complete with “Why did you lie to me???”
But I also believe in all the thing the mom above said in her letter. Siiigh…my daughter is almost 2 and I am still undecided!
at 9:06 am
That is tough. But I think the letter is pretty sufficient to explain Santa and the Tooth Fairy, don’t you think?
I don’t have kids yet though so what do I know, haha
Thanks for dropping by! I love your blog.
at 1:26 am
When I am still a little kid too I thought Santa is real and he lived in North Pole., haist when I grow old I have learned Santa is just a fiction..
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at 11:32 am
Such a nice letter… *sniff*
at 3:42 pm
It is, isn’t it
at 4:18 pm
Parang sometimes its better to teach the kids believable stories na lang noh? Para its easier to explain later on.
Growing up in the province (and in a traditional Catholic family)..di uso si Santa :3 so it wasn’t a big deal to know he’s not real. Same with the tooth fairy, we just toss the fallen tooth on the roof. Supposedly, the little mice takes them and exchanges their tooth with yours. That’s why you get a bigger and longer tooth.
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at 5:39 pm
Hahaha kami din! Inaalay daw dapat sa daga. I suppose mahirap nga naman maniwala kay Santa dito. Wala naman tayo kasing snow therefore walang chimney
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