But how many things can you think of that are at the same time totally indefensible foolishness, and totally harmless fun for little children?

On a number of occasions over the years, I've encountered folk who seriously insisted that parents shouldn't go along with the Santa stuff. The point was, if you teach the children to believe in Santa, and in Jesus, then when they catch on to the Santa scam, they won't believe what you taught them about Jesus, either, and then they may spend eternity in the toaster.