Gee, this was not a problem for me at all, but, then, I had always told my children the truth when asked.

When they were little we pretended there was a Santa and many of their gifts were from Santa. This, incidently, annoyed me because I always thought that credit should be given where credit was due, and it wasn't Santa that had been out there shopping and wrapping those gifts, but he got all the credit. Well, we marked some from Mom and Dad.

Well, anyway, when my little ones came to me with the "question", I guess they were about 6 yrs. old at the time. (eight years apart, so this was done at two different times) I took them aside in a whisper and told them that he wasn't a real person, but we pretended he was real because it was so much fun for everyone to pretend to believe.

Now, this brought them into an exclusive club of the adults and they both maintained the facade for quite awhile and helped to perpetuate the fantasy for those who were younger then themselves.

They still get gifts marked 'From Santa".

For us, it was the perfect solution.

Love, annamill