I'm a teacher in a middle school. Tuesday afternoon I had a 6th grade student who had recently found out the truth about Santa...let me just say...he was very annoyed and angry! He handled his frustration by making several comments based on the idea behind Santa, calling him a psycho stalker who feels the need to randomly leave presents under trees of people he doesn't even know. The other students thought it was hillarious as this student has a sarcastic personality. I could sense he wasn't too happy... : (

I debated about this issue for a long time before my kids were born. I didn't want to lie to them, but I have such fond memories of believing in Santa as a child, as do my siblings. I never felt taken advantage of or lied to when I found out. When I started seriously questioning the whole Santa thing, about 4th or 5th grade, my parents finally confessed to me. I was a little disappointed at first to learn he wasn't real, but it was still fun to pretend for my siblings. I always felt it made Christmas feel more fun and magical. When I talked with my husband and siblings about it they said they felt the same way.

So, that's why we decided to tell our kids Santa is real, at least for the time being. They are quite small now (1yr & 4yrs), but when they get bigger and start truly questioning Santa, we will definitely tell them the truth.

Honestly, it's a very personal decision. I understand people not wanting to let their kids believe in Santa at all, but I couldn't let mine miss out on that feeling of magic and wonder you only get to have as a child.