I have a friend who told his kids from the time they were little that there was no such thing as Santa. He’s not one of those people who think Santa is the anti-Christ. He’s also not one to protest the commercialization of the holidays. He and his wife simply didn’t want to lie to their kids, he said.

In this San Jose Mercury News story,

<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_11220771">Does the Santa Claus story need a makeover?</a> reporter Lisa Fernandez interviewed parents about their Santa practices at home. She also poses the question: “Is Santa an elaborate lie that is the ultimate symbol of the holiday’s commercialization? Or does he represent the imagination and innocence of childhood that should be preserved until puberty?”

About 96 percent of children younger than 5 think Santa is real, according to a poll conducted by a parenting group called Family Education. By the time they’re ages 8 to 10, more than half no longer believe.

As a child, did you write letters to Santa? How about your own kids? Do they believe? When did you spill the beans about Santa Claus?

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