I just love reading your memories of Christmas. Akiko, I told eveyone at my house about your mother's reply and we all laughed and agreed that she is very clever . . . but it is a bit creepy to think that Santa-san takes over our body while we are sleeping!
The Santa Claus thing is something that many parents have controversy over. We have never spoken "baby-talk" to our daughter and have wanted her to be clear-minded and realistic. Probably, she has experienced many things through travel and being around so many adults that other kids may not have. However, the "Santa-spirit of Christmas" belief is so tender and makes children so happy that it was hard not to do it. So, we never said anything different about it but we left clues like putting similar wrappings on "Santa presents" to our own presents and things like that. We always said things like "Santa is a symbol of giving to loved ones" and things like that, enough so that when she "got it", she would not feel that we had deceived her. In the last couple of years, she has "gotten it" and now understands without our ever directly saying anything. The child has to make the connection---for him/her self--- that the magic of Santa is actually the real magic of parent's love!
Anyway, there are always still presents "From Santa" under the tree. To tell the truth, we always did that even before we had a child!
