Illustration from The Christmas Tree Book, Joe Kaufman, 1966

I thought I had at least a couple more years until this topic would be an issue. It wasn’t until a boy in my daughter’s kindergarten class told her that fairies and storybook princesses are not real, that I realized this may be the year that I need to be ready. Ready for what exactly? Well, ready to explain why a boy would say such a thing, why sometimes Santa uses the same wrapping paper two years in a row, or the most feared question of all…is there really a Santa?

While I have not had the displeasure of answering this yet to either of my children, I can still recall the Christmas when I realized the truth. In a moment, those mini-mysteries that didn’t quite add up every year all of the sudden made complete and utter sense.

Sometimes Santa (public Santa that is) would be very round and jolly and other times he would seem slimmer and … hungry? He didn’t strike me as the “yo-yo dieter” type, but why then did he look a mere 185lbs at the mall and a week later at a parade he seemed to be approaching 250lbs and in danger of a triple bypass? Sometimes he wore glasses, sometimes he did not. Sometimes he had snowy white hair with a short beard, sometimes yellowish -white with an almost creepy longer beard. Sometimes he looked really old … you get the idea.

Even if you can convince your child or children that it’s just a coincidence that your handwriting looks exactly like his and that all of the other peculiarities surrounding him seem to be figments of their imaginations, at some point the inevitable is coming and I want to be ready.

My plan involves an age-appropriate, delicate balance of subtle truth and inspiring belief. Dreams are important, so is fantasy in childhood. However, instilling honesty in our children is equally, if not more important. Being that I believe honesty is best taught by example, this presents a bit of a problem for me. Thus, I’ve decided that is really what this comes down to- a simple question. Is it acceptable to “fib” to our children when it comes to Santa (and all the other childhood figures that we celebrate)?

I have decided yes. It is acceptable to fib for as long as you can drag it out with your kids. Our goal is to stick with our story and preserve their precious belief until one or both of our children have hard proof- and not just some classmate’s spoiler alert story! Of course when they can actually prove it, I will tell them about my parental moral dilemma between honesty and the wonders of childhood.

So, in honor of that goal I thought I would share some tips that have worked quite well for my husband and me in the past: 1. Never ever attempt to re-use the same wrapping paper that “came from Santa”. This is no time for recycling! 2. Never attempt to wrap while kids are in early sleep stages, I think R.E.M. sleep may be our best bet. 3. Read a quick guide to changing your handwriting or better yet use your opposite writing hand for the “to” and “from” on gifts. 4. Make sure to throw in a few random gifts that your child could be heard saying “my mom or dad would NEVER buy something like this!” 5. Take an old (preferably large) winter snow boot outside and get it nice and wet / muddy. Proceed to the fireplace or other entry way and mark the floor with “footprints”. Note to self: make them staggered to appear to be “walking” out of fireplace or door over to the presents and to stockings. 6. Make a minor mess of the cookies (i.e. sprinkle crumbs around and off the plate, to appear “in a hurry”! Spill a couple of drops of milk and move the note from where your child left it. 7. Remove some pebbles or debris from the fireplace (if you have one) and toss them on the ground. This trick was the first thing our oldest daughter noticed when coming down the stairs on Christmas morning! 8. If you put carrots out on the lawn for the reindeer (another fun tip if you don’t already) - DO NOT FORGET to discard them discreetly!!! Three Target bags thick tossed in the outside dumpster (not the kitchen trash where they might see the evidence) works well. 9. If you have more than one child, I highly suggest writing down and memorizing which gifts came from mom and/or dad and which came from Santa. I am pretty sure we captured a slip up on video last year. 10. Lastly, be stealthy like it’s your job (because it is), have fun doing it (remember the stress ends eight hours later), responsibly enjoy a nice bottle of wine while setting up the scene and be very thankful that night that you have been given another year of what being a parent is all about.

Please share your thoughts, game plans, Santa decoy strategies and anything else you would like with me. In the meantime, I am hoping Santa gives our family many more years of Christmas magic.

Sara Arsenault is a full-time stay-at-home mom and an active volunteer in the Ann Arbor community. She can be reached at searsen@live.com.