Not gonna be popular here but I never lied to my children.
I was the one that had to spank them or correct them when they did wrong so no fictitious character was going to steal my thunder when they got rewarded.
That gift to you, your mom and I sacrificed so you could have that.
Yup, same here...
In my house telling a lie was akin to the worst thing you could do...
Mommy or daddy lying about Santa would make us huge hypocrites...
My late husband and I did the same thing. We wanted our son to know that what he had came from us, not some fairy.
That said, the grandparents talked up the Santa thing. I think it was a lost cause for us.
I would never have pushed our beliefs on some one else’s child. The pastor should have preached to his own congregation and left everyone else alone.