Santa Claus

Disappointment hangs in the air today around my house concerning Christmas and it's not even December yet. Today my children discovered or rather were told by their loving mother (that would be me) that there is no Santa Claus. Hannah has spent the better part of the day lamenting his lack of existence and wondering aloud why she sees "so many pictures of him if he's not real to our world". We have pretended with them about Santa Claus always very careful, or so I thought, to tell them that we were just pretending but obviously they have overlooked that tiny point until today. I remember my mom reading us a book when we were little about St. Nicholas and I know in my head how "Santa Claus" came to be but trying to explain this to my daughter has only caused more confusion. I am off to search for the actual story of St. Nicholas/Santa Claus to share with my kiddos and hopefully we will have happier faces on the morrow. On the bright side, and oh how bright it is!, Hannah and I had a wonderful conversation about the real meaning of Christmas today while the other kiddos were napping. I think it may be a Merry Christmas after all.