Son: "Dad, I think I'm old enough now to know the truth. Is there really a Santa Claus?”
Dad: "Ok, I agree that you’re old enough. But before I tell you, I have a question for you. You see, the truth is a dangerous gift. Once you know something, you can't unknow it. Once you know the truth about Santa Claus, you will never again understand and relate to him as you do now. So my question for you is: are you sure you want to know?"
Brief pause...
Son: "Yes, I want to know"
Dad: "Ok, I'll tell you: yes, there is a Santa Claus"
Son: "Really?"
Dad: “Yes, really, but he's not an old man with a beard in a red suit. That's just what we tell kids. You see, kids are too young to understand the true nature of Santa Claus, so we explain it to them in a way that they can understand. The truth about Santa Claus is that he's not a person at all; he's an idea. Think of all those presents Santa gave you over the years. I actually bought those myself. I watched you open them. And did it bother me that you didn't thank me? Of course not! In fact it gave me great pleasure. You see, Santa Claus is THE IDEA OF GIVING FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING, to people you love and care about, without thought of thanks or acknowledgement. Santa Claus is realizing that sometimes making others happy makes us happy. Even complete strangers! Last week when I saw that woman collapse at the grocery store and called for help, I knew that she'd never know that it was me who summoned the ambulance. I was being Santa Claus when I did that."
Son: "Oh.”
Dad: "So now that you know, you're part of it. You have to be Santa Claus now too. That means you can never tell a young kid the secret, and you have to help us select Santa presents for them, and most important, you have to look for opportunities to help people. Got it?”
