I found out, on Christmas Eve, that my youngest didn't want to say anything about his newfound understanding of Santa Claus, because he didn't want to "crush our spirits." My spirit, having this absorbed the fact that my son no longer believes the strongest children's myth of our time, is not crushed. Partially, it's because I read this post from Michael Wayne Arnold about what he is teaching his children regarding Santa Claus.
St. Nicolas is the patron saint of children. He sits in heaven and prays to God for all children. It is his special desire from God to get to know all children so he can pray extra special for each and every one. He works with Mommy & Daddy to make sure you get gifts to remind you of the ultimate gift: God becoming human in Jesus to save us all from death and the Devil. It’s fun to pretend and imagine magical things. The universe is a very big place and we serve a very big God. There’s more magic and amazing things than we can even know or understand. So, there’s a lot we don’t know about saints, angels, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
I would like to tell my son this same thing, but I worry about it sounding scripted and insincere. I think it's especially risky at this point in time, so I may put off the explanation. Or, I may wait until after we've watched the movie Millions, with its saints that appear to the young protagonist. I'm a Protestant, not well-versed in the saints, but I want to learn more. I want my son to know that there is a great cloud of witnesses that have come before us.