Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy

[Clodfobble]

My stepdaughter just lost her first tooth at her mother's house. When I asked her if the tooth fairy came, she just sort of looked at me sadly and said, "Well, I think that's maybe just a game that some parents like to play..." which is to say, her mother didn't play said game.

I don't see the harm in it--she lost a second one just yesterday while she was with us, and the tooth fairy came to our house, much to my stepdaughter's delight. Her mother's excuse is supposedly religion, fairies are the devil's work or somesuch. She doesn't do Santa Claus either, but frankly, neither do we, not seriously anyway. We "play the game," but the kids know he's not real, because I figure it's not worth the heartache. I couldn't have cared less when I found out, but I've had friends tell me they were utterly devastated to learn their parents had been lying to them about Santa Claus.

So how did you feel when you were a kid? Did you tell your kids Santa Claus is real? And if they've since learned the truth, how did they handle it?