Justin Bieber's mom aside, most of us show no hesitation when it comes to feeding our kids the Santa story. In fact, that nugget of mysticism about a plump white-bearded man imbues Christmas with magic and wonder, albeit for a limited time only.
In this day and age, though, kids are so savvy that it takes a little more than some leftover cookie crumbs and a downed glass of milk to prove that the big guy paid a visit on Christmas Eve.
As for Santa... Seems he's getting all techy on us. For $14.95 US, parents can purchase a video showing the man in the jolly red suit roaming their own home -- a sure bet to convince young skeptics of his existence. The Santa Video lets you upload an image of say, your living room then, using green screen technology, superimposes Santa doing his thing. You can't get much more plausible than that.
"It doesn't matter as much for the really little kids, but the six and seven-year-olds tend to be awesome detectives," says the website, which is run by a company called BHO Video LLC.
Other (free!) services include a personalized named message directly from the North Pole via Sympatico.ca, Portable North Pole, and Google. The customized video also inputs details such as the child's city and wish list items to further add to St Nick's cred.
Would you consider using a virtual Santa service to prolong or intensify your child's belief in the existence of that jolly old soul, or is this pushing the envelope too far? Harmless white lie, cruel deception?
Printer-friendly version