santa claus

i was telling r about santa claus today as we were listening to the radio. he listened and asked questions about the idea of being naught and nice. he seemed to think that receiving coal for being naughty was not utterly disappointing. we went through the details -- flying reindeer, chimneys, presents, the north pole, etc. i asked if he thought that santa was real or pretend. he answered quite definitively -- "pretend." however, he added quite emphatically, "it is an excellent idea."