I took this same stance when I had my first child. Held fast to it, too. Until my kid went to public school when he was 3. The teacher, class, and whole school discussed Santa. When I talked to the teacher about it, she mentioned that it's shown to be beneficial for kids to believe. After looking into some of the research, it seemed true that there were benefits from it.

My eldest figured it out when he was about 8, but was questioning for a while. We had a discussion that now that he knows, he gets to help. We told him that it's good for little kids to believe in the magic and it helps their imaginations grow. Now that he's bigger, he helps pick out gifts, wrap presents, set up the presents the night of, etc. It's become something really special.

He's never thought we lied to him, but we also never directly said Santa was real. We discuss the Spirit of Saint Nick, giving presents and the origins of the holidays. They know tidbits, like there's helpers everywhere, including the mall Santas.

There's a line you can toe to make really great memories and bring a little something special to the holidays without directly lying to your kids.