So, my 8 year old granddaughter says "No, I don't believe in God, but I do believe in Santa Claus. If you don't believe in him, he won't bring you stuff." A very pragmatic little atheist.
That's literally the same argument for god.
You are absolutely correct. God is just Santa for adults.
Time to have the, "Santa is our culture's allegory for the joy of sharing with our children" talk. I had it with my daughter and she had no idea what I meant, just wanted verification she was still getting loot.
My atheist son told me the other night he wasn’t sure he could be an atheist because he still thinks there might be a ghost in his closet at night. Poor kiddo, it was hard for me not to laugh.