WASHINGTON - Why do kids believe a chubby guy in a flying sleigh can deliver joy across the United States? Because their parents did. A whopping 84 percent of grown-ups were once children who trusted in Santa's magic, and many cling to it still.

Things are changing fast these days, with toddlers wishing for Apple Inc iPads, grade school students e-mailing their Christmas lists and moms wrestling over bargain toys at midnight sales. Despite all the pressures on the rituals of the season, an AP-GfK poll confirms that families are sticking by old St Nick.

"It's important for kids to have something to believe in," said great-grandmother Wanda Smith of Norman, Oklahoma.