Parents: What creative solutions have you come up with or used for years when money was very tight around Christmas?

Financially, this has been a rough year for my family. We have spent nothing short of a small fortune on attorney fees and court costs. Two separate errors in paperwork have cost us a large amount of money, which was in no way our fault, but it always seems that the same people who are quick to take your money are extremely slow to give it back when they’ve made a mistake. Money is very tight this holiday season.
I just spread the kids gifts out in the kitchen to start wrapping, and I realized how little we actually got for them. The stockings are stuffed, but the gifts to go under the tree combined don’t even add up to what we would normally get them. They are also small, so I have a feeling it’s going to look especially disappointing once they are laid out.

The big problem is that the kids still believe in Santa, and I know that their biological mom got a huge bonus from my husband through child support very recently. So, I know that Christmas is going to be a massive toy-a-palooza at that house, and I can’t very well make up an excuse about Santa, since the two households won’t add up. I know that it isn’t a competition, but I think that the vast difference between their two homes is going to raise their suspicions. At the same time, I can’t just tell them the truth about times being tough right now, because.. well, they still think that these gifts are from Santa.

I need quick, cheap, creative solutions… and fast. Help? :(