Santa vs. Jesus

I wasn't brought up in a particularly religious household. Sure, we went to the odd Sunday service, and each of my younger brothers had their "born again" moments, but I never seemed to have one. I'm kind of still waiting for that to happen, because I do believe in God, and I think that the religion I am most familiar with (although I'm using familiar very loosely here) does have some very honorable tenets; Love thy neighbor, Do unto others..., etc. So, I'm not athiest, not really agnostic, just being, maybe lazy? Maybe cautious? Maybe wanting to believe but not wanting the baggage that comes with organized religion?
I also wasn't brought up in a household where Santa played much of a part. I don't remember ever believing in Santa. My memories of Christmas start off after my father died when Christmas was a depressing holiday for my mother. No magic there. No Santa. And I should remember Christmases from before I was nine, but I don't.
Flash forward, I have a three year old who is, just this year, very interested in the whole Christmas season. What the hell do I tell her? I am not an authority on the religious aspect or the magic of the season stuff, but yet my husband and I are to her.
Of course, when you don't really think it through and decide what your child will be exposed to, she will be exposed to the commercial side, the Santa Claus-y side, the lights and the music and the trees. This is good, we've seen a couple Christmas-type movies featuring Santas and such, read a couple of books. But then I wanted to tell her about the "true meaning" of Christmas, and she kept asking how Santa fit into the manger and the baby Jesus and stuff. Not sure. Don't really know. Make something up! How did this happen?
I don't know how to explain why we celebrate Christmas when I've never really introduced the concept of God and Jesus. I don't know if I want her to believe in a Santa that brings presents when it's really her loved ones that bring her presents. I do know that I want this time of year to be magical and full of meaning, tradition, and love.