Actress HALLE BERRY was devastated when she discovered Santa wasn't real - after catching her mother eating his plate of cookies.

The Monster star spent time baking the treats for the rotund gift-bringing legend but was horrified to find her mother scoffing them.

She says, "The day I saw my mom eating the Santa cookies on the plate was one of the most horrific days of my life. I never let her forget it.

"I had at least three more good years that I could have believed, had she not been so careless."