Kirk blAug

This is how you know that the consumerism of Christmas is the least of the problems with your kid: Demanding Mekeeda Austin, 13, warned Father Christmas that he will be 'killed' if he fails to deliver at least two of her long list of lavish gifts. This is pretty pathetic. What was on said list you ask? Oh nothing much. Just a Blackberry, money, a designer sweater, high-top Converse sneakers, Austin Mahone or Justin Bieber (the real-life version), or designer sunglasses. I think the quickest way to correct this is to give her a lump of coal and let her go journey to the North Pole and try to find the object of her threat. She says, "I don't see any problem with the letter, I want all of these things and I don't see why I shouldn't get them." Her mother thought it was funny, and intends to indulge her daughters wishes: "When I first found the letter I thought it was funny, now I think I better get her what she wants, the last thing I want is for her to

I recently wrote here about how our family treats the Santa Claus character as we would treat any other fictional character. I also mentioned that there are good arguments for propagating the lie from a critical thinking standpoint. An excerpt from Parenting Beyond Belief was posted on Dale McGowan's blog that does a very good job of making that argument : Santa Claus, my secular friends, is the greatest gift a rational worldview ever had. Our culture has constructed a silly and temporary myth parallel to its silly and permanent one. They share a striking number of characteristics, yet the one is cast aside halfway through childhood. And a good thing, too: A middle-aged father looking mournfully up the chimbly along with his sobbing children on yet another giftless Christmas morning would be a sure candidate for a very soft room. This culturally pervasive myth is meant to be figured out, designed with an expiration date, after which consumption is universally frowned upon. While

When I was young my parents followed a tradition which I imagine was passed down to them from their parents who received the tradition from their parents before them and so on for a generation or two before them. I am of course talking about the yearly tradition of deceiving their gullible offspring with myths of a jolly man who lives at the North Pole. I fell for it. They were fairly elaborate to the point of even having a man dressed up as a Santa come to the front door one year. This of course sparked my suspicion a little. Why the front door and not the chimney? Though I do not remember what it was, a satisfactory explanation was given and I continued to believe in it. Eventually I did finally figure it all out, mostly through ridicule from schoolmates and my 3rd grade teacher for still believing it. I did not take the news well. I did not understand that my parents, who regularly told me that lying is wrong and makes Jesus cry, would keep up such an elaborate and ultimately pointl