Attention to Detail

I pay a lot of attention to the details of Christmas. I make special Santa gift tags and note pads for both me and my ex-wife to use. I avoid detailed explanations that can be broken apart by questioning children looking for inconsistencies, and I add little things like bringing up the NORAD Santa site on Christmas even and not settling for cookie crumbs and milk residue on Christmas morning. I add chewed carrots around the fireplace to show messy reindeer were present. Well, it wasn't as gross as that sounds. I just gnawed on the carrot as the bits fell to the ground. No chewing at all. Really. It looked realistic. Mister believed until last year. Lamb still believes.

Two years ago, Mister didn't pay much attention to the Santa tracking on NORAD and I wondered if I was paying too much attention to detail. No, I found out later, Mister actually was extremely affected by that site and thought it was real!

And this year, as I got the decorations and tree out, Lamb was thrilled and even mentioned that we�d have to put out cookies and carrots. "The reindeer was so messy!" She nearly screamed with a smile that took up 180 degrees of her face. She hadn't seemed to notice the carrot bits last year, but a year later she recalled that detail right off the bat!

To Mister at one time and Lamb now, it is natural that Santa delivers toys to two different homes for both of them.

So to parents out there, don't be bashful about your Christmas ploys. Heck, I remember one Easter where my mom and sister dipped our poor cat's paws in green food coloring and put "hopping" prints across the kitchen floor. They sold me!

You never can tell what they notice and remember and believe for years to come.

Heck, I'm only now starting to question that whole Social Security trust fund thing.