I got toys for the nieces and nephews. Did pretty

I use Firemountain Gems - pretty good prices. [2008-11-22]
....

Yes, that's pretty much it. Phone tells you when they're due. [2008-11-17]
nn

I think they are pretty worthless and not really an IQ test because sm [2008-11-10]
if you have ever had a Wechsler, you know that those kinds of questions don't play into it. They are mind teasers and trick questions, not something that a Wechsler uses. A Wechsler is several hours long and goes through your math, language, spacial relations and problem solving skills, and it is timed. Part of IQ is how fast you can solve complex problems. I have taken a Wechsler and while I won't quote you a number, I will say the person who gave it as part of a psychological evaluation, told me he would diagnose me as way too smart for my own good. He stated that I probably didn't suffer fools gladly because I view most of the world as fools. I only fall at the 99.6 percentile on the Bell curve. No, I don't suffer fools gladly, but I try to be nice while others catch up.

I used Debt Free Today. Pretty good [2008-11-03]
company. Never had any troubles with them. Just sent them a check once a month and they distributed among my creditors on the agreed amount. I think we paid off in 4 years. Was really nice!

Thank goodness both my kids are pretty much grown up sm [2008-10-22]
Both are in college, one away and one at home. My gift will be supporting them in everything they do unconditionally, past, present, and future. Just can't do gifts this year. But I WILL have my traditional 3-foot tree LOL. Rays in WS is enough for us all, though!! :-)

If it were MY child, I'd buy her a pretty dress to wear [2008-10-16]
You bigots are appalling.

Whaaat? That's pretty bizarre. And why would [2008-10-16]
It's a perfectly civil conversation about different beliefs. Unless you think that a thread that doesn't follow strict Christian philosophy would automatically be deleted from MT Stars?

Pretty scary, isn't it? [2008-10-16]
I just don Those cities must have been wicked beyond compare. Part of me says Wait just a little longer, Lord but another, ever increasing part of me says Come even so Lord Jesus.

Pretty sad to stunt a child's intellectual growth. [2008-10-16]
.

I used to LOVE soap with toys in it. [2008-10-13]
I think I had one when I was little called Fuzzy Wuzzy--or maybe I don (I But what a great thing to recreate.

Mine pretty much soaks in immediately but [2008-10-13]
I have found that if you use a primer it does go on a lot smoother. BE has a face and eye primer that I like a lot. On a side note I just got the eyebrow powder in today and love it!

Thanks you! I wanted to say that you are a very pretty [2008-10-10]
doggie mom! (If that was you in the picture). They are soooooo lucky to have you! Have a great weekend and kiss those babies for me!!!!

Good grief - I hope not!!! Mine was not pretty! nm [2008-10-02]
..

Our daughter is pretty trustworthy - sm [2008-09-11]
Actually, she just turned 17 two days ago. Generally, the rule of thumb was that on school nights she was home for supper and thereafter. On the weekends her curfew was 11:00 and she never violated it. This summer, as she neared 17, we let her stay out until midnight, and often she would just stay outside on our lawn swing with her friend talking until 1 or 2, which was fine - we knew where she was and what she was doing. Oh, yes - when she was babysitting on school nights she still had to be home by 10:00. That worked out fine.

Pretty wild about David Ducouvne [2008-09-01]
That

How often do you see your niece/nephews [2008-08-31]
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law moved back to this state recently after being gone for many years. They have 2 teenagers. All 4 are living with grandparents right now, most probably indefinitely but that My question is how often do your niece/nephews spend the night at your house? Mine are also out of state so it is hard to say what it would be from that side. I just feel like after having little family here for so many years I am now on family overload. These kids want to stay and be with us all the time. Granted, I understand they have no friendsbc theyarenI rarely say no bc I don and of course I like less mess to clean up. not to mention teenagers are expensive. So what Once, twice a month?

Severe warning about dangerous dog-toys!! [2008-08-29]
I came across this blog today on Craigslist: http://www.thechaistory.blogspot.com/ And if you have a dog, it It details what happened to a dog that was severely injured by a dog toy called a Pimple Ball made by Four Paws, Inc. The dog ended up losing his tongue, and the pain he had to endure was excruciating. The dog After watchinghis video linksof his poor dog's suffering, even though I have cats, I plan to be sure I don't purchase ANYTHING from this company, andhopefully you won't either.

i'm pretty sure it was a garmin my [2008-07-01]
daughter just said her boyfriend got -- that it will TELL you which way and when to turn, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road. Sounds pretty good!

Pretty wild posts [2008-05-27]
I was reading the posts below and some pretty heated discussions. Everyone seems to have an opinion and I feel bad for the people who give their opinion and then are jumped on by others. The only thing I could possibly add is do what you feel is right. Emotional scars go very deep, and its true that once things are said (or written) its very hard to forgive. I remember years ago (19 years ago) I got called into a room by my MIL who proceded to tell me how much she always hated me and if I turned her against her son she would find me and kill me - this was after I told my husband (not in front of her) we don't have the money to pay our bills and we can't keep taking her out to eat with unlimited pitchers of beers. He's the one who told his mom we couldn't go out to eat cos we didn't have money. Anyway...those words she said still haunt me and the memory is like it happened yesterday. Words hurt very deeply and the emotional scars will always be there. It sounds like you are getting counseling and that is good. Don't know if your kids are also getting counseling but that might help them too. Good luck to you.

I need recipes for pretty, fruity, fun drinks [2008-05-09]
or coffee drinks. My sons, their dates, and two other couples of coming to our house tonight after the senior prom. They plan to play Dance, Dance Revolution and watch movies on the big screen. Of course, they asked me about it only an hour ago! I'm happy to have the kids over, but wish I had a little time to plan. I will stay up when they are here and will make them breakfast. I have one of those waffle makers that you see at hotel breakfast buffets, so they will have waffles and other breakfast goodies, but I thought it would be fun to serve them some pretty drinks in some of my fancy glasses that I never use. Nonalcoholic, of course! I think I'd like to make up two pitchers, something fruit-based and something coffee-based. Does anyone have any good recipes?

It's still pretty cheap compared to other sm [2008-05-09]
countries! Look at the price of diesel and fuel - that impacts the USPS as much as it does all of us. It's only a penny.

Toys for Tots [2008-05-06]
I believe it is the one run by troops collecting toys for underpriviledged kids at xmas.

This is a good link. It pretty [2008-04-28]
much explains your question and has the new schedule.

isn't the interest on that pretty high? [2008-04-28]
:(

I raised mine and 3 nieces as one family sm [2008-04-21]
I did it alone with child support help and being an MT. You can only imagine the hours it took to support 7 kids!!!! Anyway, we never had money for fun stuff and if we had all the necessities it was a very good month. I finally told them: Look, I make $20-25 when I am working. Working means my hands are on the keyboard. I don Every time I have to take time away from the desk to do these things FOR YOU, it is costing YOU $20-25 for things you need/want. The more hours I can work, the more we have in the bank. I can They got to where they would name a price for a bigger job like cleaning the family room alone, doing all 3 bathrooms for me or cleaning the kitchen and then doing the floor in the kitchen and diningroom (it was huge). The price might be a movie ticket, a whole weekend with a friend, nail polish, large candy bars, a much-desired item of clothing. Small jobs could be added up and presented to me as a list and negiotations began. They worked, I paid and the house was no longer a mess. I also made more money under less stressful conditions. My own kids, now grown,have all come to me and thanked me for the way I raised them.I used to say, I know you don They were all 19 when the said they feel that they were raised better than all their friends and thank you for being a great mom.They marvel at the spotless house I now keep alone and that I am always to calm like I have no stress. I remind them, I onlyhave to take care of myself these days and you all were a LOT of work.

Everyone seems [2008-11-22]
pretty happy. It doesn't seem prurient. I've been in favor of other situations in which people are free to develop on an internal time clock rather than one imposed externally & in that regard there's probably something to this, but the siblings following the first probably got the idea to continue for a long time from watching, so there's definitely a bias there. Would be interesting for someone to design a study comparing long-time thumb-suckers with children weaned at a later age. This woman would probably say that the experience of breastfeeding can't be duplicated or substituted with a bottle or a plastic nipple because the emotional part of it would be lost. I don't know. I guess it depends on the family involved. I remember on Six Feet Under, how Lisa & Nate were letting Maya sleep in their bed until she decided she didn't want to any more. I think there's just a whole movement out there comprised of people with similar ideas, & until someone does a long-term study, I guess I'd have to say any suggestion that it's out-&-out wrong is just conjecture or has a cultural bias.

I would have divorced a long time ago....sm [2008-11-21]
when my husband had a drug problem. I didn't because my son told me he would not come with me but that he would choose to stay with his dad. He was around 7 years old at the time. I couldn't leave my son. So I didn't leave. He is so close to his daddy. He would pick his dad drugs and all over me any day of the week and that hurt me very bad because I have always been a good mom. So I stayed. I guess God helped me though because my husband quit using drugs miraculously later and we are doing pretty good now.

Also, if there is a really popular item you want...sm [2008-11-21]
you could map out the store. Saw this on the news once where a lady and her husband drew out a map and each aimed for a specific department/item. It was pretty comical, but efficient when you think about it. As for opening times, the ads will let you know. Anyway, good luck!

How exciting for you -- sm [2008-11-21]
I My mom always drug me out an hour before the stores opened. The ads usually come out in Thursday In the past, I Get the paper and makea game plan. Some stores open an hour or 2 later than others, so you may be able to get to both in time for the specials you Wal-Mart generally has a lot of specials, especially in the toys dept. Our Wal-Mart gives you a map when you enter to tell you where each BF special is located in the store. They put some stuff in strange places -- like TVs in the meat dept, computers in dairy, etc. It Ask the Wal-Mart greeter when you enter. Our Wal-Mart is also open 24 hours, as are most, which means no waiting outside. We usually arrive an hour before the sales start so we can be in position for the item. Obviously, the most-sought after items are electronics, so be there early if you Target is 1 of my favorite places because their specials run all weekend, not just until 11 a.m. (I hope it They usually open an hour after Wal-Mart. I usually head there second because even though the specials run all weekend, they do run out of stock. Kohl The cash can be redeemed usually starting the Sunday after Black Friday. Don If there General advise: Wear comfortable shoes. Be polite to others, but don If you got there first, it Make sure you and DH have cell phones so you can communicate if you get separated. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!! Let us know how you make out afterwards.

Where I got my screen name..sm [2008-11-21]
Well I have always had pretty much platinum blonde hair since a teenager. It isn't natural but I always dyed it very light blonde and still do. Hence the name blondie. When I put in a screen name somewhere years ago blondie was taken so it gave me blondie_1147 and I have used it since.

Lolabug...lol...sm [2008-11-21]
Well Lola kinds of sounds like my first name and my husband used to call me (sorry this is really sappy)...butterfly...so I came up with bug out of that. Everybody's stories behind their names are pretty interesting!!!

I only have one child, a son..sm [2008-11-20]
so that helps. I usually spend about $300 on my son, but this year I have spent $400 already on a playstation 3 he has wanted ever since they came out last year. I can't just give him that so I have to buy him some other little things to open. My mom and mother-in-law and sister-in-law are going to buy playstation 3 games because after spending $400 on it I can't buy the games too, which are about $60 each. So I still have to buy some small things for him so I will probably spend about $500 on my son this year. The most I have ever spent on him and he is 10. Like I said it is usually no more than $300. I try to spend no more than $100 on my husband, but this year I know he has said how he would love to have an ipod. So I am going to buy one for about $150. I have my dad to buy for and mom. I know I will probably spend about $50 on my mom. My dad I am not sure yet. In-laws are usually about $20-25 each. My sister about $25. My brother in law about $20. My 2 nephews about $20 each. I also have a niece I will spend about $20-30 on. I try to spend a little more on my niece because my sister in law spends a lot on my son. So you see I have a lot of people to buy for. I don't even know how much that is all together but it ain't cheap. And the people I buy for I have to cause they do for us.

According to DH, our budget is $1,000 [2008-11-20]
But more likely I We have 3 kids. We usually get them 1 big gift to share and then round it out with smaller gifts. This year, they It The breakdown of the other $350: Parents $150, Grandma $25, Gift Exchange $60, Siblings (from my kids $20, Niece/nephew: $40, Teacher Gifts $30, Student Gifts: $15. The remaining $30 will go to Toys for Tots! Each of my kids like to pick out a $10 gift to put in. I have 3 siblings and 1 that My brother that Of course, my 2 unmarried siblings also buy small gifts for my children, so we always get them a little something from them -- usually lottery tickets or a gas card for Sheetz. $10 used to fill We do our exchange party on Christmas Eve. It keeps the kids entertained and gives them a little preview of what I have to say I enjoy Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day. It Teacher gifts kill me. It I usually go for a coffee mug with a Christmas scene or teacher saying on it and fill it with candy. Of course, DH thinks I do all this for Christmas for $1000, but why tell him and spoil it? We do a Christmas Club for $1000 every year and I just buy the other stuff here and there. We already got our Christmas gifts for ourselves -- a 46-inch LCD TV for DHand a Dooney Bourke purse with matching wallet for me. Now you all got me excited again about shopping next week. I I always wait until the day before Thanksgiving to do that so I know I won For those of you below who posted that you don Let me just say that I don I sometimes snag a deal or 2, but I learned a long time ago not to wait until Black Friday to get the most sought after items. Best to get them in Sept or Oct.

Do any of you have a spouse [2008-11-20]
who can How do you work it out? Are you just stuck always being the bad guy? Unfortunately, the entire United States is having a difficult financial time. It is obviously not just our household. We have cut back everywhere we can, and I mean everywhere. Our families are having difficult problems as well. We also have an ex-spouse and have had unexpected increases in child support, etc. recently along with unexpected additional expenses where this is concerned. Basically, the child needs new glasses, etc. even though the child really doesn It just seems like it is one thing after another and I know it is for everyone, although the circumstances may be slightly different. My problem is that I have been telling my husband for months that this was coming, along with Christmas, birthday, etc. He hasn Although we have cut back on many things, on my initiative, it just has not sunk in for him until now...when everything finalized and we dont To top this off, he can Ibad guy because he is ok with all of it although he admits he has no idea where the money is going to come from. I have been upfront with my family and when people ask me but is it too much to ask that he do the same? I dont But of course he wants to constantly remind me (the cheap skate and tight-a$$) to cut back on groceries, etc. which I cannot possibly do any more than I have already. We have nothing left in savings. We have no Christmas fund. I I donI told you so but I did tell him and he had no concerns until now...when we are seemingly headed towards financial trouble. I have been working OT but his OT has been cut indefinitely from his employer. I I must say he doesn't buy things for himself..its just the piddling away of $20 here and $20 there on top of our already mounting unexpected expenses.

I don't think I understand [2008-11-20]
so just let him do whatever, support his decisions, and hope for the best? He has a good job it is just that so much of it is eaten by the attorneys, support, transportation, and crazy things the ex dreams up that the child must have and we are told we just have to pay it. It costs more than what I make to cover the mandatory expenses of my step-child. I gave up our finances about a year ago to give him a taste of what it was like. Stupidly thinking this would help. Obviously it hasn't but has made things worse. I always reassure him and tell him we will get through it, etc. but when he asks me to make a decision I tell him honestly. Recently asking if I mind if his teenage nephews come stay for the weekend I ask where is the extra money going to come from to feed them and get them to/from work as its an hour round trip. I offer maybe just one night instead of the entire weekend. Automatically thatthey asked for the weekend. He says he doesn't know where the money will come from and he won't ask the his brother either and asks me to call and tell them no. Of course when I refuse I can tell he gets upset although he won't say it. We don't argue about stuff its just more of one of us getting pi$$ed off until it blows over and then starting again the following week when another circumstance comes up. Honestly, I'm just getting tired of putting up. It has been nearly 10 years now but only 4 since our finances went together. We are also expecting a child, which we could afford before the last 6 months came crashing down on us. Of course this is part of my anxiety over finances but being a man and his usual self he wants to live in la-la land until we don't have money to buy diapers. I'm just so frustrated. Thanks for listening and letting me know that there is hope things will change. Atleast I know when the step-child becomes an adult it will be like winning the lottery!

make a call [2008-11-20]
Look in the phone book under Alcoholics Anonymous and call the central office. Tell them you need someone to make a 12-step call. Someone from your local area who is in AA will come over to your house and talk to your husband and you can leave with the kids during this time. By the time you get back, your husband will have decided whether or not he will sober up. Usually the person he talked to will assume responsibility for taking him to the meetings or finding someone who will sponsor him. So you are off the hook at this point. On the other hand, he may decide no thanks and then you will have your real answer. AA is free and pretty crowded with new people around the holidays, so the timing is good. The average age of a person coming into AA is 25 to 45, so there should be plenty of people for him to talk to. At the same meeting place there should be meetings for you called Al-Anon and for your son called Alateen. Good Luck!

We have been spending less than 100 [2008-11-19]
And we are starving. DH took over going to the grocery store from me (He thought I spent too much when I would spend about 150 a week.) It has been months since we do not have a bare cupboard. I am not complaining. I understand we are broke and he needs to pay the creditors. But the one person who has pretty much stopped eating is me. I am home all day and there is never bread to make a sandwich and I often pass up supper because I am tired of eating junky stuff like mac and cheese or spaghetti with meat sauce. He and our 11 year old son, on the other hand eat thirds of whatever meal it is. I get kind of annoyed. Our littlest boy and middle girl eat very little. All 3 take their lunch to school. I say to DH either stop eating so much (for him and the older boy) or buy more. He flips his eyes at me. We even stopped getting microwave popcorn which used to fill them up. So, now I am hoping to work extra to go to the grocery store myself and put an extra 100 a week in myself, but I keep running out of work. You see, this all started when we started running out of work in transcription about a year ago this fall, and my DH took over the bills. Apparently food was the first to be cut. And, BTW I don't ever go anywhere because there is no gas in my car, and it has 2 flat tires. We live by the school and I borrow DH's car to take the kids but it is always on empty. We seem to make it every time. Oh, well. No need to complain. Just cutting back. The family is lucky I work at home, don't use gas, barely eat. But I do have to pay 10 bucks a month for nerve pills, because it is hard doing without. Like I said, when work picks up transcribing first place I am going after I get gas for the car is to the food store. Eventually I can repair my flat tires.

A good gift for either... [2008-11-19]
is the small cologne/perfume gift sets you can get at the mall stores. they usually have 5-8 small bottles for $20 or so. Sometimes you can also get whatever their free offer is for a sweatshirt or duffle bag with it too. We did this one year for all the nieces/nephews between 14 and 21 and they all said they loved it. It gave them an opportunity to try different things without being stuck with 1 fragrance and it surprisingly lasts a kid a pretty long time because they don't want to smell like that every day but when they go out it is something special. The girl might also like a gift certificate for a makeup counter to get her colors done and skin consultation. That's if her parents allow her to wear make up. I wish someone had given me one of those when I was that age. Most teens don't realize its not the amount of makeup you put on but HOW you put it on that makes the difference.

Christmas Gifts [2008-11-19]
We have two daughters 5 and 14. It's harder with the 14 year old because now she wants all the high end gifts. We usually spend about $300 per child and we're probably going to do about the same this year. Luckily they're about the only people we buy for any more. If we had a lot of family members to buy for it would probably be a lot less. Now that the nieces and nephews are older and some married, we don't get them gifts and the few relatives we do buy for we usually don't spend a whole lot. My husband and I already got our Christmas gift for each other, a big flat screen TV so we're basically done with ourselves too.

At certain stores in MI, s/m [2008-11-18]
They will double coupons up to $1. I do this a lot with toothpaste and stockpile it. A lot of times it is 2/$4 or 2/$5, so I either get it free or for 50 cents a tube. A lot of the $1 coupons are for new items and our local store here is pretty good about having those on sale a lot during the first few weeks it is out to promote it, so I get the new things relatively cheap as well. You just have to be careful about not getting things just because you have a coupon. When I coupon shop, it can take me 3 hours because I compare all the prices with brands to coupons, etc. You also have to really know your prices as compared to other stores. I have one store where I get my meat and I don Where they double the $1 coupon, I don I'm really careful about it and belong to an internet sites to help me as well.

Dogs v kids [2008-11-18]
I am a sucker for a pretty face & don't have kids, so I am at my dogs' mercy. You should see their stockpile of dog treats. It's ridiculous. School lunches. $2 a day! Doesn't sound like a lot for a meal, but it sure adds up...you would think they would give you some kind of deal because you have 3 kids. I guess I'm assuming they all go to the same school. Now I'm dating myself, but when I was in elementary school I think it cost 40 or 45 cents for lunch. A nickel for milk. Amazing!

YEAH baby!! Me too. sm [2008-11-18]
About 10 years ago I bought a Honda HX with prototype gas-efficient trannie, light wheels, no frills. That puppy would still be with me if not for the prototype trannie pretty much fizzled on most of the HXs but I milked mine for as long as possible. Ex had a Prelude, same year (99). He loved the car and took great care of it. Gas was killing him though (uses it to drive and travels a bit). He wanted to keep it in the family so he sold it to me. I drive about 5000 miles a year, if that. Amost 300,000 miles on that one and what a dream it is!!! He bought a new Civic. Another SWEET car. My son has a 1990 Accord, bought it used with less than 100,000 miles about 3 years ago. We've put some money into it, mostly cosmetic and just catching stuff up, but it runs like new. My Civic was actually built in US, so I didn't feel too guilty, but how many years have US automakers had to see the writing on the wall? I'm sorry, but I like keeping a car forever. No car payments are great. Honda fits that mold.

I try not to even think about it until after Thanksgiving [2008-11-18]
It annoys me just a little that everyone forgets about Thanksgiving. It it a true American tradition/holiday that has pretty much just a prelude anymore to the commercial, overrated Christmas. The people across the street have their glitzy white shimmering tree up. I just don't get it...

Never before Dec.10 but this year need uplifting sm [2008-11-17]
Perhaps I can ask hubby to drag out my nice blue spruce from the basement for Thanksgiving as where I live the recession is hitting big and we need some joy. I will never forget the kids discovering the tree was fake as it is pretty well made and looks real. It was a hilarious moment of shrieking, Hey, Guys, this tree is fake! Used tohave beautiful, country-themed tastefullydecorated trees and wreaths put up in mid-Dec.So, what the heck, Ireason why I went fake and a bad tree that got so bald by Christmas we had to take it down and had no tree at all that year. Just trying to be festive and lighten the mood. Maybe I will go early, depending on hubbyThat thing again! Oh well.Gotta loosen up a bit.

Any chance you could visit family or a friend... [2008-11-16]
for a few days when he leaves the dogs? Or simply tell DH that you will only take care of your guys? Let hubby experience what a job it is. I have a cat and a large black lab and those two alone can keep me pretty busy. Can I believe in karma, and you have a giant reward coming your way one of these days, as domany of you other kind-hearted posters.

My thirst is Sjogren's disease! sm [2008-11-15]
I am always, always and forever chronically thirsty, but I don't have the polyuria to go with it. I have dry eyes, dry nose (to a point where it is usually pretty full of scabs), dry mouth with caries at the gumline. I have gastroparesis and proctalgia fugax which often go with Sjogren's just like the rest of it. Dry skin and feeling like you are drying out from the inside out is part of it. I even get a nasty, clay-like sludgy feeling in my mouth and throat from my stomach being too dry to digest. It is misery and even better than a gallon of water a day doesn't fix the dry feeling, but it keeps my kidneys from shutting down from being dry. Lovely huh?

Not sure about that, but I grew up on scrapple [2008-11-15]
Scrapple contains basically what you mentioned and it's pretty darn good. It's all good meat, but it's basically scraps, hence the name. I don't mind Spam either, at least when it's fried. My son won't even try Spam, but not because of Monty Python. He won't eat it because of the movie Waterworld where they were throwing it out to the masses of people on the boat and the cans were marked Smeat! LOL!

Oh my gosh!...sm [2008-11-14]
He just looks like he is smiling all the time. He looks like he would be laid back too. He doesn't look like a hyper dog. I bet he's a sweetie. Do the English Bulldogs show protectiveness like Pitbulls do? Or are they pretty much mild mannered? I think English Bulldogs are adoreable but I have never known anyone who owned one. My Pit isn't mean but he is protective if he doesn't know someone, mostly men. He doesn't like strange men to come around. But women he is fine with.

never froze cereal or flour. [2008-11-14]
I have never had a problem with weavils either but I know what they are because we had them once when I was a teenager. I bake a lot and we are all about breakfast here so maybe that's why. Even though I stock up we still go through it pretty fast and I am sure to rotate everything to the front of the shelves when I bring it home.

I agree ... an idea [2008-11-14]
I think it might be better to just tell the story of the real St. Nicholas who was so generous (Google for specific info on him) and tell your child that in remembrance of his special generosity, you will give some presents in his name (and can still call him the evolved Santa name). That way, there is still some special mystery feeling involved but no lies! My 2nd child really got upset too and so did my nephews. It seems it can teach a child to not trust even his/her own parents when going the old route with the whole Santa thing.