Even I inflicted the myth of Santa Claus upon my sons George (MacIlwinen / Frink) and Jack (MacIlwinen / Frink), going so far as to make putting spiced hay for his eight tiny reindeer out on the front lawn a part of our Christmas Eve ritual.
George and Jack one Christmas morning decades ago after Santa's arrival, decades ago in Fayetteville, N.C.
The spices were in a package of special “Reindeer Food” my Aunt Betsy Frink Adams gave one Christmas. So first, the boys and I put out a tidy pile of sweet oat hay that had actually been purchased to provide warm winter bedding to out pet chickens. Then, we sprinkled the hay with Aunt Betsy’s special stuff.
After the boys were sound asleep, I’d gather up all but a few wisps of the oat hay and sneak it back into the garage. Then I’d use a three-pronged cultivating rake to make reindeer hoof marks over the feeding spot and across part of the lawn, inevitably leaving behind traces of Aunt Betsy’s special mix.
The next morning, the boys’ grandmother’s big Bouvier des Flandres would show persuasive interest in the reindeer tracks (because they were spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg from Aunt Betsy’s “Reindeer Food”).
The existence of reindeer thus affirmed by the ecstatic dog, both sons would settle into another few days of blissfully believing in the Jolly Old Elf who brought them gifts.
It only worked for a year, or maybe two, my sons eventually told me.
Fun though it was, and entirely well-intended, it was still exploitative lying, like the commonplace and commercially convenient newspaper pretense that there is a Santa Claus. But worse. Because I was setting a parental example of socially convenient lying. for fun.
I was showing my love for them, but I wouldn’t do it that way again. There are equally satisfying theatrics that are honest and that do not encourage retreat to unrealistic fantasy worlds. I would choose one we could honestly share for the rest of our lives, not one that evaporated with the end of childhood credulity.
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[...] There is more to regret than the “Reindeer Food” falsehood. [...]