Difficult Santa talk...

We took time this evening to rearrange the living room and prepare the Christmas tree for its decorations.  It's a tree of wire and plastic that needs 'adjusting' to give it a more tree-like appearance.  John found this adjustment period to be rather tedious which led him to frequently inquire whether the job was complete.  One of these inquiries led here...

John:  "Are we done yet?"

Daddy:  "Not yet, you know why it's important to spend time adjusting the tree don't you?"

John: "Yeah, so that we'll get lots of toys under it."

Daddy: "Well, not exactly.  The more time we spend adjusting it, the more beautiful the tree will ultimately look."

John: "Right."

Daddy: "Besides, shouldn't we be grateful for any toys that we might find under this tree, be it one toy, or lots of toys?"

John: "Yeah, we should be grateful for whatever we get."

Daddy (who should have simply stopped):  "That's right... you know... there are many kids who won't get any toys this year, so, even one is better than none, right?"

John: "Well, yeah, those are the naughty kids, right?"

Daddy (who only now is starting to realize he should have stopped talking already): "Well, some are naughty, but other's have parents who simply can't afford toys this year."

John:  "But Daddy, Santa doesn't treat kids without money differently does he?"

Daddy: "Well, no.... ummm... "

John:  "Daddy, this is sad news, I think we should go shopping tomorrow for those kids who aren't naughty."