When your child checks out her boot on St Nicholas morning and disappointedly says “I can’t wait for Christmas to get more gifts,” it makes you think you probably could’ve made a bit more of an effort. I see it as a learning opportunity, though.
When Molly tells me later this afternoon about what her friends got, I’ll pretend to seriously think about it and I’ll say, in a sad voice: “I guess they were a lot better than you this year”. And I’ll bring it up every time she misbehaves for the next 364 days.