Rick lost his first tooth today(/yesterday). I went out and got the crispest tener I could find (I'm waiting for Pete to complain, but inflation, man). Where do you stand on the various American demigods (Easter Bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy, etc.)? I've always tried non-denial denials.
What I mean is, I never really confirm or deny. I don't really want to perpetuate these things, or straight out lie to them just to elicit good behavior, but I also don't want to deny them the childhood whimsy of it. I just usually shrug and ask them what they think.
It's been forever ago, but Runner daughter figured things out at a young age and was smart enough to continue to play along
Same with my kids. It felt silly that we went through the charade for another 8-10 years with both kids, but my wife did not want to stop the traditions until the kids were out of the house.
We're probably a little more towards the "promoting whimsy" side, but not much. There's no real active promotion, but I suppose we've mentioned them from time to time and don't discourage leaving out carrots for the Easter bunny, etc.
Our kids have actively tried to catch said demigods via video cameras and such. We've done our part to have the demigods outsmart the kids, sometimes even leaving notes wishing them better luck next time.
Tomorrow, we are going to drive up to Fargo to see my son and his girl. We are going to make one last trip to Fargo Brewing Company. They are shutting their doors at the end of the month. Also shutting down recently are Fergus Falls Brewing and Revelation (Hallock, MN). Miller Coors announced they are closing the Leinenkugel Brewery in Chippewa Falls and moving production to Milwaukee. The craft brewing world is crazy right now. I don't think demand is dropping much, but I think the industry got a bit overgrown and there is some contraction needed on the producer side for small breweries to become profitable. I am pretty close to our local brewery and have some behind the scenes insight on the challenges these guys face. Most breweries are pivoting one of two ways. Either they go "all in" on distribution or they are dropping distribution and going "all in" on creating a great tap room experience. Our local joint dropped the distribution and secured a brew pub license, which allows them to add wine and liquor. They are now essentially a restaurant/bar that makes their own beer versus a brewery that offers food. Tough times, and it is a bummer to see some cool people having their dreams crushed. I am wondering if we will see a similar scenario play out with the craft distillery craze.
My employer used to include a case of Leinie's with every supercomputer shipped until the gubmint told them to stop (I think it fell under bribery rules). The brewery was still part of tours when visiting the Chippewa Falls manufacturing facility, along with the computer history museum in the city. I won a lemon float during my tour by winning the impromptu quiz at the end.