I actually felt sorry for John - parenting can't always be easy. Glad he isn't going to 100% cancel Christmas - I never had that happen to me but I have seen it happen to friends as a child for some of the most minor transgressions. Canceling Christmas ought to be for really big things and though lying to Dad is bad - its a normal kid testing boundry thing - and heck I don't blame Dean for lying to the teachers - not when half his childhood he is supposed to be lying. He probably does it as easy as breathing and doesn't think about it much

Zaz