Dear LFTP: the Santa Claus letter
- Am I awful for skipping Santa and teaching my kids about Saint Nick instead?
Mike reads a letter from a non-religious listener who won't do Santa with future kids, preferring the real Saint Nicholas, the birth of Jesus, and the winter solstice; after years in retail they are saddened by holiday greed and kids asking Santa for money for their unemployed parents. The hosts agree this isn't Scrooge-like: treat Santa as a fun story without giving him Christ-like powers. Mike then reads "Secular's" advice: teach Jesus' birth and the pagan festivals Christmas replaced, and tell children the truth about Santa when they ask so they learn their mother answers honestly.
More on Honesty
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Dear LFTP: explaining an invisible disability
- How do I explain my invisible disability to friends who act like I'm making it up?
Mike reads a letter from a listener with polyneuropathy, seven back surgeries, and arthritis in every joint who lives in constant invisible pain and doesn't know how to explain it to friends who act like she's making it up.
From No. 585 · Split Ends | Interacting with other Denominations
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Dear LFTP: ending a friendship or ghosting the young couple
- Should I ghost an unwanted friendship or tell them honestly I want to end it?
A listener wants to end a relationship with a younger couple who guilt-tripped them into visits, now with toddlers she dislikes; her husband disagrees and wants to keep up the charade.
From No. 568 · Like Jesus
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Dear LFTP: the boyfriend's uncomfortably hard bed and couch
- How do I tell my boyfriend his expensive bed and couch are too uncomfortable to sleep on?
A host hands the advice segment to Mike ("Alright. Mike, let's give some advice") and a host reads the Dear LFTP letter: a woman in a tumultuous-but-currently-good relationship…
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Dear LFTP: the aggressively negative colleague
- Should I make excuses or be honest with a negative, aggressive friend?
Mike reads the third Dear LFTP letter: a listener reconnected with a former colleague who has become negative, aggressive, and angry — bashing family, colleagues, and service workers, and refusing to stop talking politics.
From No. 554 · The Simple Life