Talk about Santa’s naughty and nice list. I remember when Santa encouraged my daughters to break our house rule, which forbids them from eating what we call “junk food cereal”—those high-sugar cereals with little nutrition. Actually, the rule forbids me from bringing the stuff into the house.

Well, Santa, who is known for his love of sweet cookies, delivered boxes of sugary cereals to my 3- and 5-year-old daughters one Christmas Eve. My daughters gasped in surprise when they opened the gifts, revealing boxes of the forbidden cereal. The Cocoa Puffs and Chocolate Chip Cookie Crisp cereals made a hit with my daughters—much more than the Care Bear sleeping bags, the Cabbage Patch Kids and the Candy Land game Santa also left.

So who was being naughty this time? There they were—the forbidden cereals from Santa, which became the center of attention. Clutching the cereal box tightly, my eldest daughter Emily insisted she could eat the cereal because Santa gave it to her.

What could we say to that? My husband and I decided we wouldn’t take the cereal away from our daughters. The girls squealed in delight and the unsupervised cereal munching began.

While holding the opened boxes of cereal, the girls told their grandpa about the surprise gift Santa brought them. Between their munching, they talked excitedly about the sugary cereal. I quickly reminded them that today was special and tomorrow we’d be back to eating our traditional breakfast: oatmeal and fruit or scrambled eggs.

I wasn’t surprised when they barely ate our traditional Christmas breakfast: ham and cheese omelets and homemade blueberry muffins. Santa gave them a free junk food pass, and they took full advantage of it.

Years later, I remembered how much fun it was when my daughters received the surprise boxes of cereal from Santa. I decided it was time for my grown-up daughters to receive another surprise. I would anonymously send them a weekly gift during December through the U.S. mail.

The first week, the postman delivered a hand-blown, glass heart to them. The box included an anonymous note, which said, “The world is a better place because of you.”

The second week, they received a holiday candle with a candlescaping kit, which included small, ceramic

holiday pieces—a Christmas tree, bell, gingerbread boy and heart as well as tiny pieces of glittery wax. The anonymous note that was enclosed said, “Believe in the magic of your dreams. You’re an amazing person.”

The third week was the grand finale, and just a few days before Christmas. I imitated Santa’s surprise, which took place over 20 years ago. The postman delivered a gift-wrapped box of Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs cereal to my adult daughters, including a signed note from Santa, which read, “Everyone needs a little sugar in her life. Ho! Ho! Ho!”

The sugary cereal was a hit yet again. It brought back happy childhood memories and created new ones. While we were distracted with the merriment and our memories, my 4-year-old granddaughter, Olivia, gained control of the cereal box. Her arm was up to her elbow in the box of peanut butter puffs as she happily munched on the sugary treat.

Then she asked why Santa sent her mom junk cereal, which wasn’t allowed in the house, and why he sent her a gift since she’s not a kid?

I don’t remember who answered that last question or what was said, but it brought giggles and fun. The house rule banning junk cereal for another generation was broken yet again—at least for a day.