One of the real joys of being around small children is to tell the outrageous utter ridiculous lie and be believed.
The look of wide eyed wonder or solemn understanding is a pleasure to behold.
Let’s be clear about this - we are in the world of MEN here.
It’s the natural domain of fathers, grandfathers, uncles, even the imaginative big brother.
Women can’t do it - anymore than they can throw or catch.
They will say “ that’s cruel” ( oh get a sense of humour love), they just don’t get it.
Here’s what I mean.
When our daughter was 8 she came upon me enjoying a glass of pastis (could have been Pernod or Ricard...) Seeing my pleasure she asked if she could try it.
I (naturally) let her ( before anyone goes off on one it was only a TINY sip).
Her: “That’s nice! What’s it made from?”
Me: “well you know they make wine by squeezing the juice from grapes?”
“yes”
“well this is made by squeezing the juice from liquorice allsorts”...
Another example: (I wish I could claim this as my own)...
When we lived in Hackney east London, a chap a few doors down regularly took his grandchildren away for short holidays to a caravan he had in Kent.
He always went through the Blackwall Tunnel or over the Woolwich Ferry.
When he got to the other side of the river he would tell the children that they were now...
IN FRANCE!!!!
You have to admire that.
Gransnet forums
Grandads' shed
Well dontcallmegramps - you've really made me giggle tonight. I'm now wondering where I really am - my husband told me we were in France but there was a ferry involved...............
I hope you receive a warm response from other g/n 
Also dontcallmegramps - I thought I was married to the only other living breathing person who read Screwfix......
Love your explanation for Pernod dont! I love Pernod too, it always seems so decadent!
In years gone by my OG spun many a fanciful tale for our girls and later for grandchildren. One really good 'lie' was a dusty and creased old map 'found' in the shed that showed buried treasure with a big X marks the spot. Furious digging resulted in a 'chest' full of charity shop pearls and jewels and pre-decimal coins. Magical reactions! 
I think one of my SILs sleeps with a Screwfix catalogue under his pillow jogging! 
Leave screwfix alone ! it is my favourite publication. There is something wonderful about those neat containers of nails, drill bits, tools etc.!
Notsogrand
don'tcallmegramps, do you mean to say that Pernod isn't made from liquorice allsorts? Another illusion shattered. 
When our DCs where little and in the back of the car going through the Mersey Tunnel on day DH told them we can only travel though here when the fish are asleep,he kept up the pretence when the DGCs arrived on the scene and is now a common remark when we go through to Liverpool
gramps I think I agree, it is something men do well and often. When I first met my now ex husband he told me his name was Josh Martian and he was from Mars. For a nanosecond I thought oh...maybe he is... 
...I was only sixteen and my other thought at the time was, why on earth would anybody say such a thing. I did get it though, he was teasing!!!!! 
My grandfather had a very deep crease at the back of his neck and, notwithstanding that I was known to be a rather clever child, I REALLY believed that when he was in Africa and captured during WWII he had had his head almost chopped off! I was eleven or twelve years old before I began to question the possibility of this not being a true story. I just could not imagine my grandfather lying to me about something so serious. How gullible I was, but I never really trusted what he said after that. [sad
My GF told me that thunder was caused by the clouds banging together - I passed that onto my daughter who believed that well into her teens when a boyfriend put her right. I love the story about the ice cream van - that when it's driving with it's tune playing it means he has run out of ice cream!! I told my children (my g/children still too young) that a circle of toadstools meant that fairies had been dancing in the garden and where their toes touched the ground up popped a toadstool. 
Nothing wrong in telling little stories like Santa, tooth fairy etc to little children all part of childhood. My GF used to tell us whoppers and we loved him for it as it was so much fun when we realised he'd tricked us yet again.
When I was little my mum and dad used to tell me that thunder was the fairies moving their furniture! I kept up the pretence for their sake!
we always told our children, and now our grandchildren that the robin seen in the garden was helping Santa , it was the robin's job to check up on the children and make sure they were begin good so that he would know on christmas eve which boys and girls had been good and only the good ones had presents off Santa
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