Lately we have been enduring a lot of problems with our home thermostat and temperature control methods. I should be clear, the biggest problem is our extremely drafty house and accompanying ancient furnace. During the summers our little place stays nice and cool, and we have consistently fresh and high quality indoor air whenever the AC is running. We can happily get through the 8 months of hot weather that settles into the area because there is proper ventilation to keep us happy and healthy. In the winter, however, our home really fails to meet expectations. There is cold air coming from all the doors and windows, and our old furnace provides uneven temperatures and wild fluctuations. This year we’ve been relying heavily on our wood burning fireplace to compensate for the poor furnace, especially at night when the air temperature has been dipping into the 20s. So far this method has successfully saved us from having to call out a professional HVAC technician to inspect the furnace and charge us thousands of dollars for an upgraded central heating unit, but there was one unforeseen hiccup in this plan. We never considered that my step son would be spending Christmas with us. We didn’t think about the fact that he is currently heavily invested in the myth of Santa Clause. No one considered that he would be upset if a fire was roaring in the fireplace on Christma Eve. None of the adults was quite as worried about Santa burning his old butt on the flames on the way down. Long story short, after an outburst of hysterical cries, we had quite a chilly Christmas Eve and really cranked the heat on Christmas morning.