One all-too-tempting and common little lie is in filling in extra details to make a story more entertaining. It can be tempting to make it a bear that wandered into your campsite, rather than a raccoon, but you might be setting a precedent that opens up reasons and opportunities for more lies. Let the truth be the truth and be as honest as possible. " We've all been there, when someone asked something dreaded, like: "Do I look fat in this?" or "Is Santa Claus real?" Sometimes, we feel we must lie to make someone else feel better, or to lessen the blow or some uncomfortable truth, but the choice between being honest and lying isn't always a choice between A and B.   Emphasize the positive. Shift the focus away from what, in all honesty, you think is negative. Instead of saying "No, I don't think you look good in those pants" say "They're not as flattering as the black dress—that dress really looks amazing on you. Have you tried it on with those stockings you wore to my cousin's wedding last year?"  Keep some opinions to yourself. It might be true that you're not crazy about the cowboy-themed restaurant and bar that your best friend wants to visit on her only night in town, but it's not necessarily "honest" to share that opinion. What you want is to serve the greater good of the evening–you've only got one night together!–to keep fun moving forward. Instead of saying, "I don't like this place. Let's go somewhere else," say "Although it's not my favorite place, I want to do what you want to do. Let's make it awesome." Deflect the question. If your child wants to know if Santa Claus is real, tell them you're not sure, and engage them. Ask them what seems to be true for them: "What do you think? What do kids say at school?" You don't have to decide between a flat-out lie and the total truth. The real world is more complicated than that. If you're in a tense situation, in which getting honest would disrupt everyone's mood and happiness, it's not necessarily dishonest to remain silent. If you've got the option of staying out of it, stay out of it. It takes courage to stay silent in an awkward situation sometimes. Choose the high road. In a disagreement, more opinions don't make the issue easier to untangle, necessarily. You don't have to tell a white lie to get an argument to end, nor do you need to continue dropping truth-bombs. Stay out of petty disagreements entirely, rather than reigniting the flame.
Don't add color to your stories. Get creative with "white lies. Stay silent if you need to.