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Parents don't often tell their children what they can expect to get for Christmas, but thanks to some creative parenting, one Toronto-area teen knows exactly what he won't be getting. That's because his dad is selling what would have been his Christmas present — the popular video game Guitar Hero III — on eBay, after he caught the 15-year-old smoking pot in the backyard of the family home.

The story behind the auction is apparently one of tough love and some innovative punishment.

According to the auction listing, the seller scoured video game stores for weeks searching for what he calls the "Holy Grail of Xmas" presents, the one gift his son had been begging to see under the tree on Christmas morning.

However, after finally securing the elusive game for the Nintendo Wii, the father came home from work early to discover his son smoking pot in the backyard with a couple of friends.

"After I caught him getting high on my patio I did the typical yelling, screaming, kicking out the friends, etc..." the father writes. "But I had not decided on a suitable way to punish him ... Anyways, I am now finding it hard to justify rewarding him with this gift after he so greatly disappointed me."

So to teach his son a lesson, the teen's Christmas present will now go to the highest bidder.

News of the auction spread quickly across the blogosphere, driving heavy traffic to the listing. Already more than 15,000 people have visited the page. Although the seller said his initial intention was only to get back what he paid for the game — about $125 he said — the auction is already up over $200 (U.S.). The auction page lists the sellers location as the Greater Toronto Area.

"Now I know Santa applies the 'naughty or nice' paradigm to determine who gets what on Christmas," he writes. "My son (Isaac) hasn't exactly been Mother Teresa this year ... but I thought I could still justify getting him this present. Maybe it would make him stay home more and "rock out" on this fake guitar thing. He pretty much spends all his free time at his friend's house playing it anyways (while high on marijuana, I would imagine)."

The seller goes on to say that his son was blissfully unaware a copy of Guitar Hero III was to be his Christmas present. That is, until he saw the auction.

"At first he didn't believe what he was reading, but once the truth hit him, he was not amused!" he writes.

"While I doubt this will keep him from ever smoking pot again, I think it will make him think twice before doing illegal (well I think pot is still illegal in Canada) drugs on my property."

The picture accompanying the listing shows an unopened copy of the game with a receipt taped to the front and a message scrawled in red pen on a white piece of paper hanging above it, which reads: "Love you, Isaac! - Dad."

However the seller says he is not opposed to cancelling the auction outright and giving his son the game he so covets for Christmas, if someone can present a compelling argument for why he should do so.

"I know smoking a joint isn't the end of the world, but if you can convince me that he deserves the gift, then I will end the auction. You will have to be very convincing," he says. "I am an elementary school teacher and I know that rewarding bad behavior [sic] is just asking for more of the same ..."

There are already more than 85 comments on the auction's bulletin board, imploring the seller to let Isaac have the game. However many express support the father's decision to withhold the gift.

In the end, the frustrated father says Isaac can still expect to receive a Nintendo game for Christmas, although it might not be one of the games on his wish list.

"I am still considering getting him a game for his Nintendo," the seller writes. "Maybe something like Barbie as the Island Princess or Dancing With the Stars. These games are in stock everywhere I go, and I know he will just love them. Merry Xmas Isaac. I hope you've learned your lesson. — Father"

The eBay user who posted the item did not return requests for comment.