Contingency Plans

Timothy: If I go to confession on Christmas Eve, will that clear me with Santa, too?

And I'm not sure what to think of this question. Is he ...

a. Planning to misbehave?
b. Clever?
c. Confused?

And then there's this ... why wait until Christmas Eve to confess? Is he worried about confessing too early and then having to account for his behavior during the period up until Christmas Eve? And why is he thinking about this now, in November?

Questions, questions ...