Telling your child the truth about Santa is rarely an easy experience. Father Christmas is a huge part of the magic behind the festive period, so it's a discussion that most parents delay for as long as possible.
A lot of people wait until their children ask them about Santa (usually after one of their classmates has ruined the Christmas secret), however one mum took to Facebook to reveal her excellent plan for trackling the situaion head on. And best of all, it maintains the Christmas magic.
In a Facebook post which has since gone viral, Charity Hutchinson shared the following tip from mum friend Leslie Rush. It read: "I take them out for coffee at the local wherever. We get a booth, order our drinks, and the following pronouncement is made:'You probably have noticed that most of the Santas you see are people dressed up like him. Some of your friends might have even told you that there is no Santa. A lot of children think that, because they aren't ready to BE a Santa yet, but YOU ARE.'"
The post then goes on to explain that the child should choose someone they know, and then secretly deliver that person a present which they need - emphasising that they can never reveal where the present came from. Leslie's oldest son chose to buy one of their neighbours a pair of slippers, after noticing she didn't seem to have any. "My son was all excited, and couldn't wait to see what would happen next," Leslie writes. "[The following day], as we drove off, there she was, out getting her paper - wearing the slippers. He was ecstatic. I had to remind him that NO ONE could ever know what he did, or he wouldn't be a Santa."
What a sweet idea!
How sweet!
Over 1,000 people commented, many praising the Charity for sharing such an excellent idea. One person wrote: "It's really awesome love love this. Merry Christmas everyone."
While someone else wrote: "What a wonderful way to help children know the spirit of Santa"
"This is great and similar to what I told my children. I like this even better."
"Such a wonderful approach to this topic without dashing the excitement and magic of Santa while instilling a sense of love and giving in a child. What the world needs now is love, sweet love..."
Another person explained the story they told their kids: "I just told my children that the legend of Santa Claus was based on a long ago person, but these days there were so many children that the mums and dads have to help Santa out and do his job for him – they both seemed pretty happy with that explanation at 4 and 7."
However a few people frowned upon the idea:
"Who takes a 6-7yr old for coffee? And why on Earth would you want them growing u pso fast?? Let them enjoy the excitement of Christmas… they have many years to deal with adult issues."
"How about not lying to children by spreading the fairytale of Santa in the first place…"
"Don't ever tell them that there is a Santa. That is a lie."
Talking about why the idea struck such a chord with her, Charity told TODAY parents: "It made me feel like I could happily talk to my kids about Santa and allow them to have all that childhood excitement and wonderment, because Santa and becoming a Santa was going to teach them about the joy of giving and and the true meaning of Christmas."
What do you think about this system? What happened when your child began to ask about Santa? Do you know any funny Santa stories? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.