How to tell your children about Father Christmas

Talking about Father Christmas can be a pretty difficult business when kids get older.

You can never quite remember the moment yourself, but it happens to all of us eventually; the realisation that the big man isn't real and your parents have been dutifully leaving presents under the tree.

Leslie Rush, a high school history teacher in El Paso, Texas shared her approach to that delicate topic years ago when her kids first began asking if Father Christmas was real.

The approach involves changing a belief in Father Christmas into 'becoming' Santa himself. This is done through a series of good deeds, Christmas spirit and good will to all people.

Leslie wrote:

This way, the Santa construct is not a lie that gets discovered, but an unfolding series of good deeds and Christmas spirit.

When they are 6 or 7, whenever you see that dawning suspicion that Santa may not be a material being, that means the child is ready.

She goes on to talk about the best things about being Father Christmas, including how the giving of gifts can be far more gratifying than receiving them.

Mother Charity Hutchinson posted Leslie's advice on Facebook and it resurfaces around the holidays, as parents hunt down help and advice.

You can read Charity's full Facebook post, below:

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