It's officially December and Christmas is right around the corner, but this time of year can be a tricky one for parents as they try to navigate the minefield that is Father Christmas, also known as Santa.
And while some parents are keen to keep the magic alive for as long as possible, others opt to tell their kids the truth early on to save them from having the magic of Christmas ruined for them when they get older.
The latter is exactly what one mum, named Strawberry Hayes, has decided to do with her son, as she admitted she doesn't "do Santa" in her house because she doesn't want her son to realise the truth at a later date - and she wants him to know exactly where his presents come from.
In a video posted to her @churchofstrawberry account on TikTok, the mum said: "As a mum, I don't do Santa. I think it's bulls**t.
"One, I want to get credit for the presents. Two, I don't want Jasper thinking Santa's some classist scum. What, the rich kids get better presents? No! The parents are buying them.
"And three, I don't want to deal with the heartbreak of him finding out Santa isn't real at a later date because I've just lied to him his whole life. Christmas will always be magical for him, because he's never had any bulls**t surrounding the event."
However, Strawberry's decision to be honest with her son didn't quite go the way she expected, as after she told her son the truth about Father Christmas, he then decided to spill the beans to his mates at school - in a rather traumatising way.
She added: "I'm quite factual with him, so I told him that Santa was actually based on Saint Nicholas, who lived hundreds of years ago, and he was like 'Okay, so he got too old and died?'. I said, 'Yeah, essentially, but he was really great guy and he gave presents to people. The moral of the story is sharing.'
"This little f***er keeps telling all the kids that Santa's dead. I'm so sorry if your kid goes to school with my kid."
Commenters on the video were quick to praise Strawberry for her decision to be honest with her son, while others found the youngster's reaction hilarious.
One person said: "Parenting done right."
While another added: "It's so nice seeing another mum who doesn't do Santa, it's always a good day either way. My kids enjoy themselves and I definitely want them to know [the truth]."
And a third wrote: "I think this is a really down-to-earth approach to have. It doesn’t spoil the magic, it's realistic. If you can't afford a bike, your kids know why."
Others also said they take a similar approach at Christmas but have found other ways to keep the magic of Santa alive, such as telling their kids that while they buy the gifts, Santa is the one that delivers them.
Someone posted: "I said he's a delivery man like the DPD driver, I order and pay."
As someone else wrote: "We tell our kids that mummy and daddy buy the presents and Santa delivers them like an Amazon man with magic."
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