Christmas is a magical time for children, and parents love to go all out to help spread festive cheer. From helping little ones to write their letters to Santa, to leaving out mince pies, families go to great lengths to celebrate the occasion. There's also a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.
Tragically, one mum has been left heartbroken after her nine-year-old discovered something they weren't supposed to know about: Santa's secret present cupboard.
In the run-up to the big day, the mum had been hiding gifts around the family home, and she almost made it to Christmas without any accidental discoveries.
Unfortunately, her plan was foiled on December 23, just hours before Christmas Eve.
"It sounds dramatic, but I'm bereft," said the parent when she recounted the painful experience in a post to Mumsnet. She explained that she thought her nine-year-old child was sound asleep in bed when she snuck into the dressing room off of her bedroom. But as she opened the boiler cupboard to retrieve a stocking, her child walked in. The youngster 'saw everything', which included a sack and a wrapped present.
"I let out a noise that can only be described as a feral cat crossed with Michael Jackson," she wrote. "Yes child is 9, and could possibly have an inkling but I didn't want it this way. They looked crestfallen, claims they didn't see anything, and looked very sheepish going back to bed."
Explaining her upset in the comments, she added: "I think they do know, but didn't want to believe it. I know it's silly, but that look that I saw was crushing!"
Thankfully, fellow parents were on hand to offer advice - and some suggested telling the youngster the truth is that Father Christmas sometimes needs a helping hand. "I told mine that Santa did early drop offs for the really good children, it helped spread out the workload," wrote one commenter.
Another replied: "Include a letter from santa saying with the weather and strikes you asked mum if you could deliver it early for her to look after?" And a third said: "Wrap one present in different paper. That's the one from Santa. Think most kids know that presents are from parents, relatives etc as everyone writes on cards what is from whomever."
What would you do in the same situation? Let us know in the comments
