It’s always possible that they might resent the deception or question your judgement in other areas – but if you are honest with them about why this situation is exceptional it’s unlikely your child will hold it against you for too long. (If you’re really worried about this you can always be truthful with your child from the start and engage in pretend play: “Let’s pretend Santa is real and leave some cookies out for him!”)

Another potential problem that is sometimes raised is that encouraging belief in Santa could make it difficult for children to distinguish between fantasy and reality – possibly delaying their cognitive development.

But research suggests that the ability to differentiate fact from fiction actually starts early in childhood and increases with age. In fact, some studies suggest that children with rich fantasy lives may actually be better at identifying the boundaries between fantasy and reality. For example, many cognitively normal children develop imaginary companions and naturally outgrow them.