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Christmas

Will Father Christmas manage to get down your chimney grandma

(50 Posts)
jeanie99 Sun 15-Dec-19 23:51:38

My four year old grandson arrived last Friday and is visiting with our son wife and two children for a 3 week stay.
He was very concerned and examined our chimney to see if it was large enough for FC to actually get down with his presents.
I managed to quickly tag together the idea of perhaps he might come in the back door and mumbled a few other ideas and he did seem quite satisfied with my answer.
Bit tricky with a four year old and I don't want to spoil this very special part of a little boys Christmas world.
I would love to hear others explanation to their own family little ones.

Scentia Mon 16-Dec-19 05:54:21

Santa has a magic key, of course!
We don’t even have a chimney? how else will he get in.

BradfordLass72 Mon 16-Dec-19 06:39:31

When I was young enough to believe, we had a big, coal range where Mum did all the cooking so there was no way at all Santa would even try because it was hot 24 hours a day.
So I was told Santa came in by magic.
We always left him a glass of sherry and 2 mince pies.

Grammaretto Mon 16-Dec-19 06:51:22

I have just been having that same conversation with our 4yr old dgd who's very concerned about the narrow chimney of the woodburning stove.
We agreed that you have to believe in magic.
I still believe that. Don't you?

downtoearth Mon 16-Dec-19 07:45:12

Ssnta has a magic key that fits all doors if there is no chimney,but we can buy one just in case to get in our door....you can buy santa keys from poundland

Iam64 Mon 16-Dec-19 07:57:20

It's magic, no one knows how Father Christmas manages to deliver toys to all the boys and girls, some of them live in places without a chimney yet somehow he does it. Magic of course.

Davidhs Mon 16-Dec-19 07:59:00

It’s very easy for a 4 yr old to believe in magic if presents arrive by magic!

DoraMarr Mon 16-Dec-19 08:03:39

When my four children were small my parents had an apartment in a French ski resort. One Christmas we drove there, which involved a two day journey. We packed all their Christmas presents in a black bag, which we hauled out of the car at night and put in our very cramped hotel room, then hauled out again when we arrived at the very small apartment and put it in a corner.We discussed how Father Christmas could get in, and agreed that we would leave the balcony door open. They were completely caught up in the magic, were delighted with their presents, and never commented on the mysterious black bag that disappeared overnight.

M0nica Mon 16-Dec-19 09:03:30

It's magic!

FlexibleFriend Mon 16-Dec-19 10:03:58

I've never had a house with a chimney and yet Santa managed to deliver all the presents for years.

jenpax Mon 16-Dec-19 10:17:09

We didn’t have a chimney in our first house (a small cottage) but my eldest DD was told that Santa could appear by magic anywhere he needed to go! We explained that he had magic fairy dust which was also used to help the reindeer get around the world in a single night.
Re the black bag that DoraMarr mentioned, we had one awful year when the children found the bag of unwrapped presents at the bottom of my wardrobe! We had to pretend these were from other family members and re purchased the whole of their Christmas stockings again! This was expensive as we opened our main family gifts after Christmas lunch but the sizeable stockings before breakfast??‍♀️

00mam00 Mon 16-Dec-19 10:24:00

We have a big open fire with a large chimney, luckily our children and now our grandchildren have never looked at the opening outside. They always check that DH has swept the chimney.

Christmas Day, not only have presents arrived under the tree, but Santa and Rudolph have left snowy footprints on the hearth. GC are now 11 & 13 but we still do it all.

icanhandthemback Mon 16-Dec-19 10:27:02

Years ago, as my daughter was beginning to question the reality of Father Christmas, my step-father poked a boot up the chimney as a bit of a joke for my daughter to find on Christmas morning. She was slightly misbelieving that it could be Santa's boot so when her aunt arrived she asked her if she had seen Father Christmas the night before in her house. "Oh yes," Aunty replied.
"Was he wearing 2 boots?" my daughter asked Aunty.
Without knowing the back story Aunty thought about it for a minute and replied, "You know what, I don't think he was!"
My daughter immediately looked at me with huge eyes and said, "Oh Mum, it's true, Father Christmas is real."
This tickled us all but years later I had to tell her the truth because she was in danger of being highly ridiculed by her much more knowledgeable friends.

TrendyNannie6 Mon 16-Dec-19 10:30:49

Father Christmas parks in our drive with Rudolph in tow, he doesn’t come down our chimney he’s got a magic key in he comes through the front door

Forestflame Mon 16-Dec-19 11:10:37

In one household I know of, Father Christmas, sends the parents a special text message to let them know he is at the front door. The parents then meet him and collect the presents.

jannxxx Mon 16-Dec-19 11:13:01

magic key they sell em in wilkos, bnq, all over opens any door in the world

Disgruntled Mon 16-Dec-19 11:22:20

Definitely all done by magic - but he doesn't come to grown ups. Nor does the pesky elf, I'm glad to say.

Theoddbird Mon 16-Dec-19 11:24:36

Father Christmas is magic. He doesn't need to come down the chimney.

Jan51 Mon 16-Dec-19 11:26:40

Jeanie99.
You need to put some snowy (flour) boot prints inside the back door for christmas morning.

lemongrove Mon 16-Dec-19 11:42:15

We have a chimney, but children accept any adult explanation at that age, a magic key seems a good idea.?

Minerva Mon 16-Dec-19 11:42:19

I hate telling our five year old that it’s magic or magic key. We have been telling him for years that there is no way anyone can get into our house and he’s 100% safe, even in the dark alone in his bedroom. Monsters aren’t real and nor are evil witches.
Says he thoughtfully after again peering at our fireplace, I have been wondering if it is the Mummies and Daddies who get the presents......
I would have told him then and there but his Mummy said, No, we give you presents as well as Father C but the stocking from him is delivered by Father Christmas by magic.
Oh well, perhaps next year........

Kimrus Mon 16-Dec-19 11:50:13

I so love this time of the year when the little ones are excited about Father Christmas/Santa. Unfortunately this is our 2nd year where the family won’t be with us for Christmas, I miss that excitement so much. Next year, definitely everyone will be home, I have booked them all, 7 children, their partners and grandies with great grandchildren. Our house will be full from Christmas Eve until New Years Day and we will make up for the 2 years we have missed. See I’m planning it already but we do the magic key and Santa’s magical dust (talc with some glitter) and the story is read out on Christmas Eve ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ and once the story is finished, all the little ones go to bed.
Merry Christmas everyone and may all your dreams come true

vickya Mon 16-Dec-19 11:51:24

I understand nowadays Santa has caught up with technology and has a teleport ap on his mobile phone.

My kids remarked once that Santa used the same Christmas wrapping paper as mummy.

moggie57 Mon 16-Dec-19 11:53:11

you can buy magic keys.tie it on a piece of string and hang from letter box.

Minerva Mon 16-Dec-19 11:55:13

He also wonders what about the children in drought/war areas in Africa. If they haven’t enough food to eat or a proper home what does Father Christmas bring them?

I remember a feeling of relief when our youngest realised it wasn’t real and I didn’t have to go through the charade again. I’m sure it was before she was 5 but as the youngest of three she was likely to cotton on faster than the first.
They still prepared a tot of whisky and a mince pie for Mummy to enjoy and hung up their stockings in delighted anticipation until they left home. (Their father cared little about Christmas and went to bed as always at 10 and left me to it. When I invited him to wrap a present or two he grumbled that it was my choice to buy them so many things so not his job to wrap them up)