"Not my own kid, but I managed to convince my niece that I worked for a special branch of the police who managed air traffic from the North Pole, and could in fact get a message to Santa so he would visit her at the hospice where we were staying over Christmas (it was my mum who was ill, and it was at that point where leaving for any length of time wasn’t an option).

Her parents (who are, frankly, awful) had told her Santa wasn’t coming and she’d have to wait, and she'd convinced herself that she was naughty for wanting to be with her grandma, and I just wasn’t having it.

I’d managed to send a friend to Smyths at 4pm on Christmas Eve for some gifts for her, the nurses got us some wrapping paper and oatmeal, and carrots for the reindeer. We left snack-a-jacks out for Santa (I’d told her that whilst this wasn’t traditional, he would appreciate it as he was watching his waistline).

It was a full-blown mission, but she absolutely lost her mind on Christmas morning when Santa hadn’t forgotten about her."

"They were kind to humans and if you made a wish, they'd take it to the fairies and the fairies would see what they can do to help. They also carried messages to the afterlife so you can tell the scouts your message and they'd pass it on to loved ones. My kids believed it and they loved talking to the dandelion fluff knowing that they were talking to fairies. Helped them when grandparents started dying too."

"I told my niece they were marshmallows waiting to turn white before they get cut into smaller ones."