The first time I ever heard of a parent purposely not letting their child believe in Santa Claus, I was 18 and in my first year of uni.

My philosophy lecturer explained that he and his wife refused to have some imaginary fat guy take credit for the presents they worked hard to buy for their child. At the time, this made sense to me. More than a decade down the track with children of my own, however, it seems nothing short of narcissistic.

Gift giving shouldn’t be about taking credit for the gift; it’s about seeing the recipient’s eyes light up when they open something they have longed for. There is nothing better than being woken at an ungodly hour on Christmas morning to the excited squeals of children who have discovered that “he’s been! Santa came!”

"Eventually they’ll grow up, and they’ll know that mum and dad were behind the magic of Christmas." Image supplied.

The thing is, children aren’t going to believe in Santa forever. Eventually they’ll grow up, and they’ll know that mum and dad were behind the magic of Christmas, and they’ll be even more thankful for that magic than they would have been for knowing that their parents bought the gifts at the time. The need to take credit for the presents is, in my opinion, a bit like those people who film themselves giving a meal to a homeless person and then post the footage on social media so everyone can fawn over what a nice person they are. That is not true giving.