How does Santa get into houses with no chimney? With Santa's Magic Key of course.
Seeing is believing and here at Family Friendly HQ, we believe everyone deserves a little magic at Christmas no matter how old you may be.
So whether you're trying to put a child's doubts to rest or just looking for some fun and new ways of capturing the magic of Santa, here are some new and old traditions to try in your home in the coming weeks to make it extra magical for the little ones.
Message from Santa
Make Christmas magic with a personalised video from Santa Claus that contains a unique personalised message. To date, the Portable North Pole app has been downloaded over two million times delivering a special message to girls and boys all over the world.
Track Santa
As you can imagine the kids will be going ninety on Christmas Eve and getting them to bed can be somewhat of a challenge for many. This year track Santa's journey across the world in real-time with NORAD. Hopefully, the kids will see how close he is and run to their beds. Alternatively, you could use the Google Santa Tracker.
Reindeer Camera
Watch Santa's reindeer any time of the year at Rooftop Reindeer or at set times to see the man himself feed the reindeer and read bedtime stories. Santa's official reindeer live feed is completely free and is guaranteed to get the kids excited.
No chimney, no problem
How does Santa get into houses with no chimney? With Santa's Magic Key of course. Spray paint any old key rustic gold and download a poem or tag to spruce it up.
Make reindeer food
Guide Rudolf and friends to your home this Christmas with some magical reindeer food. Combine a mixture of oats, dried fruit and wild bird seeds and sprinkle it on your lawn or leave it in a bowl by your front door.
Christmas Eve box
Such a wonderful family tradition. Gather the kids pj's, fluffy socks and some treats into a box wrapped with Christmas paper and present it to the kids on Christmas Eve before settling down to one of your favourite Christmas movies. You could even add the reindeer food and Santa's Magic Key into the box.
Elf on the Shelf
This is one for the whole family and a great way of encouraging kids to behave. The idea is that Santa's special scout elf keeps a watchful eye over children during the day and reports back to the North Pole at night advising Santa whether they have been naughty or nice.
Write a letter
Get a personalised message from Santa himself using the Letters to Santa service with An Post. Simply download a template, write your letter with your child's name and address and post it to Santa Claus, North Pole using a €1 stamp. An Post will them send you a personalised reply just in time for Christmas.
Visit Santa
A trip to Santa doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, in fact, there are various free Santa's across Ireland this year including Arnotts, Ikea, Kildare Farm Foods, Whitewater Shopping Centre and Perks Entertainment Centre in Cork just to name a few.
Give back
And finally, show them what Christmas is really about. It is so easy to get consumed with the commercial side of Christmas so this year why not give back. Give the kids a bucket and get them to clear out some toys for your local charity shop, let them use some of their pocket money to buy nappies for the local refuge centre or get them to help make a big pot of soup or stew for a homeless charity.
