Poor Father Christmas. In the Whitworth household the entire magical-industrial complex is creaking and could collapse at any moment. An outbreak of youthful scepticism is to blame.

It started in the dry-cleaner's. My five-year-old son spotted a Santa outfit hanging on a peg. His eyes were out on stalks, then he lapsed into deep thoughtfulness. At the school fair he took me aside and said in a challenging tone: "Dad, Father Christmas is wearing a fake beard!"

Anti-Santa hardliners maintain that the "Big Lie" destroys trust between parents and children and that Father Christmas's existence should never be acknowledged, even to the very young. On the other side are those who will not crack even under the most dogged cross-examination.

There must be a middle way. FC and his modus operandi do not bear close examination. An old beardy weirdy who breaks into people's houses, creeps into kiddies' bedrooms, knocks back a stiff drink and then drives off at many times the speed limit to crash someone else's pad, is bewildering to children.

But those who oppose the "lie" in any form clearly lack imagination. They cannot see what pleasure children derive from the tingling anticipation of awakening on Christmas morning to find their stocking miraculously filled.

Nobody grows up warped and twisted and resentful of their parents because they are told that Father Christmas exists. The trick is to be a fudger. There's no need to lie through your teeth. There are plenty of ways to say "well a lot of people believe" or "what do you think?". Kids catch on. They love the thrill of the story; then having an inkling that it is improbable; then sort of knowing but not wanting to admit it; and then knowing but not saying anything; and at last being in on the secret.

There is a lot of discussion in online forums about when is the time for "the conversation" about Santa. Surely there is no correct time - or any need. The playground will probably sort it out.

SŁOWNICZEK

divisive - dzielący

we are fundamentally split - jesteśmy fundamentalnie podzieleni

magical-industrial complex is creaking - branża przemysłowa magii trzeszczy w szwach

spotted a Santa outfit hanging on a peg - zauważył strój świętego Mikołaja na wieszaku

his eyes were out on stalks - oczy wyszły mu z orbit

he lapsed into deep thoughtfulness - zamyślił się głęboko

fake beard - sztuczna broad

hardliners - twardogłowi

will not crack even under the most dogged cross-examination - nie ugną się nawet w krzyżowym ogniu pytań

crash someone else's pad - zrobić najazd komuś innemu

bewildering - zdumiewający

warped and twisted - pokręcony i zwichnięty