There's no harm in a little bit of Christmas magic

by Hannah Watson

I peer out of my bedroom door and there he is. Santa himself. Creeping silently across the landing and down the stairs. His snowy footprints follow behind him.

I listen out and in the distance can hear the bells of his sleigh ringing from the rooftop of my house. If I listen really closely I can hear the hoofs of Rudolph and co impatiently banging on the floor.

I so desperately want to go say hello to my all time, ultimate hero. But mum always tells me that if you interrupt him, your presents will turn to coal.

I climb back into bed and try to go back to sleep. Knowing that the sooner I do, the sooner it will be Christmas.

Magical time 

I run downstairs in the morning, the cookies and milk left by the fire have gone and the amount of presents under the tree creates a pile bigger than I am.

When you're younger Christmas is the most magical time of the year. Father Christmas, his elves, his reindeers, his presents!

When you get older and realise that actually, your parents went out of their way to make you believe in the magic, Christmas becomes about something else entirely.

Love and generosity 

It's about family, love, generosity, charity and spending time with the people who mean the most to you. Yes, there's still presents, but for me, that's one of the least exciting parts of the day.

My family’s all grown up now so everyone lives separately, leads seperate lives and has lots of things going on. This is the one day of the year where we all meet up, catch up and spend some good quality time together.

Still, there's no harm in a little bit of Christmas magic. I still leave the milk and cookies by the fire on the eve before and they have always mysteriously disappeared by the morning.