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When writing a letter to Santa always remember:

1.)    To start early! He lives a long, long way away in the North Pole and has a holiday home in Lapland, so it’s worth getting Mummy/Daddy to help you with it sooner rather than later. June is too early though.

2.)    Remember that Rudolph only has so much room on his sleigh.  If you do want a hippopotamus for Christmas, bear in mind it’s going to be quite tricky to ship him to the North Pole and find a woolly jumper big enough to keep him warm. (But not impossible obviously).

3.)    Remember to tell Santa which entrance you’d like him to use. For houses without chimneys it’s always good to tell him to feel free to use the front door. You’d be surprised how long Santa can spend looking for a chimney and if you live in a 23rd floor apartment, you can appreciate that takes a lot of time.

4.)    Always start your letter ‘Dear Santa’ as he doesn’t really like being called the fat guy in the red suit. As he’s going to be carrying your favourite toys, I’d try to stay in his good books.

5.)    Make sure that you get a piece of paper and some pens or sharp pencils to write with. Magic ink pens are great, but if Santa’s lost his secret decoder pen he’ll have to get his elves to find another one and all this takes time. I’d stay safe and use boring old coloured pens.

6.)    It’s a good tip to ask how Santa, Rudolph and the Elves are getting along. Always remember to tell him in your letter if you’re leaving out Mince pies, carrots or even a glass of brandy to help him get through his busy Christmas Eve. I hear he especially loves sausage rolls. Who doesn’t?

7.)    Tell him how good you’ve been and you can give examples if you like: Dear Santa this year I have made my Mummy a cup of tea in bed nearly every morning, I have always done my homework (with the help of much yelling from Daddy) and have managed not to pull any leaves out of Mummy’s houseplants.

8.)    Give Santa a list of your top ten toys to consider. You can write more, but remember he’s a really busy man and again, there is only so much room on his sleigh.

9.)    Make sure and tell him who the letter is from. If you forget to write your name he might confuse it with Daddy’s letter and who’d want to receive socks, hankies and aftershave for Christmas?

10.) This is the all important one, you must find a post box and make sure your letter goes inside it. Mummy and Daddy’s can help here as some post boxes can be quite high up and difficult to reach for little people. Now all the hard work is done you can sit back, relax and wait for Santa’s reply. Be patient though – he’s a really busy man!

Ann Davey.