I would never want them to feel that they had been naughty if I couldn’t afford their gifts one year In my house, Christmas Day looks very normal. My boys will wake me up at the crack of dawn then tumble downstairs, falling over each other, to find presents under the tree. As the tearing of wrapping paper cross-fades into screams of excitement, for a moment, everything feels exactly as it should. Except for one subtle difference: my children have never believed in Santa. This isn’t the result of an “I don’t want to lie to my children” ideology or some Scroogist attempt to be different. It’s a deliberate choice I have made, one that is rooted in fear. Behind the fairy lights and goodwill of Christmas lurk financial demands that many families cannot meet. According to a YouGov poll for debt charity Step Change earlier this month, about one in three adults with children will struggle to afford Christmas this year. For many, the festive season brings anxiety, overdrafts and guilt rather than joy. Matt Taylor is a writer, music producer and author of the Underclass Hero Substack newsletter Continue reading...