BAH HUMBUG!

At Christmas, Johanna Bell, 42, doesn't see why Santa should get all the credit

- JOHANNA BELL

As my daughter Emma, then two, happily played with her new doll's house, I snapped a photo and smiled. 'It was all worth it,' I said to my husband Mark, then 45, as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. It was Christmas Day 2019 and Mark had been up until the early hours building the huge doll's house after underestimating how long the task would take. 'Thank you Father Christmas!' Emma sang to herself and I felt myself bristle. Emma had been too young to grasp the concept of Santa the previous two years. We'd taken her to see the big man for the first time in December 2018 and she had been less than impressed, while our dog Boris had been far more excited. So, this year, we'd excitedly built up the idea and had a much more successful grotto visit. But I hadn't been prepared for how put out I would feel when Santa got all the credit for our hard work on Christmas morning.