I THINK Ben might be getting into the Christmas spirit a bit more this year.

Being a bit of a big kid myself when it comes to the festive season I can’t wait until Ben really gets into it.

Of course I want to see the wonder on his face when he see’s the array of pressies under the tree, or his excitement as he rips open another gift and actually wants to play with it instead of just jumping in the box or amusing himself with the sticky tape as was the case last year.

But what I am really looking forward to is the help the big man in red can give to the increasingly trying problem of keeping little fella in line.

This time of year must be a God send to parents as mums and dads can hammer home the importance of being ‘a good little boy/girl” with the threat that if they don’t “Father Christmas won’t come”.

If I had a Go Go Hamster for every time I heard that one in a supermarket I would make a fortune on Ebay.

It is brilliant though and I am doing my best to get Ben to understand that his sack load of presents is very much dependant on him towing the party line.

We shall see.

I thought it was going quite well until we actually saw Santa himself at his recent visit to The Mall Marlands in Southampton.

After all the talk in our home of how important this man was going to be in our lives for the next few weeks, I assumed that Ben would be thrilled at the sight of him. Complete with a sleigh and a plethora of elves.

How wrong was I! It would seem that the vision of a large man in red, sporting a furry white face, hat and overly ruddy cheeks scared the Christmas socks off him and he flatly refused to go anywhere near him. Even when Santa beckoned him over for a festive photo opportunity Ben clung on to my leg for dear life. I fear this will spell disaster for my latest discipline tactic as threatening that Father Christmas wont come will come will only come as music to the little man’s ears.