Christmas is the most magical time of the year; families come together, memories are made and turkey is eaten as everyone reminisces over the past 12 months.
And most of the magical aspects of the festive season are all thanks to Santa: the jolly old man who brings children joy as he lays gifts under the tree.
In fact, for many children, Christmas is all about trying to stay up all night in an attempt to meet the man in red or even spot his reindeer in the sky.
However, experts have put a dampner on the festive season, with many saying that the Santa lie could actually be ruining parents' relationship with their child, as well as leaving long-term damage.
According to them, it can undermine a child’s trust, before saying it isn’t morally justifiable.
The reports which was published in The Lancet Psychiatry argues that if parents continue the festive porker, they can’t be trusted to continue as "guardians of wisdom and truth".
"The morality of making children believe in such myths has to be questioned,” Prof Boyle of the Univeristy of Exeter, said.
"All children will eventually find out they've been consistently lied to for years, and this might make them wonder what other lies they've been told."
"Whether it's right to make children believe in Father Christmas is an interesting question, and it's also interesting to ask whether lying in this way will affect children in ways that have not been considered," they wrote.
What do you think of their expert advice?
