How Do You Stage Santa's B&E?

This was the first year that we pushed the Santa mythology on Elliot (he was barely 2 at Christmastime last year, so everything went over his head).

He seemed to accept that a portly elf would be coming down the chimney and filling our stockings with gifts (hello, terrifying). But then Elliot asked why we hadn't left open the fireplace grate. So we did that.

After Elliot went to bed, we tried to arrange the scene to make it seem convincing that Santa had been there. We left a note, a half-eaten cookie and an empty glass with milk residue.

Was that enough? Should I overturn some furniture to make it seem like a real breaking-and-entering? Maybe leave ash and sooty fingerprints everywhere?

In the end, Elliot seemed to buy it without too much embellishing.

When someone's giving you presents, you don't ask too many questions.