First Hand: 'There is no proof that Santa Claus doesn't exist, is there ?'

Dora Coppard Meade, aged 8, knows he's real - she's seen him

I think most of my friends believe in Father Christmas but some of them are getting edged towards not believing. But there is no proof that he doesn't exist and no proof that he does. But the tooth fairy has got to not be our parents because how c an ourparents lift up a pillow without us feeling it? Also where would Mum keep the teeth? My brother says that she throws them in the bin, but I've never seen them there and I wouldn't throw away my own kids' teeth.

I once saw Father Christmas with my friends. Their father went to the toilet and while he was away Father Christmas came into the garden and waved at us. He was red and had some fur with a hat with a bobble like in all the pictures. It was brilliant.

My best friend believes in Father Christmas because she and her sister held hands with their parents all night and when they woke up they were still holding hands so it must have been Father Christmas who filled the stockings. I wouldn't try this with myparents because Mum likes to stay up on Christmas Eve so she can celebrate with Dad.

When you go to bed on Christmas Eve God you want to stay up all night, but you can't help it, you have to fall asleep. When you wake up the first thing you see are the stockings, I can hear mine too because its got a bell on the end.

I've heard the tinkling of Santa's reindeer's bells which was very exciting and I think I've seen a reindeer but I'm not sure. Although I think that Father Christmas gets in through the chimney, he might be magical and come through the wall or the door. Of course if he came down the chimney and there was an open fire he'd burn his bum.

He comes from the North Pole because if he came from England with all his thick jumpers he'd be too warm. He has elves helping him because without them he wouldn't be able to get everything packed. It's a good thing that Santa doesn't have children because they would play with all those toys.

I think Father Christmas is quite old but not that old. .Some people say he's ancient, but that he will never die or will just live hundred or thousands of years. There's a Mrs Claus as well and she's supposed to be very jolly too and looks after the reindeer and makes his lunch box so he's got something to eat during his journey. We usually leave a carrot for Rudolph and a glass of milk for Santa or, if he's lucky, a glass of sherry.

If I caught my parents stuffing my stocking I would probably think that they were helping Santa. Some of my friends say that they don't believe because they've caught their parents, but I think that sometimes Santa comes a few days before Christmas when we're at school and tells the parents that he's going to drop the stockings down the chimney for them to pick up. I wouldn't try to catch Father Christmas because he brings goodness to all the children and if I catched him then there might children who wouldn't get their stocking filled.

Some people say Father Christmas is psychic because he knows what you want. Once I sent a letter to him up the chimney and didn't show it to my mum, but I still got what I wanted. If you're naughty just a few days or weeks in the year (and if you think about it a year is a very long time) then he'd think "well she's been good most of the year" and fill your stocking, but if you're naughty all year he wouldn't.

If somebody came to our school and told us not to believe in Santa I wouldn't take any notice or would tell them that's unfair because we can believe in him if we want to.

Father Christmas is much more real to me than God or Jesus.

I like Christmas because of the joy of it, you might get presents any day but Christmas is special and it only comes once a year so you might as well make a day of it. I think its going to be really good this year.