What price a wonderful Santa memory for you and your kid? Try £24: ‘ho, ho, ho’ not included | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

At one grotto in Winchester , it was 18.50 per child and 6 per adult.

No wonder if people took exception to his “blatantly fake beard” and “cheap red suit” Many parents are simply getting sick of the constant fleecing.

I hate the money-making cynicism of it, and what that says about us as a nation.

Most galling of all is the horrific number of children in poverty who aren’t getting enough to eat.

From the warm glow of multicoloured tree lights, which have been replaced almost universally with the harshness of white LEDs, to the collective experience of live television. To quote indie band the Futureheads , not entirely unironically, Christmas was better in the 80s . Maybe it’s time we tried to get it back. - Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist.