Santaphobia is Coming to Town

Research from the US says childhood phobia of Father Christmas will prevent one in two children from having a perfect Christmas.With 100 days to go before the chimneys of the UK are invaded, specialist book publisher My Perfect Story says the fear of Santa Claus is not uncommon, but can be tackled by taking simple steps.

London, UK (PRWeb UK/PRWEB ) September 18, 2009 -- Research from the US says childhood phobia of Father Christmas will prevent one in two children from having a perfect Christmas.*

Despite the depiction of Santa as a cuddly character with a sack full of gifts, the sight of him alone induces fear in thousands of small children across the US and UK alike.

With 100 days to go before the chimneys of the UK are invaded, a specialist book publisher says the fear of Santa Claus is not uncommon, but can be tackled by taking simple steps.

"We checked with the British Psychological Society and Santaphobia is a credited psychological disorder," says writer and illustrator Ryan Goble of MyPerfectStory.com.

"While we aren't quite convinced that 50% of children suffer from Santaphobia, we have seen for ourselves that it is a genuine problem for thousands of parents.

"We have developed a personalised children's book called My Perfect Christmas, which is a great way of introducing children to Santa in a non-threatening way.

"We use state-of-the-art digital illustration techniques to incorporate a child's photo into almost every page of the book.

"When that child sees their face smiling back at them alongside Santa's, it helps them adjust to the idea and feel more relaxed."

My Perfect Christmas has been designed as a pre-Christmas aid for parents to introduce their children to the excitement of Santa's visit and traditions such as putting out a carrot for his reindeer.

"We took our three-year-old daughter to see Santa at our local shopping centre last Christmas and she started screaming the moment she saw him," says John Mathers of Croydon.

"She wouldn't stop crying until he was out of her sight. We bought her a copy of My Perfect Christmas and that helped her to get used to seeing Santa in a positive way.

"She is now looking forward to visiting Santa's Grotto this year."

My Perfect Christmas is available at a special introduction price of £19.99 until October 31st from www.MyPerfectStory.com.

Notes to editors:

Personalised copies of My Perfect Christmas are available to journalists on a first-come-first-served basis.

My Perfect Christmas is currently priced at £19.99 and is available exclusively through MyPerfectStory.com.

Each book incorporates your child's name, photo, street name and two friends' names.

*Figure taken from research by Chicago Herald Tribune journalist Denise Joyce, for her book, Scared of Santa: Scenes of Terror in Toyland, published in November 2008.

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