Not only do we (the parents) have a direct line to the most important person in the world – no, not Donald Trump’s Twitter account … the big guy in the red suit – we also have seen an increase in family fun and better behaved children.

I know that what I am going to say sounds clichéd, but I think I enjoy the season more with Ollie than without him. I just love being woken up at the crack of dawn by a two-year-old running in and telling me where Ollie has been hiding. Seriously, it’s actually nice to have all the kids enjoy something together that isn’t really age specific. Rather than pulling each other’s hair and giving Chinese burns, among other things, to keep themselves amused.

Of course, the hard part for Ollie is to find original hiding spots.

Unfortunately, he used up most of the funnier ones last year and seems at time to have thought of a spot at the last minute. I have suggested to him that he should google pictures of other scout elves’ hiding places for inspiration. However, Ollie just sits on that shelf smiling. Ollie does a lot of this.  

I have told Ollie that some elves are a bit naughtier than others, and he should look at the online hiding place suggestions away from the kids.

Most days, Ollie’s hiding place seems to correlate with how tired mum and dad are. But that makes sense – the later the family stays up, the later he stays at our house before flying back to the north pole to report on the kids’ behaviour.

Confused? Well, you must not have kids or, worse, a scout elf hasn’t arrived at your place yet.

It’s worth encouraging one to come and stay with you in December each year. It can make a big difference to family dynamics as the hot weather comes in.