Why doesn’t Father Christmas get incinerated when he comes down a chimney?

熊孩子問：為什么圣誕老人從煙囪里下來的時候不會被燒成灰呢？

"There are lots of tricky questions and as children get older, certainly from five years and above, they can be very logical and questioning. I think it’s best to be mysterious here. Pass on a story you grew up with as a child - or make up your own. Your family Father Christmas story can be whatever your imagination comes up with: travelling through different dimensions is a good start. Just respond to your children’s own age and temperament."

專家支招：隨著孩子不斷長大，他們會向大人們不斷拋出許多棘手的提問。特別是從五歲開始，孩子們開始有自己的邏輯思維能力和思辨能力。因而我認為，針對某些問題最好還是保持神秘。把你從小聽到的故事繼續(xù)講孩子聽，或者你自己編一個吧。你可以結合孩子的年紀和性格，把自家的圣誕故事編得天馬行空。把圣誕老人編成異次元旅行就是一個不錯的開頭。

If Father Christmas can fit down the chimney, why don't robbers get in the house that way, too?

熊孩子問：如果圣誕老人都能穿過煙囪，那為什么小偷不能也這么進來呢？

Try: "Ordinary human beings cannot safely climb down chimneys, but Father Christmas doesn’t get squashed or travel down the way we would have to."

專家支招：“那是因為普通人不能像圣誕老人一樣安全的穿煙囪啊，圣誕老人不像我們會被煙囪壓扁的。”

How can Father Christmas deliver presents to people who don't have chimneys?

熊孩子問：如果有屋子里沒有煙囪，圣誕老人要怎么給他們送禮物呢？

"We don't have a chimney, and I’ve always said he teleports into houses in a mysterious way."

專家支招：“沒有煙囪的話，圣誕老人就會用神秘通道進來啦。”

Why did the reindeers leave the carrot but Father Christmas drink all the whisky?

熊孩子問：為什么小鹿們只有胡蘿卜吃，但是圣誕老人可以喝光所有的威士忌呢？

"Father Christmas doesn’t want to leave behind a drink that could be spilled in the morning's excitement. If you are quizzed about how many glasses of sherry and whiskey he must get offered during the night, maybe you could say he uses it to power the sledge. And the reason the reindeers leave their carrot is so they are not too heavy to fly."

專家拆招：“因為圣誕老人不想讓它在第二天早上弄濕了你們的禮物呀”如果你被追問圣 誕老人到底一晚上喝了多少杯雪莉酒和威士忌，那么你就可以說是用來給雪橇添燃料了。至于馴鹿只能吃胡蘿卜的原因，可以說是為了避免吃太飽飛不動。

Why are there several Father Christmases in the shopping centre?

熊孩子問：為什么商場里也有圣誕老人呢？

"I think if you are queuing up to see a one-off special Father Christmas, you could say that it was the real one, especially if you’re child is five years or younger. When there are lots around, especially the one’s that don’t look very much like Father Christmas, parents might want to explain that shops also dress up people as Father Christmas, and they all help him."

專家支招：如果你的孩子只有五歲或者更小，你就可以在排隊的時候告訴孩子那一個就是圣誕老爺爺啦。但要是周圍有很多圣誕老人，而且裝扮還不太專業(yè)的，家長就可以對孩子說，那是商場為了幫圣誕老人的忙特地穿上的。

Even if I'm naughty, do I still get a Christmas present?

熊孩子問：如果我不乖的話，我還有禮物收嗎？

"I wouldn’t recommend bribing children with Christmas presents or blackmailing them that they won’t get any presents if they are naughty.

"When they become older, they will realise there is no correlation necessarily between good behaviour and presents received either among themselves or their friends at school."

專家支招：我不贊成用沒有圣誕禮物為由，引誘或者恐嚇他們做個乖小孩。因為當他們長大后，孩子自然會明白表現好和收禮物沒有必然的聯(lián)系。

How does Father Christmas have time to get round all the houses in the world in one night?

熊孩子問：圣誕老人是怎么在一晚上去到世界每個角落的呢？

"Again, you need to choose an explanation you are comfortable with. I tend to say that he doesn’t experience time the way we do, so that Christmas night lasts a long time for him, to give him all the time he needs but runs quickly for us."

專家支招：我還是建議家長選擇自己認為合理的解釋。我會對孩子說圣誕老人過得的時間和我們不一樣。他的圣誕夜比我們的長，所以才能給全世界的孩子送禮物。

How can those reindeers fly but normal ones can’t?

熊孩子問：為什么圣誕老人的麋鹿會飛，普通的不行呢？

"If you are committed to an extraordinary explanation, suggest that Father Christmas operates outside normal time, geography and gravity, and can ride his reindeers anywhere in the world or the sky."

專家支招：如果你想回答得特別些，你可以說是因為圣誕老人操控了世界的時間、地理和重力，所以馴鹿才能滿世界飛。

Do all the presents for all the children in the world fit on the sleigh, or does Santa have to go home to stock up?

熊孩子問：全世界所有小孩的禮物都被圣誕老人裝在雪橇里嗎，還是說他得送到一半回家再去取呢？

"His sleigh is like a Tardis, small on the outside but immense on the inside. Again, be sensitive to your child’s age and developmental stage: you know them best."

專家支招：圣誕老人的雪橇就像塔迪斯飛屋那樣，外面小小的但是里面無限大。根據孩子的年紀和成長階段作調整，畢竟你是最了解孩子的人。

What if Father Christmas brings a present that wasn't on my list?

熊孩子問：那為什么圣誕老人給我的禮物不是我愿望清單里的！

"Father Christmas is only guided by what’s on your list - it isn’t an order."

專家拆招：“你的愿望清單不是菜單，圣誕老人只是用來做參考的。”

（譯者：菠蘿油八戒 編輯：齊磊）