How to fake santa's visit?

[Ohchristmastreeohchristmastree]

My daughters are getting old (7 and 10) and it is probably the last Christmas for them where they are likely to really believe.

A friend said she created a whole fake santa landing, with sleigh marks in the garden and manure (for extra credibility!). I'm not sure if I can go quite that far but, does anyone do anything else or have any ideas (apart from leaving half eaten mince pies and carrots). We also do EOTS).

It has to be believable for a 10 year old (who probably has worked it all out, but still plays along in case she doesn't get any presents!)

"Snow" footprints from the fire place to the tree? so talc powder in the shape of a shoe

I love the snowy footprints. I couldn't find the talc one year and used flour cue the dog licking it up and puking all day!

I do the footprints with icing sugar. Talc is a MUCH better idea!!

You could do them from wherever he enters to the toilet or something (and back again)!

my dd would know it wasnt snow in a moment, however manure in garden!! LOVE that idea ( not sure how to get that though)

My dd has actively said she is planning to catch santa out this year and sleep half awake

My sister used an app to photoshop a picture of santa into my nieces bedroom while she was asleep.

I love snowy footprints on the hearth- a bit of glitter in the flour adds to the magic 🎄

I do snowy footprints with that shake and vac carpet cleaner . from the fireplace up to their doorways (to check they are asleep) then back down to the stockings.
I think my favourite santa trick was when DSS aged about 12 came to live with us. Def didn't believe in Santa and always searched for presents. So we bought him an electric guitar and hid it inside a suitbag hanging in the cupboard. He never found it and was genuinely perplexed as to whether Father Christmas really did pay a visit to our house!
We sometimes leave large chocolate brazil nuts around as reindeer poops.

Oh and they always get a letter from FC written in style of Tolkein's Christmas letters with all the same characters.

There's a website where you can photo shop 🎅 into a pic of your room. Kids were over the moon with it. Can't remember the site though :/

Brilliant. I love these ideas. Lol at the shake and vac footprints! And glitter.
I also like the photoshop things too, but it also feels a bit creepy!

If you are planning to do sleigh marks or whatever, it makes it more believable if they spot it themselves, rather that you going "oh look what's in the garden!"

At 10 I suspect the eldest daughter probably has serious doubts, so flying reindeer etc probably unlikely to be believed, but she may still believe that presents are given by santa, so maybe muddy footprints from the door/chimney to the tree and back? (only works if you have lino )

Put carrots out on a newspaper for the reindeer; break off bits of carrot, ruffle and screw up the paper, one year I even made a potato stamp with a deer slot on and stamped mud all over the paper! Also spread a lot of glitter around inside and out! 😊

Sorry I think I've missed the point of the thread, but do you mean your friend put a pile of horse shit in the front garden on xmas eve just so the DC would think the reindeer had stopped there?

One year we threw the top bit of a carrot into the garden and, like someone else mentioned, waited for the kids to spot it before we said, "oh, do you think it fell from Santa's sleigh as he was going overhead?"

I think I read about this next one on here a few years ago and it was to snag a bit of red velvety cloth on your fireplace or similar. I bought a hair scrunchy from the pound shop and cut off a tiny bit to use. It took days for my DD to spot it but was lovely to see her reaction when she did!