It is the question that millions of parents grapple with every year: How does Santa get into a house without a chimney?
NHBC – the UK’s leading standard setting body and warranty suppliers for new homes – has launched an online quiz to find the most popular answer that mums and dads give to their children to explain how Santa delivers their presents.
The issue is particularly pertinent for families who live in new build homes as NHBC estimates that less than one in ten new build homes are fitted with chimneys – and less than two per cent of these are classed as ‘working’. While open fireplaces and chimneys can be an attractive feature in homes, they are often seen as costly to maintain and environmentally-unfriendly.
With new homes more energy efficient, better insulated and fitted with more security features than traditional homes, Santa faces a real challenge to get inside a new home without a chimney.
Does he use a magic key? Can he teleport himself through walls? Or is he able to magic up a temporary chimney? Members of the public can vote for their favourite answer at www.nhbc.co.uk/santaquiz and also make suggestions of their own.
NHBC plans to announce the top answer for how Santa gets into a home without a chimney on 23 December – just in time for Christmas Day.
Mike Quinton, Chief Executive of NHBC, said: “In the spirit of Christmas, we thought we would give mums and dads a helping hand with answering this tough question by finding the most popular answer that parents give their children.
“Of course, we should be clear that Santa is the only one who knows the real answer and he keeps that a very closely-guarded secret”.