My father passed away in May 2003. Naturally, I was grief-stricken. I have two children and my youngest at the time was only four months old - so whilst coping with a new baby and an older child, I was struggling to come to terms with losing my much loved dad.

It was Christmas Eve 2004 and I was sitting up in bed reading a book on how to become more psychically aware, before going to sleep. I was thinking of my dad a lot (especially as it was Christmas) and of course, I was missing him terribly. Suddenly, my son (by now 23 months) screamed the house down! My husband and I rushed into his room and he was standing up in his cot saying that Santa had woken him up! I comforted him, though it took a while!

My son kept on repeating that Santa said "Alright, boy... you're my boy" over and over again. A simple enough sentence, you would agree? However, my dad used to say this to my son when he was just a baby... and he could possibly not have known this. It is also important to add here that my father was a big man and could easily have passed for Santa if appropriately attired!

I often look back on this experience - not with fear or trepidation, but in a positive way. I would like to think that my dad came back to wish us a Merry Christmas, but in a way that only my dad would have done - scaring the living daylights out of us (such was his character). There have been other times when I have felt him around us - my daughter has felt it too.

Psychologically - it could just be that I am 'wanting' to feel this, so I do... but on the other hand, it might just be my dad wanting to stop by and say hello. I suppose I will never know for certain... but it did and still does give me some comfort.