A new study questions British families on how they'll be keeping the magic alive this year and whether Christmas traditions such as writing letters to Santa, leaving food and drink out for him on Christmas Eve and carolling are still a part of the British festive season

Great British Christmas traditions are alive and well according to new research released today to mark three weeks until the big day.

Three quarters of us decorate our houses, more than half leave stockings at the end of the bed, a similar number still leave a drink out for St Nick, and two fifths of parents will be taking a bite out of a carrot on behalf of Rudolph... One in ten even tread flour 'Santa' footprints through their homes on Christmas Eve, keeping the magic of Santa's delivery alive for their children.

According to the new research by Argos amongst more than 1100 parents, when it comes to writing their Christmas wish lists, three quarters of children still write the traditional hand-written letter to Santa but this year, more than one in eight will be contacting Santa via email, text, skype or even an app.

Many parents say circling items in the Argos catalogue is a tradition that is still alive and well in their homes come Christmas time, and the new WishList app from the retailer is bringing this tradition right up to date. With the help of some friendly characters, children can create their wishlists and send them directly to 'Santa' (via their parents email addresses!)

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