The chief executive of the NPC, Fionnuala Kilfeather, said that while Santa's drinking habits should not be made into a major issue, it was still important that the right message is put across to children.

"In a very light-hearted way, parents should say to children that they should leave out a glass of milk for Santa instead of an alcoholic drink, " she said.

"You don't want to get too heavy about it, because it is such a happy time of year, and it's all a bit of fun. But at the same time, we have a different culture now, and very different attitudes about drink-driving.

Children see all the ads on TV and they do understand what's going on. So we shouldn't give them mixed messages."

Kilfeather said that the change of beverage should be suggested in a funny way. "You could explain to children that if Santa had a drink in every house, he's be in a bad way, " she said. "It's unlikely he'd make it all the way around the world, and then some children wouldn't get their presents. In fact, you could say that Santa is probably giving all the alcoholic drinks to Rudolf, because he doesn't want them himself, and this is why Rudolf 's nose is so red."