I know a girl called Elsa, she’s into icy weather

By 2018 school teachers will be in for a headache trying to keep track of the dozens of Elsas in their cohort.

It’s all thanks to Frozen, the most successful Disney movie of all time.

Elsa dolls were this year’s must-have Christmas gift and it’s very likely a lot of mothers will strongly consider the name for any baby girls born in 2015. Especially if the mums are already called Britney or Christina.

The relationship between a parent and a child is one based on exaggeration and unwavering love. You will not hear a parent saying their child is mildly amused by Frozen. There is only one word used to describe children who have seen Frozen more than once - obsessed.

Obsessed is a word used increasingly often by parents for anything their children have ever expressed an interest in.

Using Frozen as an example, what starts out as a daughter gazing in awe at Elsa’s icy powers, results in the girl being dressed as a princess, bombarded with replica toys, activity books and stickers, and even being allowed to get tattoos of their favourite characters (albeit temporary ones).

Without the injection of cold, hard cash an ‘obsession’ is nothing more than a brief twinkle of joy.

It’s fair to say I’ve developed an obsession with parents who say their kids are obsessed with things. Particularly Frozen. Perhaps my New Year’s Resolution should be to LET IT GO.

But for now I will continue to nitpick. In fairness to the film itself, Frozen is a very enjoyable fairytale adventure for all ages. It’s been a staple in the Cousins household since it came out early last year though thankfully both Lucy and Ben were unaware of the film’s vast array of merchandise when making their lists to Santa.

When asked what she wanted for Christmas, Lucy said she wanted a penguin, a real one she could keep in the attic. I thought come Christmas morning she’d have forgotten about the penguin, but alas her yearning for a flightless bird from the Antarctic has not faded. Some would say she’s obsessed but I prefer to p-p-p-pick a different verb.

We’ve placated Lucy with penguin-based goodies including several cartoons, a Lego toy and a packet of biscuits, but ultimately we need to break out and take her to the zoo... in the dead of night... to steal one.

Ben is much easier to please. He was overjoyed with his Buzz Lightyear action figure. In saying that if we’d given him unlimited access to all the house’s light switches I’m sure he’d have been equally as chuffed.

Given that kids have no real clue what they want, it stands to reason that it’s been the parents over the years who give rise to must-have Christmas presents in the same way as they fuel their children’s ‘obsessions’.

It’s the mums and dads who conspire to convince their children that an Elsa doll, a Furby or a Spirograph is the only gift worth behaving for any given Christmas.

Although Lucy and Ben didn’t ask for any Frozen merchandise on their wishlists to Santa, I didn’t want them to feel left out of the craze of Christmas 2014 so at the foot of each of their stockings, alongside the mandatory Mandarin orange and chocolate coin, I placed a small Frozen pizza.