Sarah-Jane Edis came up with the story while travelling from her in-laws at Port Macquarie to her family in Wagga.

It was the summer of 2019, and her son, feeling the season's excitement, wanted to hear stories about Christmas.

"We try to limit the screen time in the car, so I made up some tales to keep him entertained," Ms Edis said.

"Soon, Mrs Claus became his favourite, and he wanted to hear it on repeat.

"He was always asking, 'can I hear the story about how Santa got sick and Mrs Claus saved the day."

IN OTHER NEWS:

After the festive season was over, Ms Edis decided to write the story down to make sure her son could have it as a keepsake.

She soon showed it to a friend who encouraged Ms Edis to keep working on it.

The inspiration for Mrs Claus, or Jess Claus in the book, came from Ms Edis' mum, who works as a mental health nurse in Wagga, and was a real-life "superwoman".

"She loves Christmas more than anyone. When we were kids, she would wake up the household at 5am because she could not contain her own excitement," she said.

"Like most women of her generation, all the Christmas duties fell to her.

"She worked as a nurse and had four children, and even though Mum helped out on the farm, very little to no domestic duties were helped out in return. We didn't have much money growing up, so she would save all year for Christmas - she even had one bank account dedicated to it."

It was important for Ms Edis that Jess Claus was more than just the plump old lady wearing a pinafore, stuck in the kitchen, with no name, no identity, and no story.

She said there was a lack of powerful female role models in all the stories, oral literature, and myths tied up in Christmas tradition.

"Mrs Claus does the Unthinkable! starts by Mrs Claus introducing herself to the reader as Jess, and wanting to tell her story about the time Santa was sick at Christmas," Ms Edis explained.

"Jess, being a loving, empathic woman, tries to make Santa better - but it doesn't work, and he will not get out of bed.

"So she does what most women do; she steps up, does her best and doesn't let anyone down."

Ms Edis began a Kickstarter campaign to help cover the costs of printing, whereby people could pre-order, but if the books were not printed, they would be able to get a refund.

In just a few days, it has already hit its target, and people are continuing to order.

"The first batch of books will arrive by October for Christmas this year," Ms Edis said.

"I have friends and family who have been generous in their support as well as strangers chipping in."

Ms Edis said she is aware that putting her spin on a story dating thousands of years back might raise a few eyebrows, but she is determined to help make gender stereotypes a thing of the past.

"We are always trying to improve our generational stories - that is the art of writing and storytelling," she said.

"I hope you give Jess Claus a spin on the sleigh this year in your household and let children imagine the world a little differently."

For more information on the campaign, click here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: