I was six years young.
Christmas morning had arrived, and I woke up to the magical transformation of our living room into a child's fantasy.
Santa Claus had come through again with more toys and presents than one family should ever have.
It was beautiful.
Even at a young age when selfishness can overwhelm the moment, my breath was taken away.
The previous night we had stayed up much later than we were comfortable with finishing up a batch of Christmas cookies, four of which would be left out for Santa Claus to enjoy with a creamy glass of eggnog.
Naturally, we left carrots and celery for the reindeer.
Hopefully, they weren't all hungry because we only left out a small amount.
I quickly rushed to the small round table set next to the tree where we had left the late night snacks placed in perfect formation on the Snowman platter for our very welcome guest, and there it was: a PERSONAL letter from Santa Claus thanking us for the cookies and eggnog, commenting that the nutmeg was a nice touch.
Any child would have been thrilled, but...
The letter was written on stationary that my mom used to write letters to Grandma and the handwriting was unmistakably that of my mom.
Why would my mom write a letter, signing Santa's name if ...
Wait a minute.
She wouldn't.
I didn't want to believe what my little mind was believing, so I went to the gift tags on each of the packages.
To Beth From Santa.
And here's another one.
To Beth From ...
Mom? Same exact handwriting.
I was a smart little bugger, and I knew what I knew.
It was a sham.
I felt kicked in the gut every time I opened a gift marked from Santa.
I knew I should run over and thank my mom, but how could I let her know that I knew? How could I not tell my siblings? Obviously, a little more thought needs to be put into personal letters from Santa.
My mom meant well, but she just didn't realize the analytical mind that her quiet little girl had.
As you can guess, I'm a little bit passionate about making sure that same mistake is never made with Santa Claus letters to my own small children.
Here are some things you really should consider: * STATIONERY Go to a printing store, like Kinkos and buy a sheet of holiday-themed paper and a coordinating envelope for each child to receive their letters from Santa Claus.
* HANDWRITING It would not be too strange for Santa to print his letters on a computer printer.
If you prefer handwritten letters, find a close friend or not quite as close family member to hand write your Santa Claus letters for you.
Keep in mind that these letters might be saved and compared to next year's letter, so have the same person write them next year for consistency.
If you choose to generate your letter via the computer, use a fun font, and sign "Santa" with ink.
Make sure your handwriting is not distinguishable in the signature of Santa.
* MESSAGE The message should be personal, but not too creepy with specifics.
It is a good idea to take this time to point out a few good things that your child did throughout the year.
For example: "I hear that you played with a lonely child in a wheel chair while all of your friends were climbing on the monkey bars.
That was very kind and mature of you.
" Or "Your mom wrote to me and said that you have done a great job keeping your room clean.
That was an extra special gift that you gave to your family.
" Letters from Santa are never a time to point out any bad thing your child may have done.
That could cause a lasting complex and serve only as a cruel attack on your child's self-esteem.
* POSTMARKS A Santa Claus letter sent with a postmark from your city and state can arouse a bit of unnecessary suspicion in sharp little minds.
There are approximately 100 places in the United States with holiday-related names, many of which offer special postmarks just for the Christmas Season.
The most popular city is North Pole, Alaska.
To take advantage of this free service, simply place all of your stamped and addressed letters in a larger envelope with ATTN: POSTMASTER - CHRISTMAS POSTMARK REMAILING and then the address of the proper post office.
The address for North Pole, Alaska is 5400 Mail Trail, Fairbanks, AK 99709-9999.
Other cities can be found at christmaslettertips.
com/christmas_postmarks.
htm.
You should send all letters by December 15 to insure delivery before Christmas.
I urge you that whatever course you take, consistency is the key to keeping the magic alive with Santa Claus traditions.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Christmas morning had arrived, and I woke up to the magical transformation of our living room into a child's fantasy.
Santa Claus had come through again with more toys and presents than one family should ever have.
It was beautiful.
Even at a young age when selfishness can overwhelm the moment, my breath was taken away.
The previous night we had stayed up much later than we were comfortable with finishing up a batch of Christmas cookies, four of which would be left out for Santa Claus to enjoy with a creamy glass of eggnog.
Naturally, we left carrots and celery for the reindeer.
Hopefully, they weren't all hungry because we only left out a small amount.
I quickly rushed to the small round table set next to the tree where we had left the late night snacks placed in perfect formation on the Snowman platter for our very welcome guest, and there it was: a PERSONAL letter from Santa Claus thanking us for the cookies and eggnog, commenting that the nutmeg was a nice touch.
Any child would have been thrilled, but...
The letter was written on stationary that my mom used to write letters to Grandma and the handwriting was unmistakably that of my mom.
Why would my mom write a letter, signing Santa's name if ...
Wait a minute.
She wouldn't.
I didn't want to believe what my little mind was believing, so I went to the gift tags on each of the packages.
To Beth From Santa.
And here's another one.
To Beth From ...
Mom? Same exact handwriting.
I was a smart little bugger, and I knew what I knew.
It was a sham.
I felt kicked in the gut every time I opened a gift marked from Santa.
I knew I should run over and thank my mom, but how could I let her know that I knew? How could I not tell my siblings? Obviously, a little more thought needs to be put into personal letters from Santa.
My mom meant well, but she just didn't realize the analytical mind that her quiet little girl had.
As you can guess, I'm a little bit passionate about making sure that same mistake is never made with Santa Claus letters to my own small children.
Here are some things you really should consider: * STATIONERY Go to a printing store, like Kinkos and buy a sheet of holiday-themed paper and a coordinating envelope for each child to receive their letters from Santa Claus.
* HANDWRITING It would not be too strange for Santa to print his letters on a computer printer.
If you prefer handwritten letters, find a close friend or not quite as close family member to hand write your Santa Claus letters for you.
Keep in mind that these letters might be saved and compared to next year's letter, so have the same person write them next year for consistency.
If you choose to generate your letter via the computer, use a fun font, and sign "Santa" with ink.
Make sure your handwriting is not distinguishable in the signature of Santa.
* MESSAGE The message should be personal, but not too creepy with specifics.
It is a good idea to take this time to point out a few good things that your child did throughout the year.
For example: "I hear that you played with a lonely child in a wheel chair while all of your friends were climbing on the monkey bars.
That was very kind and mature of you.
" Or "Your mom wrote to me and said that you have done a great job keeping your room clean.
That was an extra special gift that you gave to your family.
" Letters from Santa are never a time to point out any bad thing your child may have done.
That could cause a lasting complex and serve only as a cruel attack on your child's self-esteem.
* POSTMARKS A Santa Claus letter sent with a postmark from your city and state can arouse a bit of unnecessary suspicion in sharp little minds.
There are approximately 100 places in the United States with holiday-related names, many of which offer special postmarks just for the Christmas Season.
The most popular city is North Pole, Alaska.
To take advantage of this free service, simply place all of your stamped and addressed letters in a larger envelope with ATTN: POSTMASTER - CHRISTMAS POSTMARK REMAILING and then the address of the proper post office.
The address for North Pole, Alaska is 5400 Mail Trail, Fairbanks, AK 99709-9999.
Other cities can be found at christmaslettertips.
com/christmas_postmarks.
htm.
You should send all letters by December 15 to insure delivery before Christmas.
I urge you that whatever course you take, consistency is the key to keeping the magic alive with Santa Claus traditions.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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