Ten Tips for Writing a Letter to Santa

Associated Content's editors have requested "tips for writing a letter to Santa" and this is your lucky day, because as a reporter at The Saginaw (Mich.) News, your trusty author truly was Santa. The post office sent all the Santa letters to the newspaper, and my pleasant endeavor was to read them and publish some of them.

When a big batch of letters to Santa arrived from the same school, obviously a teacher had issued a class assignment. Santa (me) called some of those teachers, and they shared some good advice. This will help, as Mr. Claus prepares his Top Ten Tips for writing a letter to Santa.

(1) Instruct children to write ways in which they have been good, as opposed to the traditional "I have not been bad." This is more positive.

(2) Encourage youngsters to offer gift wishes not just for themselves, but for siblings and other relatives, and for their friends.

(3) In another strategy to promote unselfishness, set a limit on costlier gifts (two, maybe) and direct the kids to also prepare a "stocking stuffer" list for items costing less than $10.

(4) Even toddlers and preschoolers can take part. Even if they only scribble, it's a learning experience that feeds those neurons in their brains.

(5) If children proclaim they have been become too old to believe in Santa, they still can write a letter to God, Jesus, Allah, the higher power of their choice.

But Wait! There's More!!!

Okay. Great advice, eh? But that's only five items, and we promised our Top Ten Tips for writing a letter to Santa.

So, for our Final Five Tips for writing a letter to Santa, we'll let some Saginaw children help us out, based on past letters received at the newspaper. Keep in mind as we proceed, it was Art Linkletter (and then Bill Cosby) who reminded us, "Kids Say the Funniest Things."

(6) Be considerate. Don't just dive selfishly into the gift list. Have the courtesy to ask Santa how he's been, and what he's been doing. For example, Michaelangelo tells Santa, "Hope you had a wonderfull vacation, now its back to businezz." Craig asks, "How was your summer? Did you go swimming?" Angela is curious: "How many malls have you been to?" (Angela's one of those kids who are starting to figure things out, and who might not still be believing in Santa by next year.)

(7) Make sure Santa is safe when he arrives. Bryan writes, "Please watch out for my dog, Smoky. He is a German Shepherd. He is three, but he is big for his age." Melinda adds, "Oh ya! Beware of M&M (my kitten). She gets crabby sometimes." Then there is Richie, who offers a different warning: "Beware of my parents! They stay up until 12 or 11 o'clock!"

(8) Help Santa figure out how to speed things up. Peter suggests a different mode of transportation: "Happy Christmas drive car instead of sleigh."

(9) Kids should learn that later in life, when it comes to love, there are rings and then there are rings. For example, Jeremy could use some guidance. He writes: "I wan you to please get my MoMa a diamond ring but I want a World Wrestling Federation ring for my fighters." Nicole also isn't into romance just yet: "Can you please get my mother some perfume that don't smell?"

(10) Parents can learn, from their kids' letters to Santa, whether their offspring possibly are headed for careers in politics. There's Jorge: "For Christmas, I want clothes, a bike and more. I can't remember all the stuff." And then, there is Nick: "I'm not telling what I want for Christmas. I just want to know w hat you are doing? I will write my Christmas list later."

Ah, yes, our Top Ten Tips for writing letters to Santa has been both educational and fun. In fact, this has been so rewarding, we will allow yet another child to summarize the true spirit of Christmas.

Jerry writes: "All I want for Christmas is a real puppy, but if you want you can get me more. You are nice to every one in the world. I don't need that much this year."

SOURCES

Saginaw (Mich.) school teachers

Author experiences