Dropping a Letter to Santa

Yes, the holidays are upon us…soon to crush my will to live. I am trying, though, each year to not be a total Scrooge. My husband loves Christmas, and it is seriously his favorite time of year…besides his birthday. I promised him five years ago that I would *try* to enjoy myself during the holiday season and not be a bah-humbug. I am doing fairly well. I think it is because I have started new traditions with my children. One of our little traditions is sending a letter to Santa that lists some of the items they’d like to see under the tree. (Some of our others are here: Huntington Holiday Train at the Main Library and Nativity Scene at State Auto Insurance Building.)

There are so many ways to drop a letter to Santa from your children. Mail a letter from your mailbox to the North Pole, some senior centers (thinking the Griswold in Worthington) have a Santa mailbox, or the mailbox I found at Macy’s! I found the Santa mailbox last year and can’t believe I remembered it existed. It is an over-sized red mailbox with slots for littles to mail their letters directly to the jolly old elf himself. Macy’s even provides a table with cute postcards that say “Dear Santa” and include lines for the kids to write their fondest wishes. Of course, littered around the writing area are toys to tantalize your children. I told mine to add the toy they were begging me to buy to their letter. I buy nothing after school supply shopping. Anything they want goes on their Christmas wish list. Even gum. I’m mean…well, not really.

You might ask why I had my kids write letters to Santa so early. Meaning, I haven’t even had MY birthday and Christmas decorations are out. It all started with a trip to the mall because I was out of my special soap. We entered the mall and there he was, decked out in red and white and doing pictures. My kids were pretty excited to see Santa working the mall, and I concluded that writing a letter BEFORE Thanksgiving seemed appropriate. I mean, if Santa is already doing pictures with the kids he MUST be taking mail. It was also a great way for my girl to practice her writing and reading, and I loved hearing my three year old boy recite to me.

If you want to find this mailbox please go to the Tuttle Mall, park near Sears, and go in the Macy’s door. Take the elevator or escalator to the bottom level, turn left into Macy’s, and it is sitting right there by the Clinique counter. Be sure to go during the week in the afternoon to avoid crowds.

What about you? How do you handle your children’s wish lists or sending off letters to Santa? Share your ideas in my comment section – I’d love to hear them!