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Santa Letters Bring Tears, Laughter
By LORI BASHEDA / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
They were mailed to Candy Cane Lane. Reindeer Road. The North Pole. Polo Norte. And in one case, simply, God.
But, alas, thousands of letters to Santa are piling up in bins at Orange County’s main post office in Santa Ana.
And how unfortunate it is that Santa hasn’t seen this particular batch. Because they hold enough Christmas spirit to power his sleigh around the world ten times over.
The boys and girls who wrote the letters promise to get to bed earlier, mind their mother and, in one case, stop spitting. They send their regards to the elves. Write songs to Rudolph. And, of course, ask for every sort of miracle: from a job for their dad to a ginger bread man “with the special stuff on to make him come to life.”
SEE PHOTOS OF LETTERS TO SANTA
There are letters from future politicians: “I promise I’ll keep my room clean,” writes a girl named Vanessa.
And from skeptics: “So I know that (it was you who left the Barbie Dream House), please write me back.”
There are the first-name-basis kids: “Dear Santa Claus, it’s me, Summer Daisy…”
And the drama queens: “Oh please, please can you make Stella be my sister?” begs a girl named Riley, explaining that Stella is currently only her best friend.
There are the butter-uppers: “I don’t think your fat!” wrote one boy above a pencil-drawn picture of a shirtless Santa looking more like The Situation.
And the politically correct children: “I am going to leave milk and cookies out for you. And they will be gluten free,” a boy writes. “The milk will be goats milk.”
The boy’s wish? A dog – “from the pound.”
There are also letters that will break your heart.
“Dear Santa, I am a not so very fortunet person,” writes one boy. “So for Christms, I want a beautiful gift for my grama. P.S. It is really cold and my grandma likes blankets.”
He goes on to say that he loves his family “more than a bear her cub.” And on a final note, he tells Santa that if he does have any magic left in his bag on Christmas Eve, he would like just one thing: a Fushigi, “the magical floating ball.”
Then there is this one: “Dear Santa, you don’t’ have to bring me eneything but can you please just bring my little brothers and sisters some toys. They always talk about you.”
And, God forbid, this one: “My mom and little brother were killed by my daddy. Please help my grandparents. They give us lots of love and we need your help.”
Not all the letter writers are children. One mother of three wrote that she can’t buy presents this year for her girls because she has no job. “Thank you, Santa Claus, for reading my letter.”
She’s thanking you.
Today (Dec. 16) is the last day the public is invited to go to the post office on Sunflower in Santa Ana, sift through the stacks of letters, and, if one touches your heart, be the Santa.
Barry Flynn, of Orange, was there Tuesday doing just that. He is unemployed himself, but, with a tear trickling down his cheek, he took a letter for eight siblings and hurried out.
“I know from my own childhood that’ it’s no fun having to say you had no Christmas gift,” he later texted me.
Of course, all the letters cannot be answered. And not all of them need to be. Clearly some come from children with happy homes, multi-colored pens and ambitious wish lists.
“Dear Santa, I really want a pig,” reads a letter from a girl who ticks off the reasons she should get one, No. 3 being that she wants to knit “a cozy bed” for it.
Another girl asks for an iPad “to replace the computer I never had.”
There’s a boy who writes that what he wants most of all is a”hypoalergetic puppy named Spot!”
And another boy sent in an itemized list with 31 things on it. No. 24: A remote control snake.
Other letters are simply too hard to decode. A girl named Natasha wants “that thing that you fill up with water and dip your head in.”
But for every boy who asks for the latest Nintendo, and every dreamy-eyed girl who wants “a magic bell … and a ride on The Polar Express,” there is a letter writer like Alexys.
“Dear Santa, I have 4 sisters and I want to get them a toy and maybe shoes,” the girl writes. “And if you have an extra Christmas tree can you bring us one?”
Well, can you?
Contact the writer: 714-932-1705 or lbasheda@ocregister.com
Dear Santa … my dad killed my mom
By LORI BASHEDA / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Yes Emily, there is a Santa Claus.
It turns out there are many Santa Clauses. And they live all over Orange County.
They have read your letter, addressed to the North Pole. And all the other letters sent by little boys named Kyle and little girls named Cheyenne. Letters addressed to Candy Cane Lane, Silver Bells Road and Winter Wonderland. Letters that are piling up at the Santa Ana district post office.
They may not be able to make the tumor disappear in your dog Benny. Or locate a unicorn. But they are working very hard to make at least some of your Christmas wishes come true.
How could they not, when then read letters like this one from a little girl.
“Dear Santa … A year ago my dad killed my mom and little brother so now I don’t have a mom or dad, only a sister. Im 9 years old and would like for you to bring me something for Christmas if you can. Anything would be ok.”
Or this one: “Dear Santa, my brother says that I was 3 years when my dad left. I do not remember him. My mom doesent have no meney. Sometimes I want a burger and she do not have not even a dollar. The other day I had a dream that my dad came in dressed like Santa with a lot of presents but my mom says it is just a dream.”
Some of the young letter writers aren’t even asking for anything for themselves.
“Dear Santa, my mom is sad and I can see it, paying bills and getting by being a single mom with three kids is hard for her,” one boy writes. “Just bring happyiness to my mom.”
Another girl tells Santa she has had four surgeries on her legs, but she is more concerned about her parents feeling bad because they can’t afford presents for her little sisters.
“People and kids look at my legs a lot and I don’t feel good when they do and point at me,” she writes. “But my mom and dad always been there to help me! That’s why I’m asking you to please help them this year. … Will you please help them. You don’t need to give me anything.”
Not all the letter writers are children.
One arrived from a 43-year-old unemployed mother of three. “Dear santa, I now write to you because I feel alone,” her letter reads. “I plead that maybe you can grant me the wish of a job.”
Fortunately, not every letter writer is full of sorrows. In fact some of the writers seem to have it better than this writer.
A girl who signed her letter “always nice, never naughty” is asking for “a brand new sparkly diamond ring.”
And here’s the opening line from a boy: “Dear Santa, please get me and my dad a Lamborghini.”
That same boy asks Santa to give his mom a baby boy, which would probably cancel out his dad’s delight over the Lamborghini.
If one thing is for sure, it’s that Santa letter writers cannot be stereotyped.
There are fesser-uppers: “Dear Red, I am sorry I was a bad boy.”
And butter-uppers. “Dear Santa, You’re a great guy,” begins a girl named Angelina.
There are politicians: “Thank you for participating in Christmas,” a girl named Miriam signs off.
And bargainers: “I will not yell at my mom or cry or fight with my sisters,” swears Brooklyn after asking for a guinea pig to replace the one that died.
There are cheerleaders: “Dear Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman is coming back on Christmas day!” is one boy’s entire letter.
Over-achievers: “What I would really like though is a spot on the nice list,” writes a girl named Rebecca.
And possibly even the next Kitty Kelley: “I would like to ask for your permission to write a book about you,” pens a boy.
Some kids play it cool: “Dear Santa, long time no see,” writes a girl named Gianna. “Could you go to Haiti for me?”
Others have been watching too many detective shows. “Have you ever met someone named Charo Guerrro? A.k.a Salvador Guerrero” one boy asks, directing Santa to then circle Yes or No.
And then there are those kids who you aren’t quite sure what category they belong in. “Do those little doll elfs come alive on Christmas (if you have been good) because my mom says that we don’t believe that the elf dolls come alive on Christmas.”
Some of the letters include catalogue clippings to make sure Santa gets it right. One girl taped half a dozen doll photos to her wish list. “They are the new things this year so I feel sorry for your elfs,” she writes. “Tell them to work with all they got.”
Other requests range from an electric pencil to underwear. One boy asked for the odd trio of an invisibility cloak, a Diet Rite Cola and perfect attendance. “Thank you for listening,” he signs off.
Another boy asks for a doghouse and then left his footprint in what appears to be dirt on the stationery.
But for every 10 kids who ask Santa what football team he roots for or remind him that they have outgrown Legos, there is one who wants “my abuelita to believe in herself and start walking.” A letter that breaks your heart.
“I want to know why you never come to my house,” one girl writes. “I wait for you and you never came. I have good grades. Please could you come this Christmas and make happy my family.”
Operation Santa – CBS News
Once a year, the Postal Service becomes the North Pole, fielding millions of letters addressed to Santa sent from the less fortunate hoping for a gift this Christmas. “Operation Santa” welcomes people to choose a letter and give a gift to the sender.
Millions of letters containing Christmas wish lists are sent to Santa Claus in the North Pole every year.
And they land in local post offices, where they’re made available to the public, enabling people to play St. Nick and send gifts to needy children who might otherwise get nothing, through a program called Operation Santa.
Pete Fontana, Operation Santa’s head New York City Elf, explained how the program works, on “The Early Show on Saturday Morning.”
Some postal patrons read some of the touching letters, as well, for the sake of viewers.
The Postal Service doesn’t receive tax dollars for “Operation Santa,” and the service’s current financial plight is forcing local offices to make difficult decisions about whether to participate in the optional program.
It is not too late to help! Click here to find Operation Santa USPS locations for Christmas 2011.
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Lyrics and Video
The song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” written by Tommy Connor was a smash hit in 1952. The smash singer was Jimmy Boyd (who later grew into the role of “Jimmy” on the original Mickey Mouse Club.
I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night
She didn’t see me down the stairs to have a peek
She thought that I was tucked up in my Bedroom fast asleep
Then I saw mommy tickle Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white
What a laugh it would have been
If daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.
I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night
She didn’t see me creep down the stairs to have peak
She thought that I was tucked up in my Bedroom fast asleep.
Then I saw mommy tickle Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white
What a laugh it would have been
If daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.
Santa Claus is Coming to Town! Lyrics and Video
You better watch out, You better not cry
You better not pout, I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list, Checking it twice;
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
Goodness sake
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Figgy Pudding – Lyrics and Recipe
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Glad tidings we bring
To you and your kin;
Glad tidings for Christmas
And a happy New Year!
We want some figgy pudding
We want some figgy pudding
We want some figgy pudding
Please bring it right here!
Glad tidings we bring
To you and your kin;
Glad tidings for Christmas
And a happy New Year!
We won’t go until we get some
We won’t go until we get some
We won’t go until we get some
So bring it out here!
Glad tidings we bring
To you and your kin;
Glad tidings for Christmas
And a happy New Year!
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Glad tidings we bring
To you and your kin;
Glad tidings for Christmas
And a happy New Year!
Ingredients
- ½ pound figs
- 1 ¼ cups bread crumbs
- 1 cup almonds or walnuts
- 1 cup of light brown sugar (scant)
- ½ cup candied grapefruit peel
- ¼ cup candied lemon peel
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 eggs, beaten
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Chop the figs and mix with fluffy crumbs. Brown the almonds or walnuts (if using almonds, they should be blanched, skinned and chopped. Walnuts should be chopped).
- Mix with all the other ingredients.
- Put the mixture into a greased mold and steam 2 ½ hours (The pudding may also be baked in a 325 oven for 1 hour). Moist, soft grapefruit peel adds a very good flavor.
- Serve with a brandy and cream sauce.
Santa Baby – Lyrics and Video
Been an awful good girl
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa baby, a ’54 convertible too, light blue
I’ll wait up for you dear Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Think of all the fun I’ve missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven’t kissed
Next year I could be just as good
If you’d check off my Christmas list
Santa baby, I wanna yacht and really that’s
Not a lot
Been an angel all year
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa honey, one thing I really do need, the deed
To a platinum mine
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa cutie and fill my stocking with a duplex, and checks
Sign your ‘X’ on the line
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight
Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany
I really do believe in you
Let’s see if you believe in me
Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring
I don’t mean on a phone
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry … tonight