Christmas is the most magical time of the year. Twinkling lights, gatherings with family we don’t see often, and nostalgic Christmas jingles that take us back to when we were kids.
But the holidays can be a little stressful for parents with children who still believe in Santa. It becomes a never-ending series of daunting tasks to ensure the littles ones still believe in the magic that is Saint Nick. The truth is, those years of milk and cookies and letters to Santa fly by, so it’s important to keep the spirit alive while you can.
Write Letters to Santa
Writing a letter to Santa is one of the easiest ways to keep your child believing in him. If you live in the Scotts Valley or Santa Cruz region, drop your letters off at Zinnia’s Gift Boutique so Santa can read your child’s letter aloud during a very special livestream event on December 5th 2021. We’re located at 219 C Mount Hermon Road in Scotts Valley and we will be collecting letters until December 5th!
As a thoughtful gesture, some parents like to have a response from Santa mailed to their home. According to the USPS website, all you have to do is:
- Have the child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, h Pole.
- Write a personalized response to the child's letter and sign it "From Santa."
- Insert both letters into an envelope, and address it to the child.
- Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE, to the envelope.
- Ensure a First-Class Mail stamp is affixed to the envelope.
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Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope, with appropriate postage, and address it to:
NORTH POLE POSTMARK
POSTMASTERNort
4141 POSTMARK DR
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998
Change a Contact to “Santa Claus” in your Phone
For a more creative tactic, change the name of a close friend in your phone to “Santa Claus”, so whenever your friend calls you, it will read “Santa Claus is calling”. If your children catch a glimpse of your screen, they won’t be able to contain their excitement thinking that you’re in cahoots with Santa!
Catch Santa on Video
Once you’re all set with milk and cookies and veggies for the reindeer on Christmas Eve, it’s time to adopt a new tradition that will take your children's level of belief to the next level: a video recording of Santa in your house!
All you need is a Santa Claus costume and a camera (or a phone) to record on. Once you or your partner are dressed up as Santa and the camera is placed in a discreet location close to the tree, make a recording of “Santa” placing the gifts under the tree and eating the cookies. It will make the spirit of Santa that much more alive on Christmas morning when you show the kids the video.
Use a different Wrapping Style or Hire a Professional gift Wrapper
For the handful of gifts addressed from Santa, make sure to use different wrapping paper and bows. Kids are smarter then they lead us to believe a lot of the time, so they will find it suspicious if Santa and Mom and Dad have the same wrapping style. A sure way to avoid suspicion here is to get your gifts from Santa wrapped by a professional wrapping service or local store.
If you live in Scotts Valley or Santa Cruz, we can take care of this for you at Zinnia’s Gift Boutique. We take pride in our gift wrapping service- always making sure to put a little extra love and sparkle into all of the gifts we wrap each year for the holidays. You can drop your gifts off at our store at 219 C Mount Hermon Road in Scotts Valley, or make an appointment via emailzinnias.dedra@gmail.com or phone 831- 430-9466.
When is it time to tell my Children Santa isn't real?
So, when is it time to finally call it quits and tell your children Santa Claus isn’t real? Research has shown that on average, most children find out the truth about Santa by age 8. A tell-tale sign that your child is ready to know the truth is when they start asking smarter questions like, “How will Santa deliver our presents if we don’t have a chimney?”, “How does he eat so many cookies in one night?”
Children's reactions to the news vary, some feel proud they found it out, but others can feel embarrassed that they believed as long as they did. It’s important for parents to not govern their child’s emotions to the discovery, but rather create a safe and loving environment for them to express their feelings.
Even when they stop believing in the man himself, you can still celebrate the essence of Santa in other ways.Dr. Edlynn says. "Talking about the spirit of Santa — generosity, kindness, happiness — can help keep the magic alive, no matter our age."
There are plenty of creative ways to keep children believing in Santa Claus- wether its impersonating Santa and recording it, or partaking in the festivities at Zinnia's Gift Boutique. The most important thing is to do your best to keep the magic of Santa alive for as long as you can!