A Santa Here, A Santa There?

Years ago kids had to wait for that special day when Santa came to town to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas….do you remember that – it was a special weekend when Santa came to town. Kids often stood in a long line waiting for their turn to talk to Santa, to tell him what they really wanted for Christmas, to remind Santa about the special letter they sent to him. Santa would sometimes ask that scary question, “Have you been good this year,” which was terrifying for some of the kids to think about.

Times have changed, nowadays there’s a Santa Claus in every mall or in front of nearly every store during the holiday season. How do you explain that to young children? There is supposed to be one Santa that comes to town to see who has been good or bad and now they are everywhere.

You take the kids anywhere during the holidays and there is Santa Claus everywhere. I think this makes Santa look cheap and fake. It’s no wonder that so many kids stop believing in Santa at an early age. Christmas is supposed to be filled with magic for kids and Santa Claus is a big part of that. His magic is that he lives in the North Pole and he travels around the world in one night, delivering presents to all the boys and girls all over the world.

Doesn’t having all of these unnecessary Santa’s everywhere take some of that magic away?

Christmas Trouble Maker

Christmas was about two months away and I kept asking my husband for a kitten for the kids. Of course he kept telling me no, that’s the last thing that we need right now. I told him that I thought it would be a great pet for the kids and they are inexpensive, he should think about it a little more before just saying no.

It was about three weeks until Christmas and my husband was late coming home from work - by the time he had gotten home the kids were in bed. When he walked in the front door he had a little grey kitten in his arms. With a huge smile on his face he bellowed out, “Merry Christmas” and handed me the kitten.

The next day I got up and showed the kids the new member of the family. They could not believe that they got a new kitten for Christmas. They loved him immediately and their delight was evident by the beaming smiles on their faces. We decided to call him Tidas.

After I introduced everybody I took Tidas into the living room and as soon as I put him down he ran right to my Christmas tree. He instantly started smacking at the ornaments.

We tried to distract him with cat toys but he kept going back to my tree. I had forgotten about the troubles that kittens are - getting into stuff they shouldn't, climbing up shelves and knocking stuff down. I could tell I was going to have big problems with my new baby and the Christmas tree.

It had been about two weeks since we got Tidas and my Christmas tree had already been knocked down about twenty times, several ornaments had been broken and a few presents torn open, I was very frustrated. I started thinking of what I could use to block this itty bitty kitten from climbing up my tree or going around my tree and presents.

I had a play yard play pen for the kids that I was not using any more and I thought that it would perfect to put around the tree to block the cat and the kids. I got the playpen around the tree, the tree put back together with all the ornaments hanging, sparkling lights and the presents rewrapped and placed under the tree.

Finally, I had won the war - Tidas could not get to the Christmas tree or the presents anymore!

I will never forget the Christmas we got Tidas, we all had to redecorate the Christmas tree every night that year until we put that gate around the tree. I had forgotten how playful kittens are and the next time I ask for a new pet I am going to think twice about it and make sure I am ready for the challenges they bring to me.

Santa Letter From Marty the Mouse Spreads Christmas Magic Like Cheese

After getting in trouble for disobeying his parents, Marty the Mouse was terrified that he would be placed on Santa’s Naughty List. You see, Marty’s parents have told him many times that he mustn’t venture out into the big house by himself. But Marty loves exploring the large rooms – and he finds lots of treasures to bring back home to his family. Marty is a little mouse that is full of ideas and adventures – he dreams of the day when he can freely leave his family home in the walls of the big house and travel far and wide. But right now he must tend to the business of getting on Santa’s Nice List.

Marty’s distant cousins, Jingles, Sparkle, Twinkle, and Jolly happen to be four of Santa’s Christmas Mice. In case you didn’t know, the Christmas Mice are Santa’s official mail helpers. This gave Marty some ideas… If his cousins work helping with all the Santa Letters, why couldn’t they give him some advice? Marty was sure that his cousins would help – especially Jingles. You see, Jingles is a very sweet little gray and white mouse that has worked hard to make sure that all mice everywhere are remembered at Christmas time.

Marty would send a letter to Jingles right away; he was sure his Aunt Wilma had the secret address for mice at the North Pole. Marty excitedly got his best pencils and notepad out to begin his letter.

Marty’s letter started off with the usual kind of stuff that anyone would include in a letter to someone you don’t see too often; it included updates on each of his family members and the weather, and of course, questions about Jingles’ life and the weather at the North Pole. But then Marty got down to the business of explaining his situation and asking for advice.

Marty needed to know exactly what to say in his santa letter to keep him off the Naughty List. When the letter was completed Marty stashed it in a pile of outgoing mail and hoped that his mom would be sending that mail out soon.

About a week later Marty got a letter from Jingles at the North Pole! He was so excited, and his family was too – everyone was interested in how Jingles and his family were doing and they wanted to know what the weather was like at the North Pole. Marty said he would like to read the letter in private and then he would share it with everyone.

When Marty opened the letter up he was so proud of Jingles – those Christmas Mice really are smart! Jingles had written two separate letters, one was all about life at the North Pole and his friends and family – he even included a picture of him with Santa Claus. But the other letter was meant only for Marty. That letter held the secret to staying on Santa’s Nice List.

As Marty read the letter he learned that the Christmas Mice are responsible for sorting all Personalized Santa Letters that come and go at the North Pole. This means that the mice get to read lots of letters to Santa Claus. It also means they get to see what letters from Santa say.

According to Jingles, Santa Claus is just as wonderful as we have all imagined. Jingles says that if we try to be good and work hard at doing the right thing Santa will understand when we have little mess ups. Jingles also added that Santa Claus will only add us to the Naughty List if we keep doing bad things over and over, and we don’t try to do the best we can.

Jingles explained that because we all know in our hearts what is right and wrong, Santa Claus believes that it’s not necessary for him to be real specific about what we should or shouldn’t do. But Jingles said we could get a Nice List Guide if we need one.

Marty was ecstatic! All he has to do is be good and he will stay on Santa’s Nice List. But even in Marty’s excitement he wondered if Santa would mind if he just made a few more secret trips into the big house.

About The Author:
Hailei Corin lives in the big house – the same one Marty lives in! Hailei discovered Marty the Mouse in her desk drawer the very night she was writing her santa letter. Hailei had a long talk with Marty about the importance of Personalized santa letters and why a letter from Santa is so special. Look for more adventures of Marty the Mouse from Hailei – they have become great friends!

Helping Soldiers Overseas This Holiday Season

This Christmas while you are celebrating with your family there will be thousands of military families separated for the holiday season. Some of those families may have lost a family member to war. Shouldn't we do what we can to help these families in need?

They have given up their life as they knew it to fight for our country. Some of them overseas may not come back. Christmas without your mom or dad there would be hard; I could not imagine having a Christmas without them. We should all do what we can to show our support for everyone over there fighting so that you and I can live our life like normal.

While they can't spend time with their family you and I will be enjoying Christmas with ours. But there are lots of ways to help the soldiers and their families have a better Christmas even though both their parents may not be there.

Some things that you can send to the soldiers while they are serving for our country are phone cards and Christmas cards to send back to their families, puzzle books, cigarettes, books, magazines, fleece blankets, hats (black only), footballs, basketballs and DVDs, just about anything that you can think of you can send to them.

Some of the things that you can not send to the soldiers are alcoholic beverages, anything that depicts nudity, unauthorized political material and pork and pork by- products. If any contraband is found in the package what so ever your package may not be delivered so make sure you read what they can have and not have.

I myself am by no means rich but I can always manage to send them something, even if it is just candy canes. As you can see, you can get items from this list at almost any store. It just lets the soldiers know that we are thinking of them and appreciate what they are doing for us.

Christmas has always been a special time for my family and I am sure yours too. These families are separated for the holidays and we should do what we can to help them this holiday season. This year I plan to use Thanksgiving as a beginning day of collecting things on the list from family and friends and making a gift basket to send to the soldiers. So this year, as our kids write their Christmas letters to Santa, we plan on helping them make Christmas cards for soldiers and preparing care packages.

No matter how you celebrate Christmas just don't forget about our soldiers and all they do for us. Remember that while they are working for us we should all do our part to help them as much as possible.

Helping Others During The Holidays

I can remember the Christmas holiday that my mom helped our neighbors across the street from us. They were new to the neighborhood and had openly discussed their financial problems with my mom. The family had young children to care for and was worried how they were going to get through Christmas. Their bills were piling up and things were looking pretty dismal.

My mom suggested that they call some of the local churches that would help with gifts for all the children, they also provide food for the ones who qualify. She also told them to try and put the kids on the Angel tree and wait to see if they get picked from the tree. She told them that Christmas is about making memories that will last with your family. It is not what you get your kids it is the memory that you make with them.

They called around to all of the churches – some gave them food, others helped them with their bills and others helped with gifts and in other ways. The family was able to use a little of the money to actually shop for a gift or two for each of their children.

They were so happy and appreciative that my mom had told them about all of those places that would help them. They even pulled together enough money to get something for her. They came over a couple days before Christmas to give my mom her gift. It was wrapped with a bow and my mom placed it under the tree with all the other presents. It made my mom proud that she helped this family and she invited them to eat Christmas dinner with us, she was thrilled that they accepted.

On Christmas Day the family arrived to eat with us. The house was packed with people everywhere; the mood was festive with Christmas music playing in the background.

This is a Christmas that I will never forget. My mom helped this family get through Christmas just by giving advice to them. Because they listened and took action, they had a good Christmas. It shows you that you do not have to do much to help less fortunate people.

This year I plan on getting the family together and making a big gift basket to send to the churches in the area. It will be helping the less fortunate in an indirect way and making memories with my children in a very direct way – memories that will last a lifetime.

Spreading Kindness During The Holidays

I can remember the year that I helped my mom get everything ready to take to the nursing home. She went there every year to visit the residents and this year she wanted me to go with her to help.

To be honest, I didn’t really want to go but my mom talked me into it. She said that the people there did not have anybody to visit them and it would make their day if I came along – I finally decided I would.

I helped my mom make Christmas cards from construction paper to pass out; I also helped her make the Christmas cookies with the little Santa Clauses on them. We bought special Christmas tins to place the cookies in. The preparation for the visit to the nursing home was actually kind of fun.

When it was time to take all of our goodies inside I started to get nervous; I had never done anything like this before and did not know what to expect. When we got inside the entry way a lady led us to the ‘gathering room’. That is where we handed out our cookies and cards. I remember feeling sad that some of the people couldn’t have the cookies (because of diabetes or other complications).

All of the people there were very friendly and wanted to talk to us. They seemed so happy to have us there – it made me feel glad that I came. We were there for hours. Even after the cookies were gone some of the people stayed just to talk to us.

We visited some of the people in their rooms. My mom brushed some of the ladies’ hair, but a lot of the people were asleep so we just left our homemade Christmas card on their nightstand. I liked being in the rooms with the people better than being in the gathering room.

We could talk to them one on one and did not have a bunch of people trying to talk to us at once. They were very appreciative about their cookies and cards. Many of them asked us to come back not only for the Christmas holiday, but just to visit and play games with them.


This is a Christmas that I will never forget. I have gone back to that nursing home to visit and pass out cards and cookies many times over the years. The people living there are so appreciative when someone takes the time to visit with them.

My children are even involved now – they help me make the Christmas cards and cookies, and they go with me for the vists. My kids love it and look forward to it every year.

Top Site For Santa Letters

Santa Letters are a traditional part of Christmas for most families with children. Kids everywhere enjoy writing letters to Santa Claus so they can remind him of their favorite things. But writing the letters is only half of the tradition – the other part revolves around Santa answering the letters.

The children anxiously wait for their letters from santa claus, as they fret that they may have made it to Santa’s Naughty List. While there are several companies that offer Santa Claus letters, many of them just don’t quite measure up to the ones of quality. I have been on the lookout for such companies for years and I believe I have found the best place to get a Personalized letter from santa Claus.

PackageFromSanta.com not only provides the letters, but also a Christmas countdown calendar and a Nice List Guide. These products are such high quality that they can make even the most skeptical among us believers again. If you’re looking for a wonderful holiday tradition that will keep the magic of Christmas alive – I highly recommend checking this out.