When I was 10, I started to think that the whole Santa thing might be sort of untrue. It started to occur to me that perhaps, just perhaps, there wasn’t a big guy in a red suit sliding down the chimney each year.
But then on Christmas morning there was a boot print (a BOOT PRINT!) of ashes just outside of the fireplace!! And I ran around and told all of my (strangely skeptical) friends that it was TRUE and Santa was, in fact, REAL!!
I may have been a tad bit gullible. And my parents were very clever.
I think my little brother (who is 5 years younger) may have broken the news to me when I was about 15. I am still not sure he knew what he was talking about. I mean – there was a BOOT PRINT!!
This Christmas, my daughter is 10. And a tad bit gullible. And I have many many resources at my disposal to make sure she and her brother stay firmly convinced in the magic of it all. And, in the spirit of holiday giving, I am going to share those resources with you. You should use them too. We all could use a little more magic, even if it is technology-assisted!
Resource #1 The Santa Book – 
We purchased this book at Target a couple of years ago (there is a link to Amazon if you click on the picture) and my kids read it like it is the encyclopedia of Santa. It is really well written and gives the scoop on everything from why no one can see Santa’s workshop at the North Pole, to How he delivers everything in one night. Great for slightly older, but still believing kids.
If I wasn’t doing all of the shopping and wrapping I would totally believe that this was non-fiction!
Resource #2 The Santa Video – This one is new, but very cool in a sort-of-creepy way. You go to this website Portablenorthpole.tv and put in information about your kid (nothing scary), your zip code, and maybe a picture of your kid (I didn’t do that part and it was still cool). The site generates a FREE video of Santa talking directly to your child. Very fun.
Resource #3 The Santa Picture – I just found out about this one today, but I am immediately going to go do it. You take a picture of your living room, or the outside of your house. Then go to this site: Capture the Magic where you can paste a picture of Santa right into the picture of your house. Two pictures are $9.95 and then any more are $0.99 each. But that is photographic proof of Santa at your house!! And unless kids know about Photoshop…and many probably do at this point…this is the ultimate proof of realness!
Resource #4 The Official Santa Tracker – My Dad does this every year and the kids love to know where Santa is as we go about our Christmas Eve festivities. The Norad site tracks Santa’s progress around the world, encouraging the kids to get into bed before he hits the East Coast!
Put all of this together and you can created a pretty convincing case for the existence of a real Santa. Even more convincing than a boot print!
Now if I can just keep them from finding the pile of presents in the basement, I am golden for another year!
Kristen is a new contributor at Chester County Moms. She lives in Chester Springs with her husband, daughter, Sprout (10); son, Tater (7); and two dogs. Be sure to read more about Kristen’s exploits as she attempts to keep her kids busy and entertained at http://www.thefunmommies.com/
Philaburban Mom 