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Christmas Myths: True or False

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Myth Number One states that if a child is good all year and he writes a Santa letter, he or she will receive a letter from Santa. The myth is TRUE. Many children have received letters from Santa Clause. There are, however, stipulations to this rule that have to be understood and met. For instance, Santa Clause, as we all know, is a very busy fella. He has millions of toys to make and oversee the making of, and he has to stay right on top of things in order for the North Pole to run smoothly. He has the naughty and nice list, which he has to check twice, by the way. If you are on the naughty list, you may not get a letter from Santa, although there have been exceptions to that rule. Also, you have to ask Santa Clause in your letter if you can find the time, would he mind writing you back. If you do not ask, he will assume that you do not want him to and he is very busy so give him some time.

Myth number two states that animals talk to each other at midnight on Christmas Eve. This Myth is also TRUE. Animals all over the world have a small window of opportunity to speak at exactly midnight on Christmas Eve. The reason so very few people have heard this is because most animals do not have anything to say that they have not already said in their own language. The ones that do speak take the opportunity to wish each other Merry Christmas. Animals will not speak if they know you are listening. In 1919, Dairy farmer John Miller of Papillion Nebraska was standing quietly outside his barn at midnight of Christmas Eve when all the cows started wishing each other Merry Christmas. He told everyone what he heard but no one believed him and people laughed, calling him “that crazy farmer that talks to cows” for many years.

Myth number three says that once you are on the naughty list, you are there to stay for the rest of the year. This myth is FALSE. Santa Clause checks the naughty and nice list twice, once in March and once in early December. If you were bad and are on the list in march but have since been good and have made up for your bad actions, Santa will take you off the naughty list and put you back on the nice list. The trick, however, is to be nice all the time. This way, you never have to worry about it.

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How to Choose Stocking Stuffers for Ages 3 Through 8

There are many little unique things that we do every year when trying to make Christmas special for our little ones. We do not get that many opportunities as our children grow up so fast and we are lucky to get ten good years to create that special Christmas magic for them. Everyone has heard of writing letters to Santa but few ever think to make Santa phone calls. Why stop at a letter when your children can make Santa calls on Christmas Eve to let him know that they have been very good this year and ask him what kind of cookies you should bake for him. This could lead to Santa dropping something special in that Christmas morning stocking. Here are a few of Santa’s tricks and secrets, letting you in on how he always knows the perfect stocking stuffers to light up those little faces.

Does your child already have a favorite toy that can be extended or added upon? This is one of the things that Santa takes into account when he drops down that chimney with all those toys. He knows, for instance, that little Tommy has a Hot Wheels set that he just adores and of which he takes great care. There are lots of kids who have these toys so Santa carries a bunch of extra Hot Wheels cars that come in individual packages. Children save these and some kids have an entire collection of cool and hard to find classics. Just a little bit of research lets Santa know exactly which Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars or trucks little Tommy already has.

If there is one thing that Barbie loves to do, it is to pop out of your little angel’s stocking on Christmas morning and give her a great big hug! In fact, Barbie loves this so much that just a few years ago, she was the most popular stocking stuffer for little girls on the planet. (Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars and trucks were number one for little boys!) More often than not, if Barbie had a previous engagement on Christmas morning, like under or on the tree, her clothes, furniture, and other accessories would turn up there instead.

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Why Write to Santa When You Can Make Santa Phone Calls

Santa Phone Calls are becoming more popular now that we can reach him. Until now, Santa calls were impossible, as there were no phones at the North Pole that were above ground. There is a new trend sweeping over the planet. Gone are the days when the only way we can communicate with Santa is through cards and letters. Thanks to a joint effort between The United States, Canada, The Soviet Union, Japan, and China, we can now call St Nick on the telephone. Internet ushered in the days of email and paved the way for wireless communication to such a degree that you could reach anyone almost anywhere. The problem was that no matter what we did, we could not overcome the problems that the magnetic North Pole created. While there is internet at the North Pole, it is only in Christmas Towne and is not connected to the outside world. The Magnetic pole will not let the signal through.

This is no longer a problem as the countries named above, along with several others have finally completed project “Santa Calls.” For the last several years, these nations finally got together and at Santa’s request, worked around the clock stringing phone lines. The destination was the North Pole and the work took many years to complete. It was funded by these governments so that we would be able to communicate with Santa and take the burden off the United States Postal Service and the postal services of the other countries, which were starting to show the strain of keeping up with the demands of an ever-growing population.

The most difficult part, according to workers, was reaching Christmas Towne, which as most people know, is buried about a mile underground. Santa phone calls would never be possible without finding a way to run the lines to Christmas Town. Fortunately, that part was taken care of for us as elves worked their way up to the surface while we worked to get across the frozen tundra and flowing ice.

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How Do You Make Christmas Special Without Snow

On television, when you see people having fun at Christmas time, it usually involves snow. Kids are playing in the sow, having snowball fights and building snowmen. Mom and Dad sit by a roaring fire and drink hot cocoa as the snow falls outside the window. We watch longingly as people ice skate on frozen ponds and fly down hills on sleds. We wonder what it would be like to go riding in the snow on a horse drawn sleigh. All of these things are wonderful, to be sure. However, not everyone lives somewhere that it snows every Christmas and many live where it never snows at all. Even so, there are activities that you can be involved with that help to make the seasons bright. Here are a few things you can do at Christmastime without snow.

You do not have to have snow to go on a sleigh ride. Many churches and other organizations hold hay rides during the Christmas season that can be just as much fun as any snowbound sleigh ride. The fun is not in the snow but in the company that you keep. Getting together with other people and having fun is part of what makes Christmas so special. Hitching up a horse and traveling through the woods and across fields while singing Christmas carols is a great Christmas activity that can be shared and enjoyed by the whole family. The best place to do this, by the way, is on farms that have huge pumpkin patches!

Christmas carols lift the heart and the spirit and make us fell good. Getting together with friend and family and going door to door in your neighborhood as a group of carolers is fun. Many people enjoy having carolers come to their house and sing to them, This is especially great if you have older couples or an elderly person who does not get out much. You can really liven up the lives of shut ins who cannot get out and do the things that they used to do.

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Which TV Christmas Programs Will Do the Least Harm

There is a tradition that parents love to pass down to our smaller children at Christmas time that gives us an extra special feeling. Like Santa letters, it is fun and allows us to participate with our kids during the event making even more special. We get a kick from watching the Christmas cartoons that many of us grew up with take on new meaning when we can share it with our children, especially if it is their first time. It is as exciting as receiving letters from Santa. Here is a short list of the best of them and why they were chosen.

Number 5 is an all time favorite with a delightful moral of perseverance, kindness, and selflessness. Santa Claus is Coming to Town is extra special because it is narrated by the extraordinary actor and dancer Mr. Fred Astaire. This marvelous, one hour, Rankin Bass production chronicles the life and times of that most famous and jolly old elf…, that’s is right, good old Saint Nicolas himself. This cartoon goes all out to answer as many questions as possible within an hour and still be entertaining. Fred Astaire is delightful as a mail carrier in the North Pole and that old wizard, voiced by Keenan Wynn really rocked. A very creative show that your children are sure to love.

The fourth spot on our list of top 5 Christmas Cartoons that you can share with your children is the popular story of Frosty the Snowman. Frosty’s voice is that of Jackie Vernon, until he sings and Jimmy Durante takes over. Jimmy Durante also handles the main narration of this classic, giving it such a wonderfully original feel that you just cannot help but smile. Friendship and sacrifice is the moral that your children will derive for themselves so you may want to point out the true point of the show, which many people believe is faith.

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Interview With Santa Clause

In 1985 I wrote to Santa expressing my sincere desire for an interview. I received a letter from Santa expressing his desire not to grant one. Over the next several years I wrote more letters repeating my request and received my relies including one that let me know how close I was from winding up on the naughty list. That letter immediately stopped my asking Santa for an interview until 1989, when I received a letter from Santa that was quite different from the rest. This Santa letter was to inform me that Santa had changed his mind and would consent to an interview provided I allow him to read and approve any articles or writings done on the interview. I was thrilled.

As I packed for the North Pole I kept thinking how lucky I was to be the first person to ever interview this wonderful man. I finished loading my suitcase and carried it to the living room. I was just about to phone for a cab when I heard noise coming from my kitchen. Scared and suspicious, I crept to the kitchen door. To my surprise, when I opened the door, there, standing in my kitchen with a mug in one hand and a package of hot cocoa in the other, was the man himself. For a moment, I was too shocked to speak. Santa told me to close my mouth before I let a fly in.

These are the official notes taken during my visit with this jolly man in the red suit. I asked Santa if the hot chocolate that I made him was okay. He replied that while it had taken him almost ten years to get used to, he had found one or two brands of instant cocoa that he enjoyed. This wasn’t one of them. He gave me a list of the best instant hot chocolate brands on the market, none of which I recognized. I then asked Santa if he was ready, he sat at my kitchen table with his hot chocolate, and we began. My first question was if he was a man or an elf. Yes, he replied. I knew that meant not to ask again. My next question was how he found flying reindeer. Santa explained that it was borne of necessity.

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Santa's Secret for Traveling the World

Have you ever wondered how Santa Clause can get all the way around the world in just one night? Did you ever include this question in your Santa Letter? Did you ever get a letter from Santa with the explanation? If you answered yes, yes, and no, to these questions, fear not. I have the answer and I am ready to reveal it. You see, I also wondered about this particularly perplexing problem personally and decided to find out. In a secret meeting arranged through a friend of a friend of a friend, I met with Ivanovitch Romanitzski who happens to be on Santa’s Astrophysics team. He revealed the secret to me in exchange for my 1961 D-17-coke bottle cap manufactured in Lincoln Nebraska, (It was in mint condition) which almost completes his collection.

First of all, it is important that we establish a fact that not many people know. Elves are a brilliant species with simple tastes. The dumbest elf child has a higher IQ than the smartest human adult. It seems that with elves and possibly even with humans, the smarter you are the less you need or desire in life. You long for the simple things like a good snowstorm, a cup of hot cocoa, and a fine bottle-cap collection, which is the epitome of classic elf life on the high side. Ivan, as I like to call him, (I cannot pronounce his full name very well) gave me the skinny on how Santa gets around the world in one night. While I do not understand the mechanics of it, I will try to explain it in simpler terms.

Santa, being the brilliant man that he is, came up with the solution when his nice list began to grow too large for him to handle in one night. He gathered together some of the finest Elvin Astrophysicists that he could muster and created a team that was dedicated to finding a solution to his problem, which, by the way, was heat. You see, the faster you go, the hotter you get. Santa had to generate faster and faster speeds to get around. The year before the first successful launch in his new multi-dimensional sleigh, he was moving so fast that the nose of the lead reindeer became super heated and is still glowing red to this day!

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What Makes Reindeer Fly

Writing Santa Letters is a very exciting activity for children. Receiving letters from Santa is even more exciting, especially for the children who have asked questions about how Santa Clause does all the wonderful things that make him so unique and special. One of the things that children ask most often is how he makes his reindeer fly. While there is many theories about how this miracle is accomplished, there is only one true answer. Since Santa Clause, like a true magician, is reluctant to give up his secrets, here are the five most likely explanations.

Magic Dust There have been many movies that show the reindeer flying and in some of these, a magical dust born of a wizard who lived in the extreme North around the time that Christmas first started is used to get those reindeer airborne. The legend goes that Santa had to travel across this relatively mean wizards land to get to a town he delivered toys to. When confronted by the wizard, Santa convinced him of his cause and showed him the error of his ways. As a thank you, he gave Kriss Kringle the formula to make this magic dust to use on reindeer. The wizard was using flying reindeer to pull his chariot at the time.

Elvin Magic It is said that elves have been around longer than humans. They ruled vast empires and covered the land before retreating to the frozen North as was foretold by their elder elves. They took their magic with them and used this magic to create a city beneath the ice away from the humans whom they admired and loved. The elves felt that they were here to help humankind to get started but their numbers were so greatly diminished, by the harsh winters that only a handful survive. These elves are helping Santa to spread joy throughout the world and it is their remaining magic that allows Santa to do the things he does, including making reindeer fly.

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How to Write a Great Letter to Santa Clause

Writing a letter Santa will always remember is not as easy as it sounds. Your child’s letter to Santa should be as personal as or even more personal than if they were writing a letter to a loved one or friend. Santa gets millions of letters every year and many of them are the same redundant letter over and over. These can get pretty hard to read so make sure that your letter is unique so that it catches Santa’s eye and makes him smile.

The first thing your letter to Santa should contain is a greeting. If the letter just starts with a request for gifts, it might come off as rude. Santa has been around for a long time and deserves the all the respect that we can muster. Dear Santa is nice, but the majority of all Santa’s letters are going to start this way. Be original with your greeting with something different in order to catch his attention right away. Open with a greeting that says more than hello. You could start your letter with “I Love You Santa” or “Hello Dear Mister Santa Clause, I hope this letter finds you well.” This opening would show love and respect and would be one that he notices as different.

The body of your letter should again be something personal such as how you are doing and what you have been up to lately. It is okay to let Santa know that you have been a good boy or girl and that you have just come home from church to learn about the nativity. Let him know if you have been struggling with math at school this year but you are going to continue to do your very best to improve. Santa Clause loves education and thinks that it is the most important thing for children. You could also say hello to Santa for a friend or family member who might be sick or will not get to write his or her own letter. Remember that Santa Clause can speak to animals so say hello for your pet. Your new puppy cannot write a letter to Santa Clause and he or she probably wants to say hello to him so you can do this for them. It shows Santa how considerate you are towards others.

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How to Capture the Elusive Christmas Spirit

The Christmas season is the most hectic and nail biting time of year. The traffic is atrocious and the city streets and highways are jammed with people who are in a hurry. Money is so tight you can squeeze green juice from it and everyone wants something from you, especially your time, which is always in short supply at this time of year. So how do you find and keep the Christmas spirit when all you want to do is crawl back under the covers and stay there until February. Read on, my tired and stressed out friend. You might just find something useful.

The most important thing you can do to make your Christmas less stressful is to do your Christmas shopping early. Granted, you cannot shop for everyone early because some children, particularly the older teenagers will want the latest version of whatever techno device is coming out just in time for Christmas. However, you can do the majority of your shopping early enough to make the rest seem easy by comparison. There is one day that occurs in the United States called Black Friday. As ominous as this sounds, it is actually a day that can benefit Christmas shoppers in a very big way. All the major retail stores set this day aside to have tremendous sales up to 80% off regular retail prices. They actually open their doors as early as 3am and stay open until midnight in many cases. However, the earlier you arrive, the better the selection. This is a great day to get everything (almost everything) done as far as your Christmas shopping goes.

Take your time. Anytime you need to drive during the Christmas season, leave early, and plan to take your time. Drive slowly and be as courteous as possible to the idiots who do not have a clue and are driving around like bats out of hell. You will be so much happier if you actually make the attempt at being happy in traffic than if you let the madness get to you. Smile at everyone with whom you make eye contact. You may find that there are more of you, the driver’s that are being careful, than you think. Play a nice, soulful Christmas CD in your car and sing along with it. Control your breathing and remind yourself that this will not last and you will be okay. Do not forget to stop by the post office to mail your Santa letters or pick up your letters from Santa. The kids will love getting those just in time for Christmas.

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Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year.

Visit our Christmas Store!

Christmas Myths: True or False

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How to Choose Stocking Stuffers for Ages 3 Through 8

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How to Write a Great Letter to Santa Clause

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