MAVERICK WANTED ONLY THREE THINGS for Christmas, so he wrote in a letter to Santa published recently in a Minnesota weekly newspaper. The first grader wanted a sled, a “lizard that climbs up the wall” and 100 packs of Cotton Candy Bubblegum. Did he get all three? I doubt it. But what Maverick did get from me was laughter, especially for that bubblegum ask. But, hey, I understand. I loved Bazooka bubblegum as a kid. Maverick and I would get along splendidly, if he agreed to share his bubblegum.
Every year I look forward to the letters to Santa Claus published in The Gaylord Hub, a small town weekly newspaper where I worked as a reporter and photographer fresh out of college with a journalism degree in 1978. Today that paper still arrives in my mailbox weekly, much to my delight. The community where I was affectionately called “The Cub from The Hub” will always hold a special place in my heart.
And those Santa letters, oh, those letters, what joy they bring me each December They are the stuff of a small town newspaper. I imagine parents clipping the published letters and years later pulling out the yellowed newsprint to share with their grown children.
“I’VE BEEN GOOD, SANTA. BUT MOM?”
“I have been good for 3 days,” writes Sibley East first grader Sophia before asking for a toy remote control plane. Three days? I wonder if Santa had to think about that statement. If anything, Sophia was apparently being honest.
But then there’s Adelyn, who wasn’t as much concerned about her behavior as her mom’s, although she claims to have been “good.” Adelyn asks Santa, “Is my mom on the naughty list?” Cue the laughter from me…and maybe Mom.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS…
First graders are, if anything, unfiltered and honest. And they don’t hesitate to ask for whatever they want. It seems a lot of these kids wanted pets—specifically ten asked for cats or kittens, six for dogs and one, a guiny (sic) pig. That last request came from May. My guess is that most kids did not get the animals they wanted, except those asking for a robot dog or a toy dog.
Then there were the unusual gift requests. Erik wanted a chainsaw. I expect Santa nixed that pretty quickly considering age appropriateness. Dalton asked for a diamond, a rather odd request from an elementary school student. Violett wanted a camera that looks like a unicorn. Is there such a thing? Oliver asked to “get in the Titanic for Christmas,” which I wouldn’t recommend even if the Titanic was still afloat.
Kaelyn asked Santa for an iPhone, a Barbie toy and 5 cookies. No problem there, except with the phone, which I wouldn’t give to any of the five first graders who asked for one. I think Santa may have felt the same. But the Barbie toy and cookies? No problem. Santa has plenty of cookies to share. He probably gave Kaelyn more than five. And he likely had enough Barbie goods to give away.
Alia and May’s requests for make-up, though, gave me pause and I bet it did for Santa also. No first grader needs make-up for her sweet little face.
SWEET WORDS FOR SANTA
I love how several kids proclaimed their love for Santa. “I love you, Santa!” exclaimed Holden. Such sweet words likely proved reaffirming for the overworked, underpaid Santa Claus. Kieren stepped up the compliments. “Santa, you are awesome!” he wrote. “Thank you for giving us presents.” Awww, gratitude goes a long ways with Santa as does praise for his reindeer. Gauge bravely asked if he could come to Santa’s house because he really wants to meet the elves.
AND THEN THIS REQUEST
And then there’s the letter from Allison, who said she’s been helping her mom with the baby. She asked for only one thing—a candy cane. That broke my heart. One. Thing. I hope Santa gave her a hundred candy canes, several dozen cookies and a surprise gift that brought Allison, a good, kind (her words) and selfless soul, unfathomable Christmas joy. She, among all those letter-writing first graders, deserved a special gift.
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I absolutely love this post and all of the letters! I can see why you look so forward to them each year, they are treasures. so great you worked for that paper, I would love to work for a small town paper. I really love the small stories of the local news –
First, thank you for appreciating small town newspapers and their importance to a community. We’ve lost way too many of them. And when a small town loses its local newspaper, it loses part of its heart.
I figured you would enjoy this post given your life-long work with children. These letters are precious, and revealing.
Hi Audrey, wishing you a happy new year and all the best for 2025. I put in the mail copies of the first two volumes of my new books on the history of PTSD, thinking of what your father experienced in Korea and the problem we have today of veteran suicide, as many as 300,000 suicides by U.S. veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan since 911. Along with the two books I mailed to you is information on our Rochester nonprofit Veterans Empowered Inc. We give our books away free to disabled veterans with PTSD and my co-author Dr. Steve Lansing provides free PTSD therapy to disabled veterans, their families, and first responders who suffer from PTSD.
Keep up the good work, God bless!
B. Wayne Quist, Lake City
Wayne, your books arrived yesterday. Thank you! I appreciate your thoughtfulness. It may be awhile before I read your books (my book stack is high), but I will assuredly consider writing about them here. Thank you for all the hard work you and Dr. Lansing are doing to help veterans experiencing PTSD. Have a wonderful 2025!
What fun! And what a great idea for these precious letters to be read by others…how many letters to Santa go unread. Too much humor and wisdom and good reads “wasted.”
Glad you enjoyed my summary of these letters to Santa. I always love reading them every December.
My small hometown newspaper has local businesses sponsor kids’ Christmas drawings and scrawled notes to Santa. This year a 5th grader asked for “gun training.” That got my attention. Game hunting is popular there, of course, but these days, you just have to wonder . . .
Then I noticed the sponsor of that note: a local bank, where an employee died, on the premises after-hours, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I suspect (and hope) the bank had no role in selecting which child’s note to sponsor.
Oh, goodness, that is all around heartbreaking, both the suicide and then the pairing of the letter with the business. I can see why that request for gun training grabbed your attention. It would mine also.
Such a cute post today – thanks for sharing – need a chuckle too – ha! Cue the waterworks – local law enforcement goes out with the kids here to purchase items for the Holidays – the one kid just wanted groceries for himself and of course for his sister and his mom who works hard. The officer was all for it and made sure to add some gifts into the mix too. Just brought tears to my eyes and touched my heart. Like your post recently about HOPE. Yes, to hope! Happy New Year – Happy Day – Enjoy!
Thank you, Renee. There’s so much good in this world.
I have always loved reading letters to Santa. Sadly, I seem to have missed out on our local edition this year. Thanks for sharing these. It’s interesting how times have changed the letters over the years.
Yes, the requests from kids certainly reflect the times. And, yes, they are fun to read.
Cute story! I had to chuckle at the candy cane request. When my sister was about 3 and people would ask what she wanted for Christmas she always said a candy cane. Can you tell we weren’t allowed to eat the candy canes on the tree until after Christmas?
I love that candy cane story about your dear sister Brittany. Thank you for sharing that with me this morning.