Santa’s Secret

By Felicity Wilkinson

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. It’s the time of year where everyone is

kind to one another. Circumstances that during any other time of the year people would get

angry at one another for, they instead forgive each other because ‘It’s Christmas.’ I love the

spirit and the joy that everyone has. Plus, as a child, I was, of course, eager to give and receive

presents.

However, my favorite part of the holiday was not the presents. It was Santa Claus. Santa

Claus is a relatively old man with a white beard, a velvety red suit, a matching red velvet cone

shaped and floppy hat with a fur snowball at the tip, black leather boots, white cotton gloves, a

black leather belt, small circle glasses that sit at the top of his nose, and his famous green sack of

toys. He brings joy to children all over the world this time of year by bringing children who

have been nice their most wanted toys and children who have been naughty receive black coal.

Mr. Claus spends all year working at his workshop in the North Pole with his elves building the

toys to deliver to the children on Christmas Eve on his sleigh. His sleigh, with the help of his

reindeer and belief, can fly all across the world delivering presents in one night.

Every year, on Christmas Eve, my family and I gather at my grandparent's house. When

I walk in I immediately smell the scalloped potatoes and cranberry sauce - my favorite. I can

also smell pinecones which sit in a little basket by the fireplace for decoration. We start out the

night by watching a play performed and practiced by my younger cousins and sibling, and was

written and directed by myself. This production takes place in the family room in front of the
fireplace while the audience sits on the couches in front of the performers. This is one of the

most stressful parts of the night for me because I want everything to go perfect and we have been

working very hard on this play for months. After the performance, we all move to the dining

room/kitchen table to eat dinner while we wait patiently for Santa Claus. I get myself a delicious

plate of Christmas Eve dinner: scalloped potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and a

green garden salad. I don’t really like green beans, so when my sister isn’t looking, I dump my

portion onto her plate so that I don’t have to eat it.

When we are done eating, we all gather again in the family room waiting to hear the front

door open, and Santa Claus to appear. I sit in anticipation, my knee bouncing up and down both

out of excitement and nervousness. I sit on the edge of the brown leather couch and smooth my

purple dress down. Finally, the sound of the front door opening and the jingle of bells being

rung arrives. Santa walks in shouting “Ho Ho Ho,” and continues ringing the bells. He walks

into the family room and sits down on the brown leather ottoman we have placed in front of the

fireplace where just an hour before we had put on the play. He starts by pulling out small gifts

from his sack and calling out the names of the children. One by one, the children go up to collect

their customized ornament, a candy cane, and a picture of them screaming and crying on Santa’s

lap as they beg for their parents to take them off. Unfortunately, not all of my cousins have

understood Santa and don’t quite yet appreciate what he does. I am always called last because I

am the oldest. He has known me since I was a baby, and we have created a special bond. When

my name is called, I walk up cautiously and sit on his lap. My nose is filled with his scent. He

smells like fresh spray paint. I am not sure why I always get so nervous. I have done this for

years and love Santa Claus, but there is always that feeling of butterflies in my stomach when I
walk up to him for the first time in a year. Before I leave, I tell him what I want for Christmas

this year. This particular year, I ask for a Nintendo D.S. I had been wanting one for a while but

didn’t think to ask for it until that night. Then, continuing tradition, I asked for Lucky Charms in

my stocking and gave Santa his red Costco container of cashews, which happen to be his

favorite. He thanks me and everyone else before leaving for the night to deliver presents all over

the world.

We aren’t allowed to follow him because he doesn’t want anyone to see his magic sleigh.

Being the curious child that I was, I waited until he left and no one was looking, and then I ran

to the upstairs window, waiting for his sleigh to leave the rooftop and fly out into the night. I

looked out the window and saw a faint outline of something in the sky. Attached to it were nine

reindeer. It was so swift that I almost didn’t notice that there was a second figure sitting next to

Santa Claus. I realized that the second figure was ​identical​ to Santa Claus. I looked down at the

driveway to see that my grandparent’s trash can was knocked over and it wasn’t like that when I

had arrived at their house. One of the reindeer must have accidentally knocked it over.

After I am done spying (which I later get scolded for, but I understand why), I run

downstairs for the next activity scheduled that night. Christmas Eve present time. It is the same

every year: matching cousin pajamas. All the adults get pajamas as well, but not matching ones.

I guess they aren’t as cool as us kids. My cousins, my sister, and I all rush to change out of our

formal clothes and into our red and white striped pajamas with green trim that make us look like

prisoners during Christmas time. We then (by parental demand) proceed to take cousin,

individual, and immediate family pictures in front of the Christmas tree. The tree is covered in
Santa Claus ornaments, red bows, and bright lights that cover the top and bottom of the tree but

not the middle portion because they have burnt out.

At the end of the night, we say goodnight and head home to get to sleep quickly so that

Santa Claus comes to our house and delivers our toys. When we get home, we set out a plate of

cookies and a cup of milk for Santa, and some carrots for his reindeer. This year, I also leave a

note for Santa asking about the second figure that I had seen. My sister and I then rush upstairs

to brush our teeth and we head to my bed in excitement for the following day. Before we go to

sleep, we check our computers on a website that tells us where Santa is in the world. We aren’t

supposed to do this for two reasons. The first being that we aren’t allowed to be on our

computers when we go to bed, and the second reason being that Santa doesn't want us to spy

(which I have now done twice that night). But, being children, curiosity got the best of us and

we do it anyways.

As I lie in bed trying to fall asleep, I can only hope that I landed on Santa’s nice list this

year so that I can get my Nintendo D.S. For the most part, I had been good. I was kind, helped

out a lot, and did well in school. However, I argued a lot with my parents and ran away a few

times in stores, hiding in the clothing racks. I was a bit rowdy, but I always apologize, so that

should make up for it...right? I finally close my eyes and fall asleep.

I wake up the next morning and check my alarm clock that sits on my bedside table. It

reads 8:00 AM. It is “present time”. My mom is already awake. I can smell the brewing coffee

in the kitchen and can hear Mariah Carey singing her famous “All I Want for Christmas is You”.

I shake my sister awake and then we head to my parent’s room to wake my dad. When he gets

up, he heads downstairs to get the camera ready to film us walking down the stairs while our
eyes light up with joy at the sight of Christmas gifts. While we’re waiting, my sister and I gather

our gifts to give to each other and our parents.

Finally, we hear my mom call us down. My sister and I rush down the stairs to see if

Santa has eaten his goodies and taken the carrots. A smile appears on my face when I see that

only crumbs are left on the plate, and a note sits next to the plate from Santa. In curly ALL

CAPS print, it said:

“Felicity and Faith, Thank you for the chocolate chip cookies and milk. I

enjoyed it very much. Also, thank you for the carrots! The reindeer appreciated

their little treat. You were both good this year, and I hope that you thoroughly

enjoy your gifts. Merry Christmas. Santa Claus. P.s. Felicity, I am surprised

that you noticed my friend sitting with me in the sleigh. I don’t like for people

to spy on me because I don’t want him to be seen. To answer your question, He

is me. I have created sort of a second version of myself to help me deliver all of

the presents more efficiently. Please do not speak of my secret friend to

anyone. Let’s keep this between us. Love, Santa.”

Santa didn’t have to worry about my sister discovering his secret because she couldn’t read yet,

so I just skipped that part when reading her the letter. Sitting next to the letter, Santa had placed

a golden key with his face on the top. This is what my family and I call the ‘magic key’. Every

year, we leave this key on the front door so that Santa can get into our house since we don’t have

a chimney.

Next, my sister and I open our stockings. Underneath them, on the floor, is two boxes of

Lucky Charms cereal. One for each of us. The Lucky Charms tradition started when I was
younger and asked for Lucky Charms from Santa for Christmas because my mom never bought

sugary cereal. Ever since, Santa has just given it to us every year in addition to our gift. When

we finish opening our stockings in the family room, we move to the living room to open our

presents under the tree. We always open Santa’s gift to us first. My little sister opens hers first

and finds a pink Barbie Dreamhouse that was almost as tall as her. My box isn’t nearly as big as

my sister’s was. I open my small rectangular box and find a small, soft, light pink bag with a

black drawstring. I open the bag and find a silver Nintendo D.S. with a matching light pink

string attached to carry it, and a lot of games to go with it. It was exactly what I had been

wanting. I hadn’t asked Santa for it until the night before Christmas, and he made it happen. He

knew​ that I had wanted this.

The holidays have always been fun for me. I get to shop and decorate, there is snow, the

overall vibe is joyous and kind, I get to spend time with family, and I get to see Santa Claus. He

and I have always had a special bond. He knows what I like (toys) and I know what he likes

(cashews). I think that more people should appreciate what he does. For free, he spends all year

with his helpers making toys to deliver to girls and boys around the world in one night. He does

this out of kindness and not for anything in return. Not to mention, he has flying reindeer which

is pretty freakin’ awesome.