How to Keep Your Child Believing in Santa

This can be a simple letter that your child can write to Santa Claus. Children absolutely love to write a letter to Santa, but they occasionally need a little parental guidance to pull it off.

Help your child include a special list of gifts they desire for Christmas into the Santa letter. Many children enjoy getting more creative by drawing or cutting out pictures that represent the gifts they want.

Once the child's Santa letter is finished, simply mail it to the North Pole. Mail it to the following Santa Claus address:
Santa Claus
1 Candy Cane Lane
North Pole 00001.

Don't bother using a return address, you wouldn't want it to return as 'undeliverable' for any reason.

Create a personalized letter from Santa by directly mentioning your child's name and certain information about your child in the text. This will make for a much more believable Santa letter. Be sure to make these letters from Santa different for each child in the same household. The child will have no doubt that Santa Claus is coming to town after they receive their personalized letter from Santa!

Print the Santa letter on authentic looking letterhead, as this will help to reinforce the believability. Many different styles of paper can be found at your local office supply store.

You can add to the fun by getting your letter from Santa postmarked at the North Pole. Simply send your Santa letter inside another sealed, stamped envelope to:
North Pole Christmas Cancellation
Postmaster
5400 Mail Trail
Fairbanks, AK 99709-9999.
(It needs to arrive by December 15th)

Many parents add a certificate for being on Santa's "Nice List" along with the Santa Letter for added effect. Another great item to add with the Santa letter is a Santa Claus coloring sheet. Combining the personalized Santa letter, the nice certificate, and the Santa Claus coloring sheet is a sure fire method for keeping your child believing.

Drop off larger store-bought gifts at a friend's or relative's for secret storage. You don't want the little ones to find the gifts before Santa arrives. Also, send toys and gifts ordered on-line to a friend or relative's home just in case they are sent with the box showing.

Once in a while, purchase a gift that your kids have been pleading for but you've vetoed! In my house, I had refused to buy Bratz dolls for my little girl, but Santa put a few mini Bratz in her stocking. Santa has a mind of his own!

I usually have a gift or two for each child under the tree that is from me and my husband - clearly showing that we are not Santa!

Before wrapping the gifts, take the time to assemble the toys and insert batteries where needed. For those toys that are practically bolted into the box, snip the ties, clips, and strings beforehand and place the toy back into the box! Nothing is worse than struggling with scissors and wire cutters while your child is not so patiently waiting!

Purchase separate wrapping paper and ribbon to be used only on Santa's gifts (unlike something you might typically like!). Choose a unique pattern for each child in your family. Dispose of all extra paper and ribbon in a black trash bag - no reusing here!

It can be fun to leave one or two larger gifts unwrapped and assembled under the tree.

This is simple enough to do with your child. It lets your child know YOU still believe, too. Make it a bonding experience for you and your child by baking the cookies together on Christmas Eve. Don't underestimate how powerful this can be for creating joyful memories of Santa Claus, for both you and your child. Did you know that Santa's favorite cookie recipe is Chocolate Chip?

Put the fresh cookies on a plate next to a glass of cold milk. You can even put a short letter to Santa Claus next to the cookies and milk. These tasty treats will give Santa the energy he needs to continue traveling to the millions of other households awaiting his arrival.

Don't forget to leave some crumbs on the table Christmas morning. Your child will feel honored that Santa Claus ate the whole plate of cookies and drank all of the milk before rushing on his way.

Santa Claus gets milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, but what about Rudolph and the rest of the joyful gang? What do they eat? Well, reindeer food, of course!

You can make a batch of environmentally friendly reindeer food with common grocery items such as oats or granola. (Do not use potentially hazardous items, such as glitter in your reindeer food. Although this may make the reindeer food appear to be magical in some way, it can be extremely dangerous if ingested by small children, should they decide to 'sample' the reindeer food. It can also be potentially hazardous to the small animals outside such as rabbits, dogs, or cats that may eat the food.)

Once you have the reindeer food mixed up, walk outside with your child on Christmas Eve night and explain the importance of making sure Santa's sleigh team stays fed. Sprinkle a small amount onto your yard near bushes or trees.

This healthy reindeer snack will give Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer the nourishment they need to continue flying Santa's heavy sleigh into the night. Your child will be proud for helping Santa Claus on his journey, and is sure to raise the belief in Rudolph and the other reindeer as well.

Being sure to not stain your carpet, leave some dirty boot prints by the fireplace (or doorway). Be sure to draw attention to the Santa Claus footprints on Christmas morning. To a child, this is solid evidence that Santa had been to their house.

This not only keeps your child believing, but reminds your child that Santa is in their hearts all year long. It also answers the common question posed by children after Christmas, "Where is Santa Claus now?"

Be sure to make the postcard from somewhere very warm and sunny. After all, Santa does need a break from all that North Pole snow.

This technique works in tandem with the personalized Santa letter you mailed your child previously. Mailing your child a simple birthday card from Santa is an excellent way to keep your child's belief high throughout the year. Your child will think, "Wow! Santa actually knows my birthday!" The shock on your child's face will be priceless.

The Elf on the Shelf is a Christmas Tradition that our family started Christmas 2009. My daughter has enjoyed it so much!

The Elf has a very important job. He is assigned to watch over your family and report back to Santa each night about who has been naughty or nice that day. By morning he's back but he's in a different place in the house for a daily hide-and-seek ritual that will delight your kids and adults alike.

It is a fun tradition to sit down together at the beginning of the Christmas season and read the book. The kids can name the Elf and enter the name on the certificate at the back of the book. Our Elf is Calvin. You can also go online and register your Elf on the author's web site. This Elf is a fun way to bring the family closer together at the hectic Holidays and remind us of the good ol' fashioned Christmas spirit.

We all know that the elves work for Santa. But who knew you could have one work in your own home?