Santa's Nice List

So how, exactly, do you get on Santa's Nice List anyway? Every parent has a different answer to that question and now you can make sure your kids know exactly what they need to do to get on your (oops, I mean... ) SANTA's Nice List this year.

All you need to do is customize the free Nice List Guide from Package from Santa with five things your child needs to do in order to make the list. You can choose from common options such as "remember your manners" or "be nice to your brother/sister" or you can fill in your own options. The list is already populated with five other items Santa wants all kids to do - be kind, respect your family, smile, help others, and believe in Santa Claus!

After you enter all your options, simply provide a valid email address and Package from Santa will email you a link where you can go to print your personalized Nice List Guide.

Then relax and forget the nagging. You'll have a handy reminder you can point to every time your child is in danger of ending up on Santa's Naughty List. So they'll be on their best behavior through the holidays!

Of course, if you print out a list of rules your kids need to follow to get on Santa's Nice List and they actually stick to those rules until Christmas, you'll want to reward them for their good behavior. A Nice List certificate from Santa is a great reminder that Santa always knows if you've been bad or good.

If you're going with a purchased Santa letter, several of the top companies offer very professional, authentic-looking certificates that are sure to make your kids feel special for making the good list (see below).

If you want to save some money and print your own at home, you can purchase a printable Santa's Nice List certificate like the one shown at left for $3.99 at Christmas Letter Tips.com. The best thing about this certificate is that you can use it over and over for all the children in your family, so you'll never have to pay for another Nice List certificate.

You'll also find Santa's Nice List certificates at Santa Letter Templates.com. You can buy them separately or paired with printable Santa letters, such as the letter and certificate shown at the top of this section.

Or, if you're willing to sign up for a free trial membership at American Greetings, you can get a copy of the Santa's Nice List shown below. To get to the Santa's Nice List certificate, visit American Greetings and click Browse all Printables. Then select the Christmas category. You'll need to sign up for a free trial, which includes giving them your billing information, before you can print it out.

If you have time and want to make your printable list seem even more authentic, use the USPS' Christmas mailing service to get a Santa postmark or North Pole postmark for your Good List certificate.

There's a great new service called Instaletter that allows you to create Santa letters, Santa Good List certificates and letters from other characters such as the Easter Bunny and Cupid. For an annual membership fee of just $14.99, you can create unlimited professional quality Good List certificates and Santa letters to print at home. The system is easy to use, and if you have two or more kids in your family, it's a great bargain.

If your kids have been really good, you may want to splurge for an authentic-looking Good List or Nice List certificate from Santa, and if you're already planning to purchase a Christmas letter from Santa, these are great add-ons.

Imaginary Greetings offers Santa's Good List Certificates like the one shown here. They're printed on heavy stock, are signed by Santa and his chief elf, and include a "hoof print of approval" from Rudolph. They also have a gold foil seal to make the document look very authentic.

Package from Santa offers a very official-looking Santa's Nice List certificate. Like the Good List certificate above, it is not only signed by Santa himself, but also has a hoofprint from Rudolph and a gold foil seal to add authenticity.

Both certificates are personalized with your child's name and year.

Another alternative is to buy a Nice List announcement card. This simple card can be customized at Zazzle to include your child's name. The outside of the card says, "Look Who's On Santa's Nice List!" and the inside says, "Congratulations! You're on my Nice List this year. I'm so proud of you! Love, Santa." If you don't have a printer or don't want to sign up for the free trial to use the printable option above, this is an inexpensive alternative that allows you to have a professionally printed card with your child's name on it.

Customizable Santa's Nice List Card by IndiaL
Design notecards with zazzle

Disney has a fun way to show your kids that they've made it on Santa's Nice List. Simply register or login to Disney Family, upload your child's photo and name, and click a couple of buttons. You'll get a cute video you can play for your child or email to family or friends to show that your child has made the list. Unfortunately, there appears to be only one version of the video and you can't add two names, so if you've got two kids, you won't be able to make separate videos for each of them (unless, of course, you think they won't notice that Santa and Mrs. Claus are saying and doing the exact same thing in both videos). The service is completely free and is available now through December 25.