All Rileyed Up

When my niece was 8 or so, we were all together for Christmas and watched her open her gifts from Santa. They were exactly what she asked for but she didn’t seem quite so happy about it. When pressed, we discovered that she had seen the presents in the trunk of her mother’s car several days before and had put two and two together: Santa, her mother - the one and the same.

It’s a bittersweet moment to witness the realization of Santa’s true identity, no? I tend towards the notion that Santa was never a real person, but the spirit of Christmas. Call me Carol Brady, but there is something that is still exciting about going to sleep on Christmas Eve and wondering what the morning will bring.

Years ago, in 1897, a little girl wrote a letter to the New York Sun and asked the editor if Santa was real. The letter prompted an editorial with the line, “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” Macy’s, our favorite department store of The Miracle on 34th Street and Thanksgiving Day Parade fame, is using this line to launch their Campaign to Believe this holiday season.

It’s really quite simple. Do you believe? If you do, write a letter to Santa, stamp and address it to “Santa at the North Pole,” and drop it off in one of Macy’s special Santa mailboxes.

FOR EVERY LETTER THEY RECEIVE, MACY’S WILL DONATE $1.00 TO THE MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION, UP TO ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children suffering life-threatening diseases. The group started upon hearing the words “I want to be a police officer,” from a seven-year-old boy named Chris, who had leukemia.

Have you ever wished for something?

So did Chris:

Christopher James Greicius , August 8, 1972 - May 3, 1980

Give these kids something to believe in.

More info on Macy’s Campaign to Believe here.