Why Santa Loves More Than Christmas Lists

Pip Postmark had a theory.

“Santa’s favorite letters must be the longest Christmas lists,” he said. “They give him plenty to read.”

Tilly Inkwell raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s observe.”

They brought a tray to Santa’s Study and quietly worked at a nearby table.

Santa opened a letter with a list of wishes. He read it carefully.

Next came a drawing of Mrs. Claus riding a scooter.

Santa chuckled.

Then he opened a note about a child’s first swimming lesson. He leaned closer to the page.

Another child had asked whether reindeer ever get itchy antlers.

“That one will interest the Ranch,” Santa said.

The next letter contained a joke so wonderfully terrible that Santa laughed twice: once at the joke, and once at how pleased its writer must have been.

Pip made a note.

LISTS: INTERESTING.

SCOOTER MRS. CLAUS: ALSO INTERESTING.

REINDEER QUESTIONS: VERY INTERESTING.

JOKES: POSSIBLY DANGEROUS TO COCOA.

Finally, Santa opened a short message.

“I was scared to join a game. Someone made room for me.”

He rested his hand beside the letter and read it again.

Pip put down his pencil.

“What makes that one special?”

“It tells me something about this child’s life,” Santa said. “They trusted me with a moment that mattered to them.”

“Is there a best kind of letter?” Tilly asked.

“I wouldn’t rank them,” Santa replied. “Children have different things to share.”

On the way downstairs, Pip changed his theory.

Santa liked wishes. But he also liked hearing what children noticed, wondered, enjoyed, and found difficult.

A child’s letter could show a tiny piece of an enormous world.

At his stamp table, Pip wrote a note to Santa.

It was about the missing toast from the busiest mail day.

Underneath, he added a question.

Do you think it learned to fly?

Even Pip had more to share than a list.