Page 24 - Publishing Inspiration Christmas Card 2020

prepared for me, the children flocked to get in

line. With the children in the group and all of
their siblings, there were probably more than fifty
of them.

One of the first to come to me was a little
girl who was around seven. She stopped in front
of me and looked right into my eyes.

"Are you the real Santa?" she asked.
I love to help children believe in the magic

of Christmas, and I laughed a deep Santa chuckle.
"Of course I am."
"Then am I naughty, or am I nice?" she said
in a somewhat defiant tone.

I considered the type of child that would ask
such a question and used that logic to answer.

"You," I replied, "are a bit mischievous. But you
are still a good girl."
I must have nailed it. Her face showed her

amazement. "You are the real Santa!"
She then leaned up close and told me that for
Christmas, she really wanted an American Girl

doll. I talked to her briefly about American Girl
movies, and she left with a candy cane.
One little girl asked me for a robot cat.

"Do you have a dog to terrorize with it?"
She said no, so I said, "Then what fun is a robot

cat?"
Her parents laughed. I told them that when I

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