Thank you Santa Claus,

Growing up I started thinking about Christmas after Halloween. Yes, Thanksgiving, I do enjoy stuffing my face with delicious food, but Christmas is just the icing on top of the cake for the year.

Santa Claus, you truly are my first long distance best friend. I sent you letters every year. Sometimes you responded, but I knew you were busy with every single kid in the world so you didn’t always get to me. Santa, I knew you were always there when I asked for something. I wanted to be on the nice list so bad, when my parents would say, “Santa is always watching,” I truly believed them. I believed that a big man in the North Pole who surrounds himself with three feet tall elves somehow could watch me. Creepy, now that I look back at it.

Santa, I just want to say thank you for making me happy for so many years. I made a list, and you checked it twice. You got everything right, and the only way I could say thank you every year was with cookies and milk. That’s all you wanted, Santa; I would of given you the world if I could.

Thank you, Santa, for showing me that miracles do happen. If an overweight man with a snow white beard can fly around the whole world with nine reindeer and then somehow magically fit down a chimney and deliver gifts to every boy and girl, then anything can happen.

Thank you, Santa, for bringing joy, happiness and excitement to the millions of people in the world, it seems that everyone gets a joint of energy when December flips open to the calendar. People’s bad news seems to disappear for a few days of the year. They put all their responsibilities on the back burner and instead of dealing with them, they look to you. Thank you for that, thank you for always having the millions of people’s backs.

Thank you Santa for always having a knee to sit on. It seems so harmless, right? Just go sit on Santa’s lap and tell him everything you want this year. No, Santa, I know your knees have to be achy, that the millions of kids sitting on your lap during the holidays has to be a wear and tear on you, but just know that we are all thankful for you just for little things like that.

Santa, thank you for bringing my family together every year, and that my family has made it another year together. Without you, my family wouldn’t have a reason to come around and give gifts to each other to show how much we actually care for each other.

From the bottom my heart, Santa Claus, I say thank you for the past 20 years.

P.S I would like a red riffle bb gun for Christmas -- oh, and maybe a new car if you're really feeling generous.