Mom says you have to believe in Santa if you want presents on Christmas.

Sometimes I find this hard to do, like when I see Santa at the mall and he looks different from the Santa I saw last year. If I mention this to my mom she tells me never to talk about that. She says if I do, I won’t get any presents on Christmas. She told me to always assume that it’s just Santa’s magic at work.

Last Christmas I took my little sister to the park. I had snow ball fights with my friends while she built a snow man.

We saw Santa at the park that day. He came over and handed each of us a little, unwrapped present. He told us that we were all good boys and girls. He told my sister that her present was in his sleigh because it was too big to carry.

My sister went with him, but she never came back. The police officers asked us so many questions but we all insisted it was just Santa – big, jolly and red. That was all we knew.

I got so many presents that year – more than usual. I’m so glad I didn’t tell anyone that Santa had looked a lot like our neighbor, Mr. Wilkens. And I’m glad I didn’t tell them that I saw my sister get into his blue pick-up truck instead of a sleigh. Mom says never to talk about that stuff, that it’s just Santa’s magic at work. And she says you have to believe in Santa if you want presents on Christmas.