First, she warned, she would be smelling our breath Christmas morning for signs that WE, in fact, ate the cookies she left out for Santa. We then warned, that after sampling our breath, she might lose consciousness and miss Christmas entirely...
She discussed the note that Santa always left after his visit. Does Santa's handwriting match that of my own? She was going to conduct a little handwriting analysis to see how my writing and Santa's compared.
She surprised us both when she told us that she would be looking over our bank statements for any excessive spending on our part. Really? Man, this girl is thorough! She really was out for the truth!
Some of her friend's unbelief caused little seeds of doubt to be planted. My girl believed. And she doubted. We watched Santa movies, read Santa books, we talked about Santa. She did the traditional visit and picture with Santa at the mall. We discussed why her friends didn't believe in Santa... We just think that this time in a young girls childhood is so precious. We wanted to get one more Santa Claus Christmas in.
So it came down to Christmas Eve. This WAS a really big deal to my girl. Sure, it was cute and sweet and funny, but she was serious. During the afternoon, she asked me to Google some Santa related information. After reading about the history of Santa, we came upon the NORAD website. We read about NORAD and how they had been tracking Santa's travels for over 50 years! Within seconds, we had a map of the world on our computer screen and tiny red presents dotted parts of Africa where Santa had recently been. Not only does NORAD track Santa, they tell you exactly where he is, how long he will be there, and where his next destination is. We learned that Santa was currently in Kaduna, Nigeria. This visual representation of Santa's whereabouts was exciting!
After returning home from a Christmas Eve celebration with family, we set about preparing for Santa's visit. First, Christmas jammies! Next, a plate of cookies and carrots along with milk and a huge jug of water was set on the hearth. I read from the book of Luke about Jesus' birth. Audrey and Eric took turns reading "The Night Before Christmas". Finally, it was bedtime. We tucked the girls in and said our prayers. As I was about to leave Audrey's room, she said, "Mom, what about Santa's letter? I didn't write him a letter yet.". Oh, goodness! "Okay, yes, you're right. We didn't write Santa a letter." I say. My husband quickly brings us a pen and paper and I set out writing Audrey's words.
Dear Santa,
Thank you for all of the toys that you have brought to me. It has brought me so much joy. I remember when you got me the pink fuzzy pillow. I still use it. It is in my bed with me right now. I hope you like the milk and cookies. Tell all the reindeer that I said, "Hi!". I hope they like the carrots and the water that I got them.
Love,
Audrey
P.S. May I please have a DNA sample of some reindeer hair and some of your beard?
P.S.S. I'll leave two bags out.
The three of us went downstairs one more time to place the letter and two baggies next to the cookies. After finally tucking Audrey in bed, Eric and I headed downstairs and whispered about Audrey's bold and unusual request. We smiled. Audrey is so Audrey. I just love how she is and am honored with the privilege of being her momma.
While I didn't immediately give a lot of thought to those two empty baggies, Eric did. He said he knew exactly what he would use and went out into the garage. Luckily, he is a fly-fisherman. A fly-fisherman to the core which means he ties his own flies and had a plethora of materials to choose from. For Santa's beard, he used calf tail. For reindeer hair, he used elk hair. He carefully placed snippets of each in the bags and labeled them using his best Santa writing.
Santa's response:
Dear Audrey and Ava,
You both are too sweet! Thanks to the both of you for being so good this year. The milk and cookies were wonderful and I really loved the brownies. The reindeer wanted me to thank you for the carrots and the water as well. Audrey, you will find samples of my beard hair and reindeer hair in the bags you provided. I am so glad that you believe in me and want to prove it to your friends. I love you both very much and hope that you have a wonderful Christmas.
Santa Claus
And what happened Christmas morning? Our little doubter became a full-fledged believer. Excitement, screaming, joy...! Our girl was unbelievably happy that Santa fulfilled her request! She finally had the proof she needed. If you ask her what her favorite Christmas present was, she says the baggies Santa left her of his and his reindeer's hair. The Wii comes in second.
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