Each year, people go to extravagant lengths to make Christmas as wonderful and magical as possible. But apart from the parties, decorations and gifts, part of the splendor of this holiday is seeing the excitement on children's faces as they write to Santa and wonder if they've made the naughty or nice list. The month of December brings so much joy and magic in our lives, and hopefully last the whole year long. You can help by keeping the magic of Santa alive with these 5 ideas:
Create sleigh tracks in the snow
On Christmas Eve, children listen for the thump of hoofs on the rooftop, signaling the arrival of Santa in his sleigh. This Christmas Eve, after the kiddos have fallen asleep, drag a two-by-four (or other plank of wood) in parallel lines across the yard leaving "sleigh marks" in the snow. On Christmas morning, let your children see Santa's trail-living proof that he was there last night!
Sprinkle glitter on the ground
We all know that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer leads Santa's sleigh of reindeer through the starry sky each Christmas Eve. Before the kids wake up on Christmas morning, sprinkle red glitter around the yard-making a clear trail where Rudolph and the other reindeer parked the sleigh before jumping to the next house to deliver more toys. You can also leave out a pile of carrots out for the reindeer that get "eaten" by Christmas morning.
Catch Santa on camera
After all, seeing is believing, right? Install an indoor camera near the Christmas tree so you can spy on Santa as he delivers presents this year. Simply catch a glimpse of his red suit and boots, or perhaps a video snippet of his gloved hand filling up the stockings. Kids will love watching the video feed that shows Santa in their own home.
Leave Santa a spare key
Perhaps you live in an apartment or a home without a chimney. Don't worry, Santa can still get in and leave presents for good boys and girls. Before you tuck the kids into bed on Christmas Eve, have them place a spare key under the front porch mat so Santa can let himself in. Then, on Christmas morning, have the kids check under the mat and they'll notice it's gone! Strategically place the key near the tree to convince the young ones he used the key to drop of gifts (after eating some cookies and milk, of course!).
Receive a letter signed by Mr. Claus
Each year, more than 1 million Americans send letters to Mr. Claus. This year, have Santa write a letter back to your kids clarifying a gift request or to let them know their letter was received. Kids will love opening a letter addressed to them and signed by Santa.
These added touches will help make this holiday more magical. Even more than all the presents, you'll love seeing the joy in your child's face when they wake up to discover that Santa really did visit this year.
