This time of year always takes me back to my childhood.
I remember being 7 or 8 years old — that age when you think you’re old enough to outsmart your parents — and coming up with clever ways to prove Santa wasn’t real.
My twin sister and me would write letters to Santa on Christmas Eve and leave them out with the cookies and old-fashioned bottle of Coke. Our letters usually contained some sly request or another like, “if you are real, can we have your autograph?”
Finding that signature above the dotted line we had carefully drawn was almost more exciting than the mountain of presents in our living room.
A couple of years later when our fourth grade teacher let it slip to our class that Santa was not exactly real (imagine a class full of shocked, bright-eyed 9-year-olds who had not figured it out yet!) I of course realized that it was not Santa at all who had signed his autograph. Our parents had forged the signature.
I am not a parent yet, but I’m immensely grateful for parents who kept the magic of Santa alive as long as they did. I get a kick out of seeing other parents find creative ways to prove to their children that Santa is real so when the presents appear on Christmas morning, boys and girls truly believe that big man in red shimmied down the chimney to drop off the loot.
The fact that “Santa is watching” so he can form his naughty and nice lists is just an added bonus, right?
Parents these days have amped up the facade, moving around stuffed elf dolls, installing “Santa cams” to patrol for bad behavior and even “tracking” Santa on his journey with the NORAD tracker.
We at Leader Publications have our own tradition to keep the magic of Christmas alive. Once again, youngsters in southwest Michigan can submit letters to Santa and we’ll publish them so not only Old St. Nick gets to take a look, but everyone else in the community does, too.
New this year, children can show off their typing skills — or enlist the help of parents — by submitting their letters on our website. Look for the “Letters to Santa” tab in bright red at leaderpub.com.
If you prefer to write your letters the old-fashioned way, that’s fine, too! Fill out one of the forms in your newspaper or send it in on plain paper and mail it to 217 N. Fourth St., in Niles.
We’re happy to help your kiddos hang on to the magic of Christmas another season. We won’t tell if you won’t!

Ambrosia Neldon is the general manager at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.