The Preschooler

Letter to Santa

Sitting on Santa’s lap was a bit of a traumatic experience for my younger son.  He never liked the larger-than-life characters dressed up in costumes, and new experiences were not his cup of tea.  Santa was no exception.

Whether it was a fear of new people or the white beard and red suit, I am not really sure.  Either way, my son was not about to take the risk even if it meant not telling him what he wanted for Christmas.  Thankfully, Santa still receives requests via snail mail, and each year I seize the opportunity to reinforce the steps necessary for writing a friendly letter.

Of course, at three- and four-years-old, I cannot expect my preschooler to simply pick up a pencil (or crayon, for that matter), and start writing his letter on college-ruled paper.  However, I can demonstrate the format for writing such a letter.

After writing the date (which is not only part of a friendly letter, but also serves to record the moment for years later), we begin our letter in the traditional way…”Dear Santa”.  For the body of the letter, I do my best not to tell my son what to say, but I may ask questions to get him thinking.  For example, I may begin by asking, “Have been good this year?” and then, of course, “What do you want to ask Santa for as a Christmas present this year?”  We then end the letter with some type of salutation, such as “Love” or “Your friend” and my son will sign his name to the best of his abilities.

Your child will have fun, and at the same time gain knowledge about the format of writing a friendly letter.  He will begin to understand the parts of the letter, as well as where those aspects are located on the paper.  To extend the lesson, be sure to follow up by addressing the envelope to Santa complete with a return address.  Just be sure to retrieve the letter from the mailbox after your child is in bed so that you can preserve these memories for years to come!

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Written by Laura on November 28, 2011