Santa sees you when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake, but sometimes he needs a little help with what kids want for Christmas. For many kids, writing a letter to Santa is a staple in their holidays, making a meticulous list of what should be under the tree on Christmas morning. On December 2, students in English classes throughout Davie High School congregated in the Learning Commons, ready to become the newest elves in Santa’s workshop.
Letters from Santa was a project started by Ashley Snider last year in her English IV classes. Parents or guardians were given the opportunity to fill out a form with information about their child, and this information was given to a Davie student who was then tasked with writing a letter to that child, a letter from Santa himself.
A huge part of Christmas time in modern-day America is Santa and his magical Christmas gifts. Santa made his way to the US around the late 1800s century through Dutch Immigrants celebrating the anniversary of the Death of Saint Nicholas. Then towards the mid-1900th Century, there was an increase in the idea of Christmas shopping. Different malls around the country would have models or people dressed up as Santa Claus to attract guests and customers. In 1823, Clement Clarke Moore released the poem—or, more famously, the book—“Twas the Night Before Christmas,” which is considered to be the first time our modern-day Santa was presented. This story continued to grow into the jolly man in a red suit we know today.
Last year, due to the efforts of Snider’s senior classes, this project sent 116 kids a letter from Santa. This year, however, brought a different challenge. The demand for more Christmas magic grew exponentially as the word got out about this project. After the sign-up form was posted on social media, the responses flooded in. Snider was shocked and realized this may not be a project for only her English IV students.
“What have I gotten myself into?” Snider thought. “Just excitement, but also an undertone of anxiety in knowing that that responsibility was on my shoulders. I am not a person who asks for help easily or accepts help easily. So that was a challenge for me to lean on my colleagues and make sure that I trusted them, and they did a wonderful job.”
The English department railed behind her like a village—in this case, Santa’s Village—to make sure all of these kids got a letter. In total, 521 students across the classes nine English teachers wrote a letter. Snider was maybe not ready to accept the help, but as the letter requests continued to come in, she faced the shock and asked for help.
The Learning Commons was filled every class period for a week. As the days went on, it truly started to look like Santa’s workshop. With students at the couches and tables—and some even on the floor—writing and decorating letters, the magic of Christmas came alive. After the letters were finished, they were signed by Santa, and each letter included an extra bit of magic: “snow” all the way from the North Pole. Letters were then sealed with wax and sent to Anchorage, Alaska, where they were given the official stamp authorizing the letters as coming from the North Pole. Not only will these letters bring magic to kids but they brought some magic back to the high schoolers. Alyssa Marion, a junior at Davie, can reminisce on writing a letter to Santa when she was younger, but it’s a new kind of magic to be on the other side.
“It was really fun,” Marion says. “I’m so glad that I can bring the magic to all these younger kids to enjoy and for them to feel the happiness I felt when I got letters from Santa.”
As the letters leave Anchorage, they are sent to the awaiting kids, not just in North Carolina but all around the country. When the post on social media garnered more attention, it led to people not in Davie County to fill out the form. Letters went to Arkansas, New York Florida, and West Virginia, along with other places in North Carolina. Another pleasant surprise was the option to have the letter written in Spanish. The ESL students at Davie were able to participate and sent out eight letters in Spanish. The hope is for next year to increase the number of non-English letters and reach more kids.
With Christmas quickly approaching, the letters will start to reach kids, and while Snider has not yet heard from any parents, she is awaiting those emails. The stories of pure joy are what keep this project going for her because it can be a lot to handle.
“I’m still in the mode of ‘I don’t know if I even want to do this to myself next year again,’” Snider says. “I need to see the reactions and see the joy and experience before making that decision, but more than likely, knowing myself, I will do it again.”
