How to Get Evidence of Santa Claus

If you have a young one who is just starting to ask those questions about the validity of the jolly old elf, a little bit of evidence that Santa Claus has visited your home may be in order. A little creativity on the part of parents can help put the magic back into Christmas for your children.

Instructions

1. Leave crumbs. Santa's milk and cookies should never be eaten completely or neatly. When Christmas morning arrives, explain to your child that Santa could only eat half of one of the cookies because he had already eaten 47 dozen cookies that night and his Santa suit was getting tight. Rudolph, however, has an enormous appetite, and can share his goodies with eight other reindeer, so leave carrots for him to gobble up. A few chewed up carrot crumbs are good evidence of a deer's messy nibbling.

2. Sacrifice your carpet. A few well placed sooty footprints on the living room rug show that the fat man in the red suit didn't wipe his feet after coming down the chimney. Suggest to your child that you should leave a bathmat next to the fireplace for Santa to wipe his boots on. Leave the mess on the rug, and you create evidence of his visit while sparing your floors.

3. Head up to the roof. Bundle up after the children are in bed and stomp around a bit to let your kids know he has arrived. Jingle a sleigh bell or two for the full effect. Make sure the kids know that if they actually see Santa, he has to leave without dropping off the loot. This prevents them from jumping out of bed to catch you at your tricks.

4. Leave a note. Muster up a fancy script handwriting and leave a note from Santa Claus to your child. Mention something specific from the past few days to show that he has been paying attention to whether your child has been naughty or nice. Use a gold or silver pen so that the note looks authentic. Make sure to hide the pen after the fact in a place it will never be found.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't perpetuate the Santa Claus myth beyond a certain point. Elaborate schemes to prolong the belief may backfire and leave you with a child who feels badly that their parents went to such extremes to promote what is essentially a lie, even if it is with good intentions.