Last year, 8-year-old Seanie emailed Santa, hoping that forgiveness from past crimes would move him to the “nice” list.
“Sory bout the exlaxx in the milk last yeer,” the boy wrote, “Poppa wasnt to happi.”
In this electronic age, more and more kids are choosing to email Santa, rather than drop a letter addressed to the North Pole in the mailbox.Alan Kerr launched EmailSanta.com in 1996, after a postal strike in Calgary, Alberta made it impossible for his nieces and nephews to mail wish lists to Santa.
Kerr received 100,000 emails in a few weeks. “It wasn’t like nowadays where domain names are pretty obvious,” Kerr said. “Back then, the URL was longer than Santa’s beard. It wasn’t something people would find by accident.”
Today’s tech-savvy kids have new means for getting in touch with St. Nick now that websites such as Kerr’s are in business. Santa is even on Twitter, and kids cann follow his tweets at @KringleClaus. Kerr even sees to it that Santa responds to kids’ emails. Kids can also watch Santa pout over his lists and look over his maps on the 24/7 Webcam.
Pre-Thanksgiving, the website received a letter every 30 seconds, from South Africa, Ecuador, the US, and Ireland. Kerr expects the daily number to grow as Christmas gets closer.
While kids these days are more technologically adept, they also have a lot more on their minds. While Kerr said in the early years, kids asked for things like Barbies, bikes, and puppies, kids nowadays have more serious things on their minds.
One child wrote:
“I just wish that the parents of a friend of mine really loved him (which they don’t), as he now lives in an Aid Center for kids and I want him to get out of there!”
One 7-year-old wanted to make sure Santa knew where she’d be:
“Santa, you know how it is nowadays, my parents are divorced, so please put me on your special delivery list to come 2 nights, Christmas Eve at Mom’s and Christmas night at Dad’s. Thank you!”
Carole S. Slotterback, a professor of psychology at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and author of “The Psychology of Santa,” said kids open up to Santa about their most heartfelt concerns.
“It’s more than just presents,” Slotterback said. “He’s kind of a confidant.”
As for Kerr, he likes seeing kids pick up crayons and paper and write a good ol’ fashioned letter. “But on the other hand,” he admits, “it is a different era we’re living in now.”
More kids are asking for electronics than toys this year, while others are asking for intangibles, like parents who don’t fight or health for grandma.
Will your child write Santa an email or a letter this year?