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Santa Goes Multimedia

by Vanessa Druckman -- Being Savvy Newark

My oldest is seven, and she's getting to that age where she's questioning the magic of things. She wants to believe in Santa, but every once in a while, she gets a doubt and the look of fear on her face is so sad! The first doubting moment came last year when she realized a few days after Christmas that she had never mailed out her letter to Santa. She bought my explanation that I had sent in a copy without telling her, but I was sweating bullets.

This year I wanted to cover my bases more carefully. We made our lists together using catalogs over weeks and then we wrote out and mailed out letters to Santa. Then I found out about a really useful site that let's kids call Santa (for free!) and then generates an email with the child's wishes that can be shared with family and friends. The site is called TelSanta.com and they don't charge for this great multimedia communication with Santa. My kids got a kick out of hearing Santa's voice too.

Another neat Santa site is the NORAD website that let's you track Santa's progress as he travels around the world. Right now it features a countdown to Santa's departure (as if we needed more reminder of the time that's running out). But on Christmas eve, the fun really starts. You'll see Santa flying over various landmarks in the world as he makes his way to your house. It's wonderful to be able to work in a little geography lesson in all the holiday fun.