A letter to Santa

Dear Santa

I bet you don’t get many letters from 13 year olds! Actually I feel a bit stupid writing this. If the other girls at school find out about it they’ll tease me rotten. I mean, writing to someone who doesn’t exist? Crazy! But I see it like this. My school is a religious one and every day we like pray and stuff to a god who we’ve never seen. If I’m supposed to believe he exists then why shouldn’t I believe in you? Okay, he was supposed to have done a load of miracles thousands of years ago, but then so have you. And more recently too.

For instance, right now you are in every shopping mall in the country at the same time. Clever. And you like deliver presents to every child in the world on the same night. If they aren’t miracles then I don’t what are. (I don’t believe I just wrote that! I guess I’m like just trying to persuade myself that you are more than just a thousand different people in fancy dress!)

The thing is me and my mates were fooling about on your website and my friend found my name on your naughty list! Me, naughty? Me? Anyway, it looks like you won’t be popping down my chimney on Christmas night (which I’ve really felt happy about) so I came up with an idea.

It’s this. My Dad is away. Not ordinary away, he’s in Afghanistan. He’s a soldier you see. I miss him sooooo much. It’s like so unfair that he will be over there at Christmas. He said not to worry. He said they’ll have turkey and stuff, and we were allowed to send him little presents – mine is a photo of me getting a certificate on parents day at school. He was one of the only fathers not there. So I thought that as I won't be getting a present from you this year it would be great if you could take him a present from Lapland instead. Please say you will.

I’m sorry about that smudge down there. I try not to cry when I think about Daddy, but sometimes I have no choice, and a tear just dripped onto the paper. I made a bit of a mess where I tried to wipe it up. I should really start again on a new bit of paper but I know that if I don’t send you this letter, I’ll tell myself the whole thing is stupid and I won’t write another. I’m going to post it straight away. Do I need a stamp?

Love and kisses

Pheobe Pinkerton  xxx

Written for Carry On Christmas. Please join in.