“Go see Santa. You said you wanted to see him, now GO!” The child screamed in fear. I held out my hand and showed her the mall coloring book, but nothing I could do or say would allay her fear. In frustration the grandmother said, “I give up. You’re just mean!”…. Trying to be a peacemaker, I said to the grandmother, “It’s common for a three-year-old to be terrified of Santa…..” The grandmother shot back, “She’s not afraid. She’s an evil witch.” Sarah Chana Dadcliffe, M. Ed., C. Psych. Assoc. said it best. “Whatever you say goes deep into their little subconscious minds. Deep, deep down, where it will haunt them for the rest of their lives.”

Every once and a while a Mall Santa gets asked a big question.....

A few days before Christmas two years ago, a nine-year-old girl came to see me. She didn’t have a lot of items on her Christmas list, but she loved the warmth and security of sitting on my lap. She didn’t want to leave. Finally I asked her, “Is there anything else you would like to talk to Santa about?” She paused and answered, “Well yes, why do they call it Christmas?”