A CEDAR Vale woman has spread some Christmas joy by writing personalised letters from Santa for children.
The woman, who asked not be named because she did not want any recognition, said she had just wanted to do something good in the community.
She posted in community groups on social media offering to write a letter to people’s children, purporting to be from Santa.
She asked for $2 to cover costs, including postage.
The adults asking for the letters to be written provided basic information so the letters could be personalised.
“In just two days, I received quite a few responses and ended up writing about 40 letters,” she said.
Unable to meet more demand with her daughter on school holidays, she has removed her posts.
One lady whose son received a letter last week wrote saying the smile and joy from the letter had been priceless.
“You can’t change the world in one day but you can change someone’s world for one day,” the recipient wrote.
The secret Santa said she had written about what the children wanted for Christmas, and sometimes mentioned that Mrs Claus was making hot chocolate or wrote about the reindeer.
“I used to organise a Christmas party for kids with special needs, but I had an accident at work and can’t do that anymore,” she said.
“I know what it was like when my daughter and my girlfriend’s son got the Santa letters I wrote for them.
“They were very excited so I just wanted to do something for other people.”
The secret Santa said there was an element of surprise for the children, especially because they would wonder how Santa knew their names, their sibling’s names and other things mentioned in the letters.
“It is a feel-good thing for me, for the kids receiving the letter and for the parents,” she said.
“One mum said she was overwhelmed to see the expression on her son’s face when she read the letter to him.”
The woman has not ruled out doing the letters next year but said she would need to get ready in advance to get enough letters written before the festive season.
