Almost every kid looks forward to writing their letters to Santa. It’s become a Christmas tradition in homes around the world and it’s often cute to see what our kids are asking for in their Santa letters, especially if they happen to misspell a word or two.
But a seven-year-old child in the UK has reminded us just how lucky we (and our kids) have it with her Santa letter, politely asking for three simple things. A home, food and a doll.
Compare this to another letter, written by a ten-year-old in America whose list includes more than $10,000 worth of stuff, and, well, let’s just say they are worlds apart.
A tale of two Santa letters
One will break the bank; the other will break your heart.
Santa Letter #1
Most of us take things like food and shelter for granted. But not this little girl whose simple request, while barely legible, certainly makes a strong statement.
The letter was found at the Liverpool Six Community Centre – an association that supplies food to those in need – by local Labour councillor Gerard Woodhouse. The little girl had left it in a Christmas post box in the cafe. Mr Woodhouse shared the letter on his Twitter page.Â
The little girl writes,Â
Dear Father Christmas. Can you help?
Can we have a home for Christmas? Mam wants us to be all together. Can you give us some food and can I have just a nice doll for Christmas?Â
Thank you”
Heartbreaking, right? And it’s not just us who think so.
“It was so upsetting to read,” Mr Woodhouse wrote. “I know the children, and it’s not right that a seven-year-old child is worrying about Christmas in November. There is no one around to support these children.”
Now, compare this Santa letter to another Santa letter written by a ten-year-old girl from Los Angeles and shared by her father, Mr Johnson on his Twitter feed.
Santa letter # 2
There are no requests for food and shelter on this list. Instead, she asks for Gucci slides, an iPhone 11 and a MacBook Air. Not to mention a real bunny, a Go Pro, a Chanel purse and $4000 in cold hard cash.
And these are just a selection of the items on her list, which features 23 different things for a grand total of at least $10,000. She’s also asked for air pods, a selection of LOL dolls and clothes for her new bunny. Oh, plus pink duct tape, glue, food colouring and laundry detergent.
“My 10-year-old daughter must be out of her mind with this Christmas list,” the father wrote with the picture of the pricey letter.
Letters go viral
Both of these letters to Santa have made the rounds on social media with hundreds of people commenting on the letters.
While the second letter left us all giggling at the extravagance, the first letter has received an outpouring of support for the little girl, her family and the thousands of other families in a similar position. The GoFundMe account for the L6 Community Centre is now almost at its £20,000 goal with donations pouring in over the past week.
Nobody should go hungry, not at Christmas, not ever. We hope this little girl’s Christmas wish comes true.
How to helpÂ
If you would like to help a family in need this year, USPS operates an Operation Santa where families can read letters from disadvantaged families and send them items from their list. At this stage, all the letters have been adopted, but it’s worth checking back.
Additional foundations that would love your support over Christmas include:
