“May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.”
I love Christmas! I love how it draws us all together year after year. The traditions it brings allow us to marvel in simplicity, to be childlike again...at least for a little while.
One tradition we have in West Liberty is Letters to Santa! We’ve received more than 300 letters from West Liberty’s children from preschool through second grade. That’s a good 17 classrooms worth of Christmas wishes!
We had so many children come into our office during the Holiday Open House, eager to sit down and write a letter to Santa. I had to assure one of them that his letter was going straight to the North Pole.
What a wonderful event! Thanks to everyone involved, including all our local businesses, the City of West Liberty and, especially, the West Liberty Chamber of Commerce.
With all these letter’s I believe we’ve captured that Christmas spirit once again! I wonder how many of our children will look to the sky, hoping to see Santa Claus among the stars.
A special thank you to our wonderful teachers for helping our students write and compose all these letters. It’s no simple task, but one worthy of the time and effort.
Every year brings new toys and trends; and yet, there are the classics. For instance, dinosaurs are big right now…literally and figuratively! Just read these two letters:
Dear Santa,
My name is Jesus. I am four years old. I have been good this year and I hope you can bring me this present: Dinosaurs – Adonis Rex and Scorpios Rex.
Sincerely, Jesus
Dear Santa,
My name is Jorge. I am five years old. I have been good this year and I hope you can bring me this present: an Indominus Rex, a Velociraptor, and an Allosaurus. My mom would like a new coat and some earrings. How is Rudolf? I love you, Santa! Merry Christmas!
Sincerely, Jorge
Barbie also made a big comeback this year, perhaps due to the blockbuster smash that was the Barbie Movie over the summer. Oh yeah, Pokemon is still popular! This young girl had it all covered:
Dear Santa,
I like you Santa because you deliver presents. Santa I would like a Princess Barbie with pink clothes. My brothers Ricky and Dallas would like Pokemon cards. I think I am on the nice list but I forget why.
Love, Penelope Escareno-Lyon
Other hot toys included Transformers, Squishmallows (yes, those are real), anything Paw Patrol, electronics like tablets and Nintendo Switches, and Lego… always Lego.
Of course, you can’t go wrong with NERF, American Girl or anything to do with superheroes! And if that doesn’t work, well, why not a new puppy? They promise they’ll take care of it.
Many of our children have wants this Christmas season, but all of them need you, their family.
They may not realize it now, but someday the people in their lives will surpass the presents.
So, keep that in mind as you read through our very special 2023 edition of Letters to Santa, and look out for holiday greetings from our local businesses and advertisers.
Also, I’d like to add that the Jan. 4 edition of the West Liberty Index will have our annual “Year-End” review, or “Year in Review,” depending on whom you talk to.
May your holidays be filled with peace, love and joy.
May you take a moment to look in the starry sky.
Merry Christmas!
Your Editor,
Jacob Lane
