By age 6 or 7 at the latest, most kids have figured out that there is no Santa. That’s unfortunate because there is so much magic in imagining Santa coming down from the north pole led by Rudolph and his team of eight reindeer. Let me share a story with you that keeps the magic of Santa alive. The tale goes like this:

When 7-year old Tyler began to suspect that there was no Santa, his Dad took him out “for coffee” at Starbucks. Dad had never taken him to Starbucks before. It was a place for grown-ups. The trip to the coffee shop made Tyler feel rather special. They got a booth and Dad ordered two hot chocolates. Then he said to Tyler, “You sure have grown an awful lot this year. Not only are you so much taller, but you are so much more mature. I think you are ready to become a Santa.”

Tyler’s ears perked up, and he sheepishly looked at his Dad.

“You probably have noticed,” Dad continued, “that most of the Santas you see are people dressed up like him. Some of your friends might have even told you that there is no Santa. A lot of children think that because they aren’t ready to BE a Santa yet, but I think YOU ARE. I think you are ready to do your first job as a Santa!”

Tyler beamed with pride.

“Here is what a takes to be a Santa,” said Dad. “First, you have to think of someone you know. Then you have to find out secretly what that person needs. Then you get the present, wrap it up and deliver it without ever letting the person know where the gift came from. That’s what being Santa is all about. It’s not about getting credit. It’s about unselfish giving. Do you think you can do that?”

Of course, Tyler thought he could do that. He could be a Santa. He was getting all excited. After some thought, he chose the old lady down the street. She had a fence around her house and would never let the kids go in to get any stray balls or frisbees. Often, when Dad drove him to school in the morning, the old lady came out of the house to get the paper. Tyler had noticed that she didn’t wear shoes. So, he decided she needed slippers.

“Good,” said his Dad, “Now we know what she needs. But we also need to know how big her feet are so that we can figure out what size shoes she wears.”

The following Saturday, Tyler and his Dad hid in the bushes across the street and watched the old lady come out to get her paper. They decided she was a medium, drove to Kmart and bought a pair of warm slippers. Then Tyler wrapped them up and tagged them,” Merry Christmas from Santa.” After dinner, he slipped down to her house and slid the package under the old lady’s driveway gate.

Next morning, Tyler and his Dad watched as the old lady got the paper, picked up the present and went inside. Tyler couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The next morning, as they drove by her house on the way to school, they saw the old lady getting her paper and WEARING THE SLIPPERS. Tyler was ecstatic. He had just become a Santa!

The secret of being a Santa. How to tell children that the magic in Christmas is not in receiving but in giving. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Over the next few years, Tyler chose a good number of recipients, always coming up with unique presents for each for them. And he never felt that he had been lied to because he had been let in on the secret of being a Santa.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.