Boy Writes to Santa Demanding Pricey Gifts, Later Finds Only a Letter under the Christmas Tree — Story of the Day

An eight-year-old writes a shocking letter to Santa Claus and his mother and father decide to teach him a lesson about the meaning of Christmas.

Carolyne Fisher asked all her third-grade students to write out a letter to Santa Claus and promised that the very best would be mailed to Lapland, and direct to Christmas Land via express mail.

Carolyne sat down and read the letters with a warm heart and a smile on her lips until she came to Kyle Burnhart's missive. Carolyne couldn't believe her eyes. Never had she read anything so disturbingly selfish and unpleasant!

Carolyne picked up her phone and called Kyle's mother and father and asked them to meet her after school to discuss Kyle. When they arrived, Carolyne explained the task she'd set for the class, then handed Kyle's parents his letter.

"Dear Santa," Kyle had written. "I have to tell you I was very disappointed with the presents you gave me last year. I hope you will do a lot better this time. So you'd better bring me that KidiZoom PrintCam, and a new iPhone, and a new PlayStation, and some cool games like Call Of Duty, not lame kids' games like last year. And no Legos or anything stupid like that.

"Miss Carolyne wanted us to ask for stuff for poor kids, but I think that's pretty lame too. They should have been smarter and been born with rich parents like mine. Anyway, I've been good, so you better do your part now. Kyle"

Kyle's mom looked up from the letter. "I...I can't believe this!"

Kyle's dad took the letter and read it, then he read it again. He looked very upset indeed. He said, "You know, Miss Carolyne, I was born into a very poor family, and I always vowed my son would have everything... But this..." He shook his head and looked sad.

Sometimes raising a child means making hard choices.

Mrs. Burnhart looked at her husband and at Miss Carolyne and smiled. "I have an idea. We're going to teach Kyle a lesson!"

The night before Christmas, Kyle helped his mom and dad set out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk next to the tree. He looked at the glittering tree and frowned. "That's weird!" he said. "There's usually a lot of presents here by now!"

"Well honey, I thought you'd written Santa a letter?" asked Mrs.Burnhart. "Maybe he's delivering everything personally this year!"

"Yes," said Kyle. "That's it! And this time he'd better get it right..." Mr. and Mrs. Burnhart's eyes met over Kyle's head but they didn't say a word. They all roasted some marshmallows in the fireplace and then went off to bed.

The next morning, Kyle was jumping out of bed even before the sun rose and rushing down the stairs. "Mom, dad!" he cried. "Wake up! It's Christmas!"

Kyle ran to the tree and stopped dead. Instead of the HUGE pile of gifts he was used to seeing, there were only four or five small parcels under the tree. Kyle picked up the first. It was for his mom. The second was for his dad...

Kyle quickly sorted through the Christmas gifts. They were ALL for his mom and dad and none for him! Then he saw behind all the parcels under the tree a plain envelope addressed to Kyle Burnhart.

Eagerly, Kyle opened the envelope. He was sure it contained a humungous gift voucher so he could go out and get everything he'd asked for but he was in for a big surprise.

"Dear Kyle," he read. "I'm sorry you were disappointed by last year's gifts, but I'm afraid I've also been disappointed in you. You wrote in your letter that you'd been 'good,' but that's not quite true.

"You haven't been bad, but you haven't been what I call good either. You weren't kind, or helpful, or generous. You didn't think of others. So if you want presents next Christmas you'll have to be GOOD, think about other people, and do good deeds.

"There is a diary under the tree, and I expect you to write down at least one good deed a day for the next 365 days.

"Merry Christmas, Santa Claus."

Kyle was shocked. "I don't have ANY presents! NONE AT ALL!" Mr. and Mrs. Burnhart looked sympathetic and asked to read the letter but Kyle blushed. "It's private," he said. "Between Santa and me!"

He looked under the tree and there he found a small diary with a red cover. Kyle picked it up and took it upstairs. After a while, Mr. and Mrs. Burnhart heard him crying.

They looked at each other. "Oh, John!" Mrs. Burnhart cried. "Are we being too hard on him?" Mr. Burnhart shook his head. "No, Maggy," he said. "We are doing the right thing, and it's for his own good."

From that day on, Kyle's parents and his teacher noticed a gradual change in him. He became a kinder, more generous boy, always willing to help his classmates and attentive to his grandmother.

By the end of the next year, Kyle's red diary was very full indeed, and he wrote a new letter to Santa, but this time all he asked for was a puppy. Santa must have heard him. because on Christmas morning an adorable pup was waiting under the tree with a big red bow around his neck.

It wasn't easy but Kyle had learned his lesson and became a more loving and lovable boy.

What can we learn from this story?

• Not doing anything wrong isn't enough -- we should all actively strive to do good. Kyle learned that he had to do good for others, not just behave to be on Santa's list.
• Sometimes raising a child means making hard choices. Kyle's mom and dad knew that their son would be disappointed and sad, but they needed him to learn compassion and empathy.

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