The note Santa leaves on Christmas Eve
Two or three sentences, one of them about the room he was standing in: the flickering tree light, the dog that slept through it. Hurried beats considered — he wrote it in the dark with a sleigh outside, and it is the first thing a child reads all day.
The short answer
The note Santa leaves on Christmas Eve should be short, in a hurry, and mention one thing about the room or the plate — cookies inspected, reindeer fed, the time he left. The North Pole Archive includes one in Santa’s hand, sized for a small card, for $9.99.
North Pole Archive is available now, $9.99 for one child. Ready about a minute after purchase.
Short, because he was in a hurry
The Christmas Eve note has a built-in excuse for being brief: Santa wrote it standing up, in the dark, with a sleigh outside. A hurried three-line note is more convincing than a considered paragraph, and it matches the story the child is already telling themselves.
Two or three sentences. One of them should mention something from inside the house that night.
Mention the room
The detail that does the most work is one about the room he was standing in. The tree light that keeps flickering. The dog that did not wake up. The mince pie that was better than the one two streets over.
It places him physically in the house at a specific time, which is a much stronger claim than anything about the year in general.
Where to leave it
Beside the empty plate, so the note and the evidence are found together. Under the tree, half hidden, so finding it feels like discovery. Taped to the inside of the front door if you want it found on the way out.
Do not leave it on their bed. A note that arrived in the bedroom raises a question about how it got there that you may not want to answer at six in the morning.
Questions
What should a Christmas Eve note from Santa say?
Two or three sentences, one of which mentions something specific about the room he was in that night — the flickering light, the dog, the mince pie. Brevity is credible; a long note is not.
Where should I leave the note from Santa?
Beside the empty plate, under the tree, or on the inside of the front door. Somewhere a child finds it rather than somewhere it was clearly placed for them, and not in their bedroom.
Is the Christmas Eve note something I can buy here?
Yes. The Christmas Eve note is one of the four documents in the North Pole Archive, with a letter from Santa, a Nice List certificate and the sleigh delivery docket. It is written in Santa's hand, names your child, and is ready in about a minute.
While you are here
- The North Pole Archive
Four printable documents about one child — a letter from Santa, a Nice List certificate, the Christmas Eve note and the sleigh docket — ready in a minute. $9.99.
- How to write a letter from Santa
How to write a letter from Santa that a child believes: what to include, what to leave out, and how to present it so it survives inspection.
- Leaving proof that Santa was here
How to leave convincing evidence that Santa visited, from boot prints to the half-eaten carrot, and the one rule that keeps it believable.
- Reindeer food, without the glitter
How to make reindeer food for Christmas Eve, and why the glitter in the usual recipe should be left out. Two minutes and one bowl.
Santa knows more than you think.
Tell Santa the small things nobody else knows, and he will tell them back.