What to put on a Nice List certificate
Name the actual thing they did — “for getting into the pool on the day it was cold” — rather than “for being good this year”. That single change is the difference between a certificate a child reads twice and one that goes in a drawer.
The short answer
A Nice List certificate should name the child, state the specific reason they are on the list — something they actually did — and be signed and dated at the North Pole. One is included in the North Pole Archive, $9.99, cited with the reason you give in your own words.
North Pole Archive is available now, $9.99 for one child. Ready about a minute after purchase.
Name the reason, not the category
“For being good this year” is the wording on almost every certificate available, and it means nothing to the child holding it. Good at what? Noticed by whom?
“For getting into the pool on the day it was cold and nobody else would” is a certificate a child reads twice. Being specific costs one extra sentence and changes what the object is.
The parts that earn their place
- The child’s first name, larger than everything else
- One line naming the actual thing they did
- The year, so it can be found again in a decade
- A signature that looks signed rather than typeset
- Nothing about behaviour being monitored
How to hand it over
A certificate given at the same moment as presents disappears into the pile. Given on its own — Christmas Eve, or the morning of the last school day — it stays a separate thing.
If you have more than one child, write genuinely different reasons. Children compare these word for word, and two certificates that say the same thing prove they were printed rather than earned.
Questions
What should a Nice List certificate say?
One specific thing the child actually did, named plainly, rather than a general statement about being good. The specificity is the whole point: it proves someone was paying attention.
Should a Nice List certificate mention behaviour?
No. A certificate that implies a child was being monitored, or that presents were conditional, converts a keepsake into a warning. Keep it to what they did well.
Can I buy a Nice List certificate here?
Yes. The Nice List certificate is one of the four documents in the North Pole Archive, alongside a letter from Santa, the Christmas Eve note and the sleigh delivery docket, all about one child. It is a high-resolution file, 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.
- A personalized Santa video that knows the little things
A personalized Santa video where Santa mentions the small, specific things only your family knows. Made for children aged 2 to 10. $24.99.
- The note Santa leaves on Christmas Eve
What to write in a note from Santa left on Christmas Eve, where to leave it, and why the short ones work better than the long ones.
Santa knows more than you think.
Tell Santa the small things nobody else knows, and he will tell them back.