Jeanne and I were with the kids at the mall, doing some shopping.
My daughter Maggie is 10, and understands that Santa can’t be everywhere all the time, so he has helpers who sometimes take his place at events, to spread Christmas cheer.
We’re walking through the mall and there, seated upon a great big chair greeting children and chatting with them about their Christmas lists, is Santa.
Maggie stops, gasps, stares.
She squeezes my hand and hugs tight to my arm – “Dad! Look!” she says, eyes wide.
“Yeah” I say, “Wow!”
We watch in silence for a moment, and she never takes her eyes off him – “Dad, I don’t think that’s one of his helpers, I think that’s really him…” she says breathlessly, almost whispering, “…you can feel the magic.”
We didn’t talk for a minute after that… we just watched Santa. And, as I fought to swallow the lump in my throat, I realized that I COULD feel magic in the air. I’m pretty sure, though, that it came NOT from the man in the chair, but from the little girl holding my hand.
Tony Caselli 
I love you daughter!! What a great moment!!
Yeah, it was pretty neat. I love her too! 🙂
That is wonderful, thank you!
If you think she would find it funny, I have a Santa story for her.
We went to Mexico with my husband’s family for Christmas 2 years ago. On Christmas Eve we went to the local mall/giant food mart to get things for Christmas dinner.
The had a normal Santa there, greeting people and a Santa dressed from head to toe in blue! It was so strange and so wonderful we all just stopped to smile and watch him.
Then he came over and gave me a hug.
Santa Azule made the whole trip for me.
That’s a GREAT story! I’ll absolutely tell her! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my dear lord. Heart…breaking. Lump in throat…forming.
Joe Z
Yeah, that was how I felt, too! 🙂
Tony Tony Tony. It’s not NICE to make people cry at work. She’s so sweet and that just goes to prove you’ve passed on your magic :).
Aw, thanks Mary. Hope you’re not crying all over that nifty new office of yours! 🙂