At Christmastime children were instructed by their teachers on how to compose a letter to Santa Claus and across the country scores of letters just like the ones below were published in local newspapers. This is something I can remember doing as well! There are two striking things I noticed while reading these letters to Santa Claus from 1916 published in the Ozark Spectator in Arkansas. One is that many children asks for oranges in their stockings. Oranges were once so costly that they were purchased as a special treat for the holidays rather than as a staple food for everyday consumption. This old custom is dying out in many places, but back then it was a common Christmas treat for the stockings, along with nuts and some small trinkets if the family could afford it.
The other thing to note is that so many of the kids were asking for Santa to consider other children, either siblings and friends or the poorer children. In 1916 the US had yet to enter World War I, but news of the war in Europe must have reached children in the States. No doubt it was the children in war torn areas that were the intended recipients of at least some of the well wishes in these letters.
“Dear Santa Claus:
Please bring me a gun, knife, football, a bat, and a bicycle, an erector, a lot of games, a horse and buggy and dont forget the poor. Give them lots of presents and dont forget I want some fire crackers, oranges, and candy.
Yours Truly,
Harry Thompson”
Along with the context for the era, I also love hearing which toys were the hot new thing back then. The chap below asks for a something I can remember well from my own childhood. You never forget the smell of cap guns!
“Dear Santa: Please send me a dollar watch and a water pistol and toy gun with a roll of caps. Send me a stocking full o oranges, nuts, and candy. Dear Santa please send my little sister something to play with.
Your little friend,
Robert Russell”
“Dear Santa:
I want a little stove that has some cooking vessels with it, a big doll and a doll buggy, some candy, nuts, and oranges, and don’t forget the other little children. So I will close good-bye Santa Claus.
Your loving friend,
Bessie May Phillips”
“Dear Santa Claus:
I would like to have a model no 24, a bicycle, a monkey, a kodak no 2 A, a sword, a play fire wagon, a wagon to coast in, an erector, and a foot ball.
Your little friend,
Thomas Carter Douglass”
“Dear Santa Claus:
I want some candy, nuts, and oranges- big sack full so I can divide with my friends– fire crackers, roman candles, sky rockets, a doll that goes to sleep and curly hair. I would like a broom and a gold bracelet, if you bring the boys a bicycle. I help mother and I am a good girl at school.
Your friend
Elizabeth Burrow”
It’s so touching to see how the girl above mentions her good attributes to Santa, lest he group her into the naughty list by accident! She also has a good mix of fireworks, treats, and a doll on her list. It’s interesting to note how she wants to give away a lot of the treats to her friends, but that she wants Santa to bring her something even nicer if her brothers get bikes. Talk about negotiating skills!
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