When you think back to when you were a child, are there special memories that you associate with Christmas time? Perhaps there was something that triggered the "countdown" to Christmas Eve and the arrival of Santa Claus? A special sweet holiday candy or ice cream? Or maybe, a tradition that made you feel like the holiday season was upon you? For me, the arrival of the Sears Christmas catalog, the Wish Book, was about as clear a signal as I needed. In fact, between my brother, sister and myself, I'm surprised there was any chance for my Mom and Dad to have a look-see. The hours we would pour over those wonderful toys, drawing a circle around the irresistible ones we were sure we just could not live without! Oh, and making the ever important list, complete with page number and toy description.

The Christmas toy list served many purposes. First, it was such a joy to look at the toys and think about them, that writing down their names and descriptions was like an extension of the whole Wish Book experience. Second, it was very helpful to be able to tell our parents all about what we wanted, and third, who wanted to possibly forget what special toy to tell Santa about?

Going to see Santa Claus was a very big deal for me, and there was only ONE place that Santa would be before Christmas: Sears Roebuck & Co. department store. As far as I knew, Sears was just an extension of Santa's workshop back at the Northpole. It had to be, he was always there, year after year, just like me! With my Christmas list in hand, telling Santa Clause what I wanted was such a treat and I always felt relief when he said I was on the "Nice List", not the "Naughty List"! Remembering how magical it was, I also recall that after my "big day" to see Santa Claus, I would always ask my Mom if she thought he really knew where we lived and that question would be followed by all the "what if" questions that only a six year old could ask! Keep in mind, that was serious business to a little girl!.

I'm lucky to have those memories, and I cherish them dearly. The reason I started thinking about my childhood Christmas memories was that I came across something that I thought was so inventive: Websites where you can order your child personalized Santa letters! Santa Claus letters? I can just imagine that if I could have received a letter from Santa Claus himself, that would have been better than 1000 bowls of peppermint ice cream!

When I saw my first "Santa Claus Letters" website, I thought, well, I could do that. I figured I could write a little note, use some clip art and print something on the computer to give to my little ones. Or if I wanted to make it really fun, I could even mail it myself to give it that little bit of "authenticity" and give the children the thrill of getting something in the mail, just for them. But once I started really looking at what is offered from some of these sites, I was bowled over! Even with the best clip art I could find and all the lace, glitter and glue I could use, the quality and variety of what some of the sites offer is more than I have time (or ability) to create!

The first site I found caught my eye with the simple, cute design of the Santa Letter. What allows the personalized Santa Letters to be created is the information you fill in from the short questionnaire when you place your order. That information is then used to create the actual letter from Santa Claus to your child, or niece, or nephew, or even spouse!

My Opinion: This is a very simple, no frills site that has just one product: cute Santa Letters. The simplicity of the product offered can be a bonus for some, as the site indicates that it will only take you about 5 minutes to complete your order.

This company offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

You can see this letter by clicking on this link: Santa Claus Letters

If you are wanting to build a nice "package", you might want to keep reading, for I'll tell you about some other website's I've found .

After I did some more searching, I found that there are several other sites that offer an amazing array of inexpensive gift ideas, beyond just a letter from Santa Claus. A great bonus is that the prices are very reasonable, definitely in the range of what I have budgeted for Christmas shopping. To see what I mean by the imaginative selection, look at some of the photos below of what is offered, and get detailed information by visiting the individual sites via the links below.

Gift options include: Personalized Letter from Santa, Custom Letter from Rudolph, Personalized Custom "Nice" Certificate, Autographed Photo of Santa Clause, Custom Blend of Reindeer Food, An Authentic Piece of Santa's Red Christmas Suit, Personal greeting from Santa CD and finally a beautifully designed cheerful Red Gift Box with Stunning Original Art Work on the Interior!

Looking for just the right Christmas Gift for Baby's 1st Christmas? Unique to this company is the offering of a Santa Letter just for newborns!

As with most collectable worthy items, supplies are limited. To avoid dissappointment the site encourages ordering early.

This company has been seen in Parenting Magazine, Baby Talk, Parents, and American Baby Magazine.

My Opinion: This company's site is very professional and offers a lot of great information about each product and the packages avaiable. You can hear audio testimonials and read customer comments about their experiences and the reactions of their children to receiving these gifts from Santa. It seems that each year they change the letter and add new elements, so if you like them, you can look forward to a fresh offering of goodies each year. Also, I discovered a great surprise with their FREE Personalized Christmas Countdown Calandar and a FREE Personalized Santa's Nice List Guide. (Who doesn't like free?!) A beautiful selection of enchanting gifts to choose from.

You can buy in confidence with their 60 day, no questions asked return policy.

To visit this site directly, please click: Santa Gifts

In addition to the trio of goodies you get with the Santa Claus Letter with commorative Santa Claus Postmark, Oversized Followup Postcard, and Santa Stop Here Door-hanger, this site offers some really creative items, geared to convince even the most skeptical child (or adult) that Santa Claus is real and has actually visited your house!

The Proof of Santa Claus Evidence Kit is packed with authentic proof of Jolly Ol' St. Nick's visit. Once you visit this site, you will see full descriptions, photographs and prices for all of the magical items offered.

With the Santa Claus Boot Print Kit this is one time that boot prints in the house will be a good thing! The kit comes with everything you need to safely create glistening snow tracks from Santa's boots anywhere in your house!

Don't let your child's efforts go unnoticed. The official Santa's Good List Certificate will prove to your child that Santa Claus is always watching.

PERSONALIZED PHONE CALLS FROM SANTA CLAUS As you already know Santa taking the time out of his very busy schedule to place a personal call to your child will make him or her feel just about like the most important person on the planet!

As can be expected, quantities of all items listed on this site are limited, so be sure to order your selections early.

My Opinion: This is another site filled with seasonal treasures. Though this site, of course, offers a Personalized Letter from Santa, it's totally different than the other two sites, for they advertise they offer 30 different letters, so if you are ordering for more than one child, the letters should be totally different. I find the creativeness of the gift items offered refreshing. Any Nancy Drew or Hardy Boy's fans will find the Proof Kits fun to ponder! Also, this site offers the pre-arranged "Santa Call", which can be lot's of fun for any child to receive. In addition to what you can order, there is a wonderful FREE area of the site called "Just For Kids", which offers games, songs, a "Ask Santa a Question" section, and more.

The company is listed as 100% verified by the BBB and offers a 30-day, 100% unconditional guarantee.

To visit this site directly, please click: Santa's Elves

And that's what started me thinking about all the children on my gift giving list: My own children, of course, the nieces and nephews, and even my cousins children, all who are in that wonderful, magical age of believing in Santa! With the variety of items to choose from, and the range of affordable prices, instead of worrying about going to the mall to find everyone the perfect gift (that they will forget about before my credit card bill is paid!), why not give something that is magical, special and they will remember, possibly long after they are adults? If I think about it, there are some adults I know who could do with a little dose of Santa's special attention . Hmm, letters from Santa to adults? Who says you are ever too old to believe?

Well, I believe that sprinkling some Holiday magic into the lives of the people I know, young and old, is what I'm planning to do this year. When I started writing this piece, it was going to be a nostalgic account about Christmas memories and traditions of baby-boomers and how to pass some of those traditions along in our own families. What's nice, is that instead of just writing about how to do it, I can show you a few ways to do it! Re-awaken old memories of Santa Claus for yourself while creating new memories for your loved ones...Is anyone really ever too old to receive Santa Claus Letters or magical treasures from the North Pole? I know every Christmas Eve I make sure to check the NORAD.org Santa Tracker, and every Christmas morning I awaken and wonder what Jolly Old St. Nick left below our tree! I may be a little bit older, but I'm forever young at heart...and yes, Charlie Brown, I believe!

If you didn't click on the links above, take a look! And when you do, don't be surprised if you find that YOU still believe, too!