Dad, Do You Believe in Santa?

As parents, if we are lucky, we get 7-8 Santa Claus Christmases. 

The age ranges of when our children’s outright faith in the magic of Christmas can vary, but ultimately somewhere between the ages of 9 and 12, they are going to pose the question none of us who desperately want to hold onto the pure innocence of our children’s childhood want to hear “is Santa Claus real?”

I am doing my best to prolong, going so far as to eliminate from rotation some of the best Christmas films who, despite eventually revealing that Santa Claus is, in fact, real, make it a pretty major plot point that the overall opinion is that he is not.  I personally don’t like to concede that most adults don’t believe in the big guy in red and quite frankly don’t really want to put any doubt in their mind until someone else does. 

But there will inevitably come a time when my rambunctious Twinzer tornados will be told by some jagoff older kid that not only is there no Santa Claus but that they’ve been bamboozled this entire time. 

So what’s a father to do?  

There’s a line from the 1994 remake of “Miracle on 34th Street” where Richard Attenborough (who let’s face it, is arguably the best movie Santa of all time) describes himself as thus “I’m not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. You know, I’m a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major parts of our lives”

In 2018, I started Little Wheels Big Hearts with the belief that through the small act of asking as many people as I could to donate simple Matchbox and Hot Wheels Cars to their local Toys for Tots campaign that we could rise above the hateful rhetoric so prevalent on social media and accomplish something small, but good for the world at large. 

Five years later, this simple mission has grown into a movement that has provided toys to thousands of kids in need. It has inspired the amazing group “Little Wheels Big Hearts of Tennessee” that collects toys for a children’s cancer research hospital. At a time when we have never been more divided from each other, we still have come together to do something great. 

This Year's Little Wheels Big Hearts campaign, we have just wrapped up our biggest year ever. While I no longer count individual cars anymore, I can tell you that purely in the space taken up in my garage, that we have never collected more toys. 

What makes this initiative so particularly special? 

Every single toy, every single dollar donated came from an individual. There were no big corporate donors (though I’d welcome them with open arms), there was no big tax write off for donating. I’m by no means anyone special with any sort of celebrity clout other than i occasionally craft a funny tweet. Yet, in a time where many of us are struggling to make ends meet, when toys are more expensive than ever, when many of us are feeling uncertain, anxious and even furious about the future, we are still able to momentarily set that aside for the pure purpose of helping to bring joy to children who, through no fault of their own, may find it in short supply. The faith in this mission, the faith and trust placed upon me by not just my family, friends and colleagues but by complete strangers is humbling to say the least and I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to you for it. Nor can I properly articulate my gratitude for those who take it the next step in the process, the volunteers who sort and distribute these toys, who give their time and talents in the service of their community and the children within it are heroes in my eyes. 

So given the unbridled generosity of those who have contributed to Little Wheels Big Hearts year after year and those who have discovered it for the first time and those who work tirelessly to provide a sense of normalcy to children whose families are struggling and because of those who have taken up the misision of providing a little relief to parents who have to all that often make that sacrifice when it comes to putting aside what their children want in favor of what they need, I have to say that I can tell my children that honestly and without a single doubt…

That I absolutely believe in Santa Claus.