GEORGETOWN, SC (WBTW) – From the Lone Ranger to LOL Dolls. Kids still write letters to Santa, and the Georgetown Times and South Strand Newspapers still publish them every year. Today however kids aren’t asking for chalk boards, Lassie sets, or anything to do with the Flintstones, but rather X-Boxes, Play Stations, and hover-boards.
“We like reading them, they’re fun,” says David Purtell, writer for the Georgetown Times and South Strand News. “It’s busy work but we really enjoy reading them and seeing what all the hot gifts are each year.”
This year according to Purtell, the most popular gifts are iPhones and LOL Dolls. One toy that has stood the test of time, Barbie. Barbie cars, Barbie Jeeps, Barbie houses, you name it. She’s as popular today as in the 1950’s.
The staff at South Carolina’s oldest paper isn’t exactly sure when the letters to Santa started, but it’s been going on for decades.
“You know we’ve done it for decades here,” says Purtell. “Every year we send out the requests for letters and kids continue to send them in so we’re glad to publish them, it’s a great holiday tradition.”
Some kids talk about how good they’ve been, others admit they’re not making the grade.
“You get a lot of laughs out of them because what kids ask for and of course as you put them in as the kids send them in, so misspelling and grammar errors and all that, so people enjoy reading it,” says Purtell. “It brings back memories for when they were young. It’s the one time of the year where we don’t edit.”
Most kids care, about more than themselves, they want something for their grandparents, their parents, their siblings as well. They also want the best for the reindeer, and Mrs. Claus. They also care for Santa’s safety, like in 1958 when Bobbie Parsons told Santa to be quiet because if her dog Penny hears him he might get bit.
This year’s Letters to Santa come out Thursday, December 13 in the South Strand News and Friday, December 14 in the Georgetown News.
