Christmas gifts are for the young and young at heart. And for children, they are the ultimate source of excitement, flying straight into their homes from the North Pole.
As early as the Gloucester Gazette in 1921, children were sending letters to Santa Claus in care of the newspaper. Here we reprint some delightful wants and thoughts from the past, 1921 through 2011, from the Gazette, the Mathews Journal, and the Gazette-Journal.
December 1921: Dear Santie, I am a little girl seven years old. I want you to bring me a doll that will open and shut her eyes, a bed, a tub, a middie suit and some Good things to eat. And don’t forget Naomi and Willie. Your little girl, Huldah Roane, Roanes, Va.
December 1931: Hallieford, Va. Dear Santa Claus, I am a little boy five years old and I am trying to be real good. So will you please bring me a big tricycle, a gum pair of boots and a big ball and lots of goodies. I shall go to bed real early Xmas Eve. Please remember all the little boys...