Christmas List Traditions in Different Countries

Why Write About a List of Christmas Gift Ideas in a Blog About Lists?

In various countries, there is a childhood tradition of writing a letter with a wish list to Santa Claus for Christmas, New Year or some other similar holiday. Some children a thrilled to get the characters saw in their favourite movies, others want a little drone with the extended battery life, or maybe a set of ingredients for chemical experiments at home.

If Santa doesn’t exist in the country, children write a letter to someone with a different name. The main thing is that these Santa alternatives perform a similar role.

Santa Claus has many brothers and sisters in spirit around the world. Different countries have their traditions for writing these letters. Since a real magician needs time to prepare and delight children with the best Christmas gifts, this post appears in the blog well in advance. Yes, there is some time required for holiday shopping.

The material made its way into a blog about lists for a very valid reason. In “The Christmas Book of Lists” [1], there is an inspiring list: “How Children in 6 Countries Circulate Their Christmas Lists”. Let’s explore it and expand it by at least one more item.

So, the List of Ways Children Ask for Christmas Gifts

Illustrations were created thanks to the dedicated work of helpers: ChatGPT and Midjourney.

Denmark

Danish children send their letters to Santa Claus in Greenland.

By the way, the Danish Santa Claus is called Julemanden, which also translates as “Christmas Man”.

England

English children write their letters and then toss them in the fireplace. If a draft carries the letter up the chimney, the children believe the list will be fulfilled by Father Christmas.

A young gift recipient these days might be astonished by the view of the Father Christmas from the first part of the nineteenth century. Today, the bowl of wassail is rarely considered as the perfect gift. Even despite its all moisturizing ingredients.😅

Finland

Finnish children believe that their Father Christmas lives in Lapland on Korvantunturi hill, and they send their letters to him there.

If the name of Danish Santa Claus was a surprise for you, here is one more cool name. The Finnish person responsible for the holiday season has the name Joulupukki.

Italy

Children place their “Christmas Letter” under their father's dinner plate on Christmas Eve. Since gifts aren't exchanged until January 6, there is plenty of time for the list to be read and fulfilled

The unexpected date is because the role of Santa Claus in Italy is played by the witch Befana, who comes on the Christian holiday of Epiphany on January 6 [3]. It’s also great that the wish list goes under the father’s plate, as this makes the entire family more involved in the celebration.

Panama

In Panama, children charmingly send their letters to Baby Jesus in Heaven c/o St. Peter.

It’s interesting that the Christmas list is delivered straight to the one who was born on this day.

United States

American children traditionally send their letters to Santa Claus at the North Pole, where he resides with his wife and eight reindeer (nine, if you count Rudolph).

The USA Santa Claus chose the hard presents manufacturing life when placing his house on the North Pole [4]:

While the South Pole lies on a continental land mass, the North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean amid waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice. <...> This makes it impractical to construct a permanent station at the North Pole (unlike the South Pole).

He must be an excellent engineer to be able to fulfill different interests of children all over the country while drifting on the ice.

Russia

In Russia, there are several ways to ask Father Christmas for a gift. By the way, his name is Ded Moroz, and he has a granddaughter: Snow Maiden.

Children of Russia send their letters with a wish list to Veliky Ustyug. There is also a Moscow residence.

If you would rather not involve the real post office, there still is an option. Let your child write a letter with wishes, drawings, and, of course, love. Then use the freezer as an easy storage for the wish list. Possibly, it’s the coldest place at home, so the idea sounds rather logical to me. By morning, the letter will be gone, and parents will know everything needed to make the excellent gift. Freezer mail works and gives you some fun!

Wishing You a Smooth Holidays Preparation!

Santa Claus might not be a grandfather at all, and his costume isn’t always red. This doesn’t really matter who sends the best gifts to the loved one or even the loved ones. The main thing is that he delights his young friends around the world.

I also hope you found some ideas and inspiration here to make the upcoming holidays even more exciting. Wishing you smooth preparations wherever you are!

Was it interesting to learn about the magical friends children have in different countries? Subscribe to the “So List” blog — there are many more amazing lists and checklists in the world. You’ll also learn how to solve many issues with these simple yet powerful tools.

List of Links

[1] Elizabeth Haynie, The Christmas Book of Lists, ISBN 0-9637195-0-5
[2] “Father Christmas” from Wikipedia
[3] “Befana” from Wikipedia
[4] “North Pole” from Wikipedia