Martha Brockenbrough

Listen to "Martha Brockenbrough Mom Are You Santa Claus" on Spreaker. Every parent who celebrates Christmas dreads that inevitable, daunting question. LOVE, SANTA is the beautifully affirming answer. Sooner or later, families that celebrate Christmas arrive at a crossroads when the children begin to question just who this jolly fellow with a beard and a red suit really is. How exactly does he get down those chimneys? How do his reindeer fly? How does he know what all the little children wish for? And why does his handwriting on gift cards look strangely familiar? Martha Brockenbrough manages to merge honesty and magic to help families in one of the most poignant of growing-up moments. LOVE, SANTA—a lavishly designed picture book by acclaimed author Martha Brockenbrough and illustrator Lee White—began as a real-life series of letters between Martha and her young daughter Lucy. As happens in so many families around the world, Lucy wrote letters to Santa every year that her mom dutifully answered in secret. Then came the year Lucy turned nine and the Christmas question all parents anticipate with dread. So Martha wrote one final letter, explaining the truth about the magic of Christmas and the true identity of Santa. Santa is bigger than any one person," she writes to her daughter. "Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness...." It's the gentlest possible letdown to a childhood fantasy, just right for children who are ready to hear the truth about Santa. Martha knew her story could help other parents going through the same daunting moments so she posted it on a popular parenting blog. The reaction was immediate: the original piece was picked up by national outlets including The New York Times, has been shared and pinned millions of times worldwide. Note: Love, Santa is for children who are definitely, absolutely, positively ready to hear the truth--or already know it--about Santa Claus.