A Lifford woman has won an Irish Times competition for the best fictional letter to Santa Claus this Christmas.
Barbara Gibson wrote about her hopes for Donegal and Ireland in 2012 and hoped Sanata would be the only one in the ‘red’ come the end of next year.
Ms Gibson won a book voucher for €200 for her honest letter. Here is the full text of the letter.
Dear Santa, – I use the word “Dear” in my salutation with some emphasis as
I believe it’s particularly appropriate at this “present” time in the year 2011. God (aka Allah, Jehovah, etc) knows, I grew up in an age when writing the word “Dear” in a letter (the kind that employed paper, pen and envelope) was a term of affection or respect. These days (and I’m not just picking on you, dear Santa) it simply screams EXPENSIVE. Any words written after the name of the recipient of current missives invariably involve a demand to expend money, a plea for time to pay money or a bitter complaint about the value received in exchange for such money.
I am no Scrooge seeking a return to the days of Christmas Past, with oranges stuck in the toes of stockings (genuinely worn that very day) or crayons and a pad (with no “i” in front of it) at the foot of the bed. However, I am convinced that there must be a middle ground between the old-fashioned gifts of my childhood and those that sound like a euphemism for a visit to the bathroom. These and many others like them cost so much that I’m convinced they must be taking the . . . well, you know what I mean!
I am loath to say anything here that would undermine the beliefs and hopes of millions of children, but if you really were bankrolling this cornucopia of expense I’d be the first to congratulate and applaud you. Unfortunately, since you are not (and despite my genuine wish to buck the trend mentioned in my opening paragraph), I am begging you to use the rein, dear Santa, to slay the money monster that is consuming Christmas Present. At a time when everyone, from bankers to bondholders and developers to dole dependants, is being blamed for the state of the nation, I plead with you to remove yourself from the list of those responsible for the escalating poverty of the Irish family.
Sadly, I suspect that I’m probably much too late to avert the explosion of debt to which parents have already committed themselves in 2011. Nonetheless, I’m setting my sights on Christmas Future and hoping that you can create a miracle, one that promises to ensure that you, my affectionately dear Santa, will be the only person in the red at the end of 2012. – Love, Ireland,
BARBARA GIBSON
Lifford,
Co Donegal
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