I believed in Santa until I was 11.

For real.

The commitment my parents had to keeping dreams of the Big Guy alive in our house was second to none. There were always sleigh tracks in the yard, half eaten cookies dropped in the snow, half eaten carrots on the roof. There was the trip to the Dollar Store with my dad to buy the warmest gloves they had to protect Santa’s hands from the reindeer guiding elements and of course, the year my mom set up a mini recording studio in our house.

Because, you see, Santa needed a Mixtape.

I mean, maybe he wanted to listen to his favorite holiday hits while driving sleighing around the world.

The tape (yes, tape) was a mix of songs off of albums we already had…and me singing along to the keyboard I was just learning how to play. Oh man, I bet Santa loved that off key Mixtape.

If Capture the Magic had existed when I was a kid, I swear, I would still believe in Santa Claus. You take a picture of your living room, impose Santa…what other proof do you need that he is real?! So clever.

But without fancy schmancy technology, my parents somehow had their kid believing in Santa until she could practically drive and while that is kind of embarrassing (for me), I think that deserves a round of applause (or at least a slow clap).

Well done, guys!