Front page of today’s special section containing area children’s letters to Santa Claus.
Let’s hope Santa and his elves studied up on animatronics during the summer months because local youths have every intention of bringing Uvalde into a new technological era this holiday season.
Christmas letters to Claus and his brigade of elves, talking snowmen and flying reindeer took a tech-savvy turn this year. Students of varying ages requested virtual cash, the latest iPhone, virtual reality gaming, state-of-the-art vehicles, remote-control lizards and even a real-life Transformer robot.
Although numerous children in the area wanted the newest gadgets or followed recent trends, a large mix stuck to the basics. Toys. A teddy bear. Barbies. Fire-breathing dragons. The usual.
Community members can dive deeper into the wishes and wonders beheld by Uvalde County and Batesville youngsters in our 20-page special section that verbatim — with all the original misspellings and silly thoughts included —relays their letters to the jolly old elf.
Students attending Batesville School were among those that sought the newest tech on the market. Kevin Ellion Atkinson in Justine Garcia’s first-and-second-grade class offered to take an elf off Santa’s hands in exchange. His classmate, Gideon Ray, tried to keep his classmates in mind during his negotiations.
“I want 1000 $ and a Jeep. I want a 711 in my classroom … Plese give my class a Jeep to everyone. I want a gold xbox.”
Students in Debra DeLeon’s kinder and pre-K classes at Batesville promised Claus they’d been on their best behavior all year. The newspaper did not verify their assessments with their teacher. Students asked for the practical things in life. Clothing, a calculator, shoes, a diamond pen and a squid.
Santa’s going to need to prepare his sleigh for the three unicorns and horses and dinosaurs and dump trucks requested by Rylie Guerrero and Silas Bravo from Clarissa Ramos’ 3-K class at St. Philip’s.
Students at the Uvalde Dual Language Academy are getting ready to test their driving skills. Among students’ big asks were Lamborghinis (a favorite vehicle this year at all campuses), a garbage truck and, to get extra points on the nice side, a vacuum.
Children from across the area had no problem laying out specific instructions for the big elf.
Michael Carter Saiz explained the protocol and told Santa to keep smiling.
“I will leve you some milk and cookes. Hoho. Stay jolly,” he wrote.
Cash Gutierrez in Renee Hart’s pre-K class at Knippa School instructed Santa to bring his mom chocolate and gingerbread. He requested a dog for himself and clarified he did not want a monkey “he would pull my hair.”
Two students in Esmeralda Santos’ second-grade class at Dalton Elementary suggested switching up Santa’s annual milk and cookies diet. Phoenix offered to barter with Santa. Gifts and laughs for pizza and carrots for the reindeer. Classmate Eliana said it would be from “Pesu Hut.”
Some students sought help for their loved ones.
Carolina Olivarez in Delia Guevara’s first-grade class at Sacred Heart asked for a new phone for her mom. Her classmate Anjali Gonzales asked for Jesus to visit her mom “because she like hin.”
Noah Peskie asked to spend more time with his parents and for a white Christmas. “I was hoping to see if you could speak to Jesus since you have that sleight that goes up to the Heavens,” he wrote.
His classmate, Ryan Fernandez, said he wants to see his mom finish nursing school. “I am really looking forward to see her holding her diploma and finally being a ‘Registered Nurse.’ She said that one day she would take me to a Dodgers game. I know that she will because she is a strong woman that has loved me through it all.”
szeman@ulnnow.com, 830-278-3335
