“Dear Santa, I am in need of help,” begins the festive-themed letter, topped with a Christmas tree star. “I am unable to work from work injury and fixed income with a household of 10 family members and I would like to ask for the following items.” What follows is a modest Christmas wish list: gift cards for Walmart and Target, a credit toward long-accrued debts for home internet (“help paying AT&T bill – $200 – past due”), money toward basic checks on a rundown family car (“need car smogged – $200 is cost to smog old car”), and electrical goods for a kitchen (“microwave, toaster oven, air fryer, rice cooker, as all mine are beyond old and poorly working”.)
The next day, another letter pops up: “Dear Santa, I have been a really good boy this year and good in school too. My mommy can’t really afford Christmas this year because she says things are hard right now so I wanted to know if you had any toys left over.” This one is written in the unsteady hand of a school-age boy named Tristan.
