If you believe

 In a dream, He always wanted to be Santa Claus in a big-city department store. It was more than his love for children; it was as if he were going back in time to another life he often thought about, a magical place, and a time when children dreamed about simple toys handmade by elves in a faraway land. He thought about sitting on a big red chair with lines of children in awe at the mere sight of the man himself, who, with a touch to his nose, could make dreams come true on Christmas morning.

It would warm his heart as he listened to little voices with well-rehearsed lists of toys they wanted and telling him they had been good all year. All year, he would ask, laughing, and assured them he knew. Every child had the same wishes, but not all were granted, as one by one, some with expensive clothes, others with hand-me-downs, sat on his knee, telling him about the dolly or the bicycle they wanted. He would look at a parent's face, feeling their sorrow, knowing there would be no expensive toys under their tree this year, but no child would be forgotten.

But in this dream, he truly was Santa Claus, and he did travel millions of miles on Christmas Eve, jumping down chimneys and eating the cookies left for him, leaving behind every child's Christmas wishes wrapped with ribbons and bows. Some of the parents in line with their children were once the little ones sitting on his knee, not knowing that someday it would all come full circle.

In his dreams, Santa was as real as the long white beard, the red-and-white suit he wore with golden buttons and thread, the knee-high boots, and the sack that magically held thousands and thousands of presents he would deliver to children around the world. When he awoke from his dream, the tired old man brushed the snow from his suit and placed his boots next to the fire to dry. He went out to the barn and made sure his reindeer were well fed after an exhausting night, and with a touch to his red nose, the house and the elf factory vanished into the morning air, only seen by him and Mrs Claus.

I guess it wasn't a dream after all, just memories of Christmases already lived in another time, another place, when he made Christmas something magical. Dreams do come true if you just believe.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL WHO BELIEVE!