Years ago, as a typical little kid with a toothless grin, I remember the song my friends and I sang with great delight in class: “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.” I thought it was written just for us.

Years later, it’s interesting to see what other memories have stuck with me. I recall being acutely aware that Santa knew when I was bad or good and that I should be good for goodness sake. And I was good, exceptionally good. Until I wasn’t.

When I was bad I imagined him watching me in his crystal ball. You know – the same one the Wicked Witch used in “The Wizard of Oz “to keep tabs on Dorothy and her trio. Except Santa wouldn’t be cackling, scary and green, he’d be ho-ho-ho-ing, jolly and red.

Why would I be comparing Santa Claus with the Wicked Witch of the East? Perhaps because “The Wizard of Oz” was my favorite movie, and the only time I ever saw it was at Christmas when it was on TV. This was well before the days of video machines and DVD players, so watching it once a year became a cherished annual tradition.

If you think connecting Santa Claus and the Wicked Witch is odd, get this: I was convinced that Father Christmas and God were best friends, or what my daughter would now call BFFs. I feared that if one missed out on my bad behavior, the other would surely notice and tell his pal. Maybe even over a glass of milk and cookies.

In thinking about what was going through my young, impressionable and narcissistic mind way back when, I wondered what young children were thinking about now, and what thoughts they had about Santa. I also also curious what they might ask him if he showed up in their classroom one day.

So my 11-year-old son and I asked his school principal if we could bring in Santa Tom, a professional Santa Claus, to surprise the kindergarten kids and invite them to ask him questions on camera. I have no idea what I would have asked him when I was that age, but I’m guessing that much like some of these kids, I would have been far too shy to say anything to him at all.

Yet many others weren’t shy and had some interesting questions for him, ones that had little or nothing to do with presents. Getting a glimpse of Santa through the eyes of these children was a fun experience and not unlike what I go through with my own kids.

To Sam and Daisy, Christmas is the most magical time of year and everything about it is fun – Santa included.

“If you don’t believe in Santa he won’t bring you presents,” I overheard my son counseling his 8-year-old sister last December.

“Why wouldn’t I believe in him?” she asked with surprise.

“Oh, um, you know,” he replied. “Some kids just don’t for some reason.”

“Well that’s dumb,” she said dismissively.

Fast forward to this year as they embark on another magical Christmas season enjoying traditions and creating memories they’ll likely confuse with other recollections as I have done.

In the meantime, they’ll be doing their best to stay on Santa’s “nice” list, as will I.

To see Santa’s visit with the kindergarten kids please visit /www.onabrighternote.ca to watch the video.