Included in today’s edition of The Oxford EAGLE is the ever-popular section that includes letters to Santa from area school children.

Every year at The EAGLE, most of our employees take turns doing their part typing these letters to make sure they are included in this special edition. Parents and grandparents always want to cut out these letters for scrapbooks and to see exactly what it is that their children want for Christmas.

While typing letters this year, I had to stop and realize that many children in our community aren’t privy to what others have. When you see a child asking to spend more time with his family, new sheets for their bed and so many simple pleasures, it makes one stop and think.

Today’s generation of kids is so different from when I was growing up. We had no I-Phones, X-Boxes or tablets. Our gifts were much simpler and were often things we needed rather than just wanted. Most of the clothes that I wore were from my older brother and were hand-me-downs.

It is obvious from the letters that I typed that kids are spending way too much time on video games. I can’t tell you how many asked for the X Box 360 and all of the new games associated with it. So many of the games that they asked for involve guns and violence.

As I was typing, I made some notes from some of the letters that really had something funny or poignant in them. You have to remember that we type these letters as they are given to us and we have to use our best judgment when we can’t figure out what something says.

This year many teachers, who do recognize their students’ handwriting, helped type letters, and we truly thank them for the help.

These were some of the better comments, in no certain order, and I corrected the spelling to make them easier to read.

— Santa why are you so chubby, and why can’t you come at daytime?

— How old are you – 42? That is how old my dad is. He keeps shaving his beard, but I tell him to stop, and then dye it white so he’ll look like Santa, but he still shaves it. I don’t know why.

— I want to thank my teacher for all she does for me and please bring her a gift.

— Please tell my “Elf on the Shelf” to quit eating all of our Christmas cookies please.

— I haven’t been the best girl in the world but I ask that you forgive me.

— There is one more thing that I want are that Mia and me to still be best friends. We have been through some rough times but we get through them together. We use something called resilience.

— I hope my dog named Champ doesn’t scare away your reindeers and if he did I would feel bad.

— I did my chores at home I cleaned my house and I cleaned my dad’s room. I cleaned my brother’s room for three days and it was a mess and now it’s clean.

The following was my favorite from all the letters I typed. Anyone who has grown up with a brother or sister will understand this.

— I need a room defender because my brother keeps messing up my room.

I hope that Santa Claus is good to everyone and that all of our readers and subscribers have a joyous holiday season.

Tim Phillips is publisher of the Oxford EAGLE. Contact him at tim.phillips@oxfordeagle.com.