Age 7 Girl Asks To See Best Friend Again for Christmas, So Santa Helps Make It Come True
If children believe Santa knows their every move and can grant their greatest Christmas wishes, it’s not much of a stretch for them to believe he must know the addresses of all the places he delivers gifts to.
That might have been what 7-year-old Annalisse Hocking from Farmington, New Hampshire, had in mind when she made an unusual request of Santa in a letter.
Thankfully, her mother, Lesley Hocking, got a hold of the letter, and as one of Santa’s greatest helpers, she got the ball rolling.
Annalisse had asked for a gift that came without packages, boxes or bags.
She asked for help reconnecting with a friend.
It all started because of a post she shared in the Farmington NH Community Forum on Facebook. She attached a photo of her daughter’s handwritten letter and penned her own plea alongside it.
“I’m wondering if anyone on here can help,” Lesley wrote. “My daughter’s only wish in her letter to Santa was to be able to send a letter to her best friend Nyla who moved last year a month after we came to town.”
“If anyone has any leads on a current second-grader named Nyla I’m going to try to make this Christmas wish come true. I think she moved locally in NH somewhere.”
“Dear Santa,” Annalisse wrote, “for chismas I wold like it a to be a surprise. Please tell Nyla that I miss her I have not forgoten about her and Please tell her my adress and evrything she needs to know to mail me a letter also Please tell me evrything I need to know to mail a letter to her.”
Nyla, 8, had played a crucial role in Annalisse’s life that year. She helped welcome Annalisse to the school, and the two became fast friends, according to CBS This Morning.
Shortly after Nyla moved away and to a new school, both girls started remote learning, and the lack of in-person relationships was tough on them. In less than two hours after Lesley’s posting, Nyla’s mother, Sarah Hodgdon, was made aware of it and reached out to her.
“I was definitely crying a little bit because, like, Santa posted it on Facebook and all these people had helped him,” Lesley told CBS.
“It actually chokes me up right now,” Sarah added. “I was just amazed that a little girl would ask that.”
“Santa” made good on all of Annalisse’s requests, including the surprise part. While Annalisse and her mother were at the 110 Grill in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Nov. 30, who else was there but Nyla and her mom.
“We hugged and I couldn’t talk,” Nyla said. “I was speechless; I didn’t know what to say.”
In a video interview following the surprise meet-up, a reporter asked Annalisse if she had a message for Santa.
“Thank you for making my wish come true,” the little girl said.
The girls now video chat daily and send each other letters and art through snail mail. The reconnection has been a joy and relief for both of their mothers.
“It’s been great seeing her smile because it’s been so hard,” Sarah told CBS. “This has definitely made her a little more cheerful … she still has her best friend.”
“Just watching her the last couple of days have made her personality brighter,” Nyla’s mom told the Foster’s Daily Democrat. “Just her whole outtake on everything has been a huge smile. When I walk in the door, she’s waitin’ to call her.”
“This was just a different level of excitement that I haven’t had for a while,” Annalisse’s mom added. “To me, it’s the magic of Christmas and people coming together and putting my faith in others.”
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