Photo: TikTok
He's keeping the magic alive.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Dec 14, 2022
A father posted a video on TikTok showing his brilliant “home hack” as he decorates and prepares for the holiday season surrounding Christmas.
He claims that, because his 16-year-old still sends “Santa” letters, he needs to decorate his home in a way that reinforces his teen’s belief in the jolly old man.
The father was criticized for faking footsteps for a 16-year-old that still believes in Santa.
The video opens with the father (@builderbrigade) spraying fake snow from a can on and around his boot on the ground before showing the final product of fake, snowy footsteps leading away from the chimney.
The video has received over 12.4 million views, has been liked nearly 500,000 times, and boasts over 1500 comments as people react to both the decoration and the teen’s belief.
“My 16-year-old still sends Santa letters…” the father captioned the video alongside a laughing crying emoji — finding humor in the fact that his teen still believes in the legend.
Some people, however, didn’t find it quite so comical and instead found a way to critique his parenting instead, wondering how he could let his child continue believing in Santa Claus so late into the teenage years.
“Um maybe tell him…” wrote one user in the replies, as another writes “16, [you] should know at 11 at the latest.”
Almost as quickly as these people were to critique the father’s choice of keeping the tradition alive, others stepped in to defend his efforts.
One user wrote, “don't shame any kid OR adult for enjoying any magic in life, [especially] these days.”
“Believing is more jolly and fun!!” wrote another user. “Even if you KNOW, it’s still fun to believe in the magic of Christmas!!”
“We told our son that once you’re old enough you become a Santa,” another person wrote. “[So] we’re all Santa to each other (and we pick kids off the tree).”
Some people argued that it wasn’t even just about believing in Santa Claus, but about believing in the Christmas spirit and the gift of giving.
A separate group claimed that the 16-year-old likely already knew that Santa wasn’t real, but either didn’t want to reveal it to the parents for fear of disappointment or so that they could get more presents during the holiday season.
Some people argued that it wasn’t even just about believing in Santa Claus, but about believing in the Christmas spirit and the gift of giving.
Outside of the Santa business, others judged the father for the Christmas decoration idea itself.
There were questions about the practicality of the spray, how effective it was, and why the father didn’t use it more generously.
Someone asked the father, “my only question is does it come off,” to which he responded with an entirely separate video showing people how they could clean it up.
Since he also sprayed the fake snow onto the rug, many were concerned that it might stain, but he assured people that it wouldn’t and that if you simply use a vacuum, it’ll come right back up — just make sure you let it dry overnight.
Arguments about the spray can and fears of staining the floor were followed by suggestions to use other things like flour, baking soda, or even carpet freshener, “just don’t let your kids taste the snow.”
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.