Christmas is a holiday of generosity. As the one whose birthday we celebrate once observed, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Simple handmade cards keiki present to their parents; heartfelt gifts exchanged among loved ones; charitable donations earmarked for strangers in need; the love of God bestowed upon humankind through Jesus.

Yet during this season children are often asked to rattle off their wish lists rather than focus on munificence. So as a twist, these keiki were posed the question: "What would you give Santa for Christmas, and why?"

Here are their answers:

"Candy! Because he likes it. I'll buy two M&Ms, one for him and one for me."

— Erin, age 3

"A flying reindeer."

—Jojo, age 4

"A baby son because he doesn't have one, or a teddy bear with a Christmas hat because it's cuddly."

— Carina, age 5

"A dinosaur toy, so he could play with it ... and give it to me."

— Josiah, age 3

"Mittens to keep his hands warm."

— Kaiana, age 2

"Candy, so he could eat it."

— Elijah, age 5

"A lighter for Christmas because Santa can light a fire in the fireplace after he has finished delivering all the presents to the children all over the world. It must be very cold delivering the presents, so it can warm him up."

— Takuhiro, age 6

"Dolls and toys ... 'cause I like it."

— Rylie, age 4

"A scratch to the face, a rip of his beard, and the most ear-piercing scream ever followed by a wink, a blown kiss and a wave goodbye."

— Mom's interpretation for DJ, age 1

"Tookies (cookies) ... and candy."

— Noah, age 2

"One of my Signing Times videos and my Winnie-the-Pooh teddy bear. I want to give him these because I want to be his best friend!"

— Abby, age 3

"That." (Points to and brings over her stuffed rabbit.)

— Esther, age 1

"Another reindeer because it would help the sleigh more."

— Sofia, age 5

"A bear and a duck. And we should leave cookies and milk out for me and Santa to eat."

— Sonoma, age 3

"A card because he loves me."

— Brylee, age 4

"A home because my mom (would) buy it."

— Clark, age 4

"Cookies and teddy bear because Santa likes milk and cookies and teddy bears."

— Melanie, age 3

"The gift of Jesus, then he can have Jesus in his heart — which is the greatest gift because it's an everlasting gift. Then when he dies, he can go to heaven, which is the greatest place EVER!"

— Garrett, age 7

"FOOD!"

— Austin, age 1

"A Christmas globe because then he could look inside it and see snow, polar bears and himself."

— Mia, age 5

"A surfboard! Because Santa might want to surf next time in Hawai'i!"

— Levi, age 3

Monica Quock Chan is a freelance writer who lives in Honolulu with her husband and daughter.

Reach Monica Quock Chan at (Unknown address).

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