Three wishes money can't buy: ideas for your Letter to Santa

Why wish for things you can't buy

A list of things in boxes is easy to write and easy to forget. The wishes people remember are about time, people and small changes in how a day feels. Writing three of them down shows you what you'd like more of next year.

Ideas to borrow

• A long, unhurried lunch with someone you keep meaning to see.
• One whole day with no alarm and no plan.
• To finally learn the real words to the song you always hum.
• For a friend who's had a hard year to have a gentler one.
• More evenings where the phone stays in another room.
• To be brave enough to say sorry first, just once.
• A walk somewhere new every month.
• For everyone at home to laugh at the same silly thing at the same time.

How to choose your three

Try one wish for you, one for someone else and one that's a bit silly. The silly one keeps the letter light, and it's often the one you smile at later.

Make each wish specific enough to picture. "Breakfast with Gran on a slow Sunday" says more than "more family time", and it's easier to make happen. Keep them short, because each wish has to fit on the slip.

If you're stuck, think back over the year. What would you like to keep, what would you like to stop, and who would you like to see more of? There's usually a wish in each answer.

How the Letter to Santa works in Slipmatic

From the first of November, the Letter to Santa is in The Stalls. Write up to three wishes, tick nice or naughty (honesty counts as nice), and print your letter. You can change it as often as you like until Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning there's something in your stocking: a short, warm reply from Santa. It doesn't promise any presents, and you can share it if it makes you smile. The stocking stays open until the sixth of January, so you don't have to open it on the day.

Your wishes are in your own words, so they stay on your phone. They're never sent anywhere, and nobody reads them but you.

For entertainment and reflection.