15+ Mall Santas who couldn't stop laughing at kids' bizarre holiday requests: 'I don’t want toys. I want a receipt so I can return my brother'

Kids say the funniest things… just ask these mall Santas, who have heard every sweet and silly holiday request you can imagine. 

Quick, pretend you're a mall Santa: if a kid asks you for "elves" this year, what would you reply? Some kids will ask for easy gifts, like the child who requested pickles for Christmas. Easy! But what do you say to the 3-year-old who wants to find one of Santa's elves in her stocking? I imagine these mall Santas have some pretty good stock answers, and I bet they get really good at improvising their answers on the spot! 

As kids, my siblings and I knew that mall Santas weren't actual Santa, because he was at the North Pole making our presents, and because Santa couldn't be at both our town's malls at once, as we worked out. However, that never stopped us from being wide-eyed with wonder at the jolly guy with the white beard, who let us sit on his knee and tell him what we wanted for the holidays this year. 

Mall Santas have to do a lot of interpreting: when a toddler demands a snake and a goat for Christmas, they probably do mean the real animal, but we all know they're going to find stuffed animals under the tree instead. At least the whole process can help parents get some good ideas for what to gift the kiddos!