A New York college student is getting into the Christmas spirit in a unique way, which means she’ll be sitting on the same Santa Claus’ lap for the 19th year in a row.
“The only thing my mom wants for Christmas is for me to sit on Santa’s lap,” Mackenzie Doig of Syracuse, New York, told ABC News US.
Six-year-old Mackenzie Doig with Santa Claus. Photo: Provided
“I found it really embarrassing in high school, but now I think it’s really funny.”
Doig, a senior at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, said he first went to see Santa at ShoppingTown Mall in Syracuse when he was 3 years old, a tradition that has continued for nearly 20 years.
But when Doig was 14, her Santa left Shopping Town Mall, so she and her mother tracked him down at the nearby Destiny USA Shopping Center (formerly known as Carousel Mall).
“Luckily, one of the photographers there was able to find him,” said Doig, 21. “He gave us his phone number so we could contact him once a year.”
Mackenzie Doig, 13, with Santa. Photo: Provided
Doig said he fondly remembers his mother taking him shopping for new clothes for Christmas, making special hair salon appointments and getting to meet his old friend Santa Claus.
Doig said he learned Kringle’s true identity when he was in middle school, but he’s never revealed the secret.
Mackenzie Doig, 18, with Santa. Photo: Provided
“I know his real name, but I didn’t want to say anything on TV because I want kids to think he’s the real Santa,” she said. “I still write letters to Santa and my friends always tease me about it. He knows me so well. We have this connection and he’s kind of followed my life as I was growing up.”
Doig said he promised his mother he would continue the Santa Claus tradition as long as he could.
“If he was still alive and I had kids and we all got to hang out together, that would be so cool,” she said.