美國：經濟不景氣 聖誕禮物縮水
A job for their mom or dad. Money for the heating bill. Food or a place to live. Maybe gloves or boots.
More and more, Santas say the children on their laps are asking for less for themselves — and Santa is promising less as well.
With unemployment stubbornly high, more homes in foreclosure and the economic outlook dim, many children who visit Santa are all too aware of the struggle to make ends meet.
"These children understand the conditions around the home when they ask for stuff," said Richard Holden, a 69-year-old Santa from Gastonia, N.C. "They understand when there are other children in the family, they need to be cautious or thoughtful of them as well and not ask for 10 to 12 items."
Cliff Snider, who's been playing Santa since he was a teenager, agrees.
"I think the parents are saying, 'It's an economic thing. Just list two to three things you really want to have,'" he said. "Parents are trying to encourage the children to be thrifty."
And the 64-year-old Snider does his best to help out. When he gets a big-ticket request, he typically responds: "There's an awful lot of children asking for that this year. What else do you want?"
At the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School, Santas learn lines like, "Wow, that's a big gift. Is there anything else you might like?"
These days, though, Santas are having to use it less and less.
"I think it's becoming more popular not to have that long list," said Tom Valent, dean of the Howard Santa school in Midland, Mich., which gets more than 3,000 letters to Santa a year and just graduated its 75th class. "Families are teaching their children to be as much of a giver as a receiver."給父親或者母親的一份工作；取暖費；食物或住所；也可能是手套或靴子。
聖誕老人們表示，孩子們的聖誕願望如今更少顧及自己，而與此同時，聖誕老人的許諾也越來越少了。
伴隨失業率持續處於高位、更多家庭面臨喪失抵押品贖回權、以及經濟前景堪憂，很多拜訪聖誕老人的孩子都過於清楚維持生計的艱難。
來自美國北卡羅來納州加斯托尼亞市的69歲的聖誕老人理查德•霍頓說：“這些孩子們在要東西時，很清楚家裏的情況。他們明白家裏有別的孩子時，就需要用心些，想到兄弟姐妹，不能要10件到12件禮物。”
從青少年時期就扮演聖誕老人的克里夫•施耐德深有同感。
他說：“我覺得家長們都說，這是經濟狀況決定的。列出你真正想要的兩三樣東西吧。家長們在試着鼓勵孩子節約。”
64歲的施耐德也在幫忙。如果孩子們要高價禮物，他一般會回答說：“今年有太多孩子要這個了，你想來點兒別的嗎？”
在查爾斯•W•霍華德聖誕老人學校，聖誕老人們學着這樣說，“哦，這可是份大禮。有什麼別的你可能喜歡嗎？”
但最近，聖誕老人們越來越不需要這樣說了。
密歇根州米德蘭德霍華德聖誕老人學校的院長湯姆•瓦倫特說：“我覺得如今簡短的禮物清單越來越流行了。家長們教育孩子在接受的同時，也要贈予。”該學校每年收到三千多封寄給聖誕老人的信件，第75期學員剛剛畢業。
