Here's How to Get Santa to Call (or Text) Your Kids When They're Being Naughty

During the weeks leading up to Christmas, parents all around the world find that their children are easier to keep in check with one simple warning: "He knows when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness’ sake!"

The threat of Santa Claus’s mysterious omnipresence has had the power to reign in misbehaving children for generations. But with advances in technology, this year’s naughty or nice list is about to level up. 

Want to call Santa and tell them about your bad kids? Keep scrolling to find out how to get Santa himself to send a message to your child if they’re not being nice.

At Christmastime, everyone knows that kids are in it for the presents, which is why a new app is giving the parents of unruly children a new way to bargain and get the good behavior they so desperately need from their offspring.

Now, using ultimatums may not be the best long-term parenting strategy, but it can be a fun and lighthearted way to get your kids to behave during the holiday season. With Christmas around the corner and the excitement for presents building up, there’s no better way to get your kid to behave than with a stern warning from jolly old Saint Nick himself.

With the help of the app Message from Santa! you can create video messages and phone calls that appear to come directly from Father Christmas. Once downloaded from Apple’s App Store or from Google Play, parents can use it to create messages from Santa, addressed to their own children.

The messages can be personalized to add specific names, ages, and even your child’s hobbies and personal interests, in order to make it more believable. It also helps to scare kids into believing that there actually is an invisible man who can see everything they think or do and who keeps a detailed list of whether they’re being naughty or nice, in order to decide whether they are worthy of their presents.

Message from Santa! is completely free to use and allows for you to send unlimited messages and calls. By having Santa address your kid directly and mentioning personal details and interests during the call, your child will be encouraged to behave, unless they wish to incur the wrath of Santa and receive a lump of coal — or worse, no presents at all.

The app has an additional feature that allows children to leave recorded voicemails for Santa so he’s sure to receive their Christmas lists. It also has a “Santa Tracker” which allows kids to see exactly what Santa is up to at that moment and if your kid worries about whether Santa’s going to be able to make it this year, the app also has a weather forecast for the North Pole!

Another great feature about the app is that parents and children won’t have to wait long to get a response. Send Santa a message and he replies instantly, making it an effective tool to help children be good. So if your child is in the middle of a tantrum, just message good old Saint Nick and he can call or text you back and get your child in order.