Portly men who don the visage of Santa Claus hear the darndest things. A man who has played Santa for 28 years started blogging about the poignant, funny and sad things kids have told him over the years.

ABC News profiles the man behind the Santasays blog. An excerpt from the story:

“One little girl gave me her list and said that she wanted a little chair for a little desk so that she could write a little diarrhea,” he said. “Of course she meant diary, but the misspeaks are pretty funny sometimes.”

He says he realized on his very first day of work that being Santa wasn’t always going to be easy.

“The first words I heard from a child was, ‘Daddy left us and moved and so I guess he doesn’t love us anymore,'” he remembers.

“That’s when I knew I’d hear more than ‘I want a Barbie for Christmas,'” he said. “Kids see Santa as someone they can confide in and care share their secrets with.”

Any parents who’ve intercepted their kids’ letters to Santa have gotten sobering insight into the way kids view the world.

What’s the funniest or saddest thing you’ve ever heard a kid request for Christmas?

For 28 Years, Carl Anderson Has Heard It All As Santa Claus [ABC News via Fark]

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