by Judette Coward-Puglisi

Dear Ms Coward-Puglisi,

Last year at the mall, a little boy passed by my throne and I heard him mutter that if he didn't get his Ipod under the tree that year, somebody was going to be in big trouble. In that very same line, he muttered a word that would have been spelt *#!!**&! back in my day.

Where are the nice girls and boys of yesteryear? I must say I read your column often and I am wondering: is there something that can be done by the group on whose behalf you write? Seems to me that small business owners are absorbed in making a profit this time of year and ignore the bigger picture.

Be good for goodness sake.

– Santa Claus.

Dear Mr Claus,

Thanks for your letter. I know how often you must pull at your beard contemplating the world's problems. The enormity of it all must be hard to carry.

Years ago, the young boy you mentioned would have been exactly the sort who would have thought of running up to your throne and making a silly face just to see how you would respond.

He would have thought about it, but he wouldn't have done it. He would have believed that you knew all the children who had been naughty or nice. Plus, he would have really wanted that new Lego set he had asked you for months ago.

Last week, I settled in my chair for a four-hour concert at Milner Hall – an on-campus residence for overseas students at St Augustine – my home for three years during the early 1990s. I was disappointedly surprised at its content.

The whole show equated with sex, from the explicit dance numbers to a play that should have been X-rated, to the MCs script which was heavily laced with sexual overtones. There were many in that audience less than 21 years old.

So you're right, Mr Claus, things have changed. Today's children occupy a much harsher world than that of their parents (not that everything was perfect).

Fifty years ago, teachers complained of truancy problems like forgotten homework, chewing gum, and coming in late after the recess bell had sounded.

Today, the current list, by contrast, sounds like a cross between a rap sheet and the seven deadly sins: drug abuse, weapons in the classroom, suicide, gang warfare, teenage pregnancy, rape, arson.

In your letter, dear Santa, I was struck by the fact that you saw us – entrepreneurs of small businesses – as a conduit for possible change.

And I agree. Not many business owners, accustomed as they are to the business tools and guidance I write about in this column, will agree to me giving space to answering your question in this forum.

I can see their furrowed brows: "We give ten baskets to a charity at Christmas, what more can we do?" This question coupled with the fact that the season is everyone's time to make a profit complicates the issue of the already overworked and understaffed business owner. But, like you, I believe there is more that can be done.

In our practice, volunteerism is a big part of what we do – from letting our senior consultants act as role models to giving of our time freely to counsel
and advise young people, particularly women.

At Christmas time my staff and I brainstorm a social project and how we can carry it throughout the next twelve months.

Santa, lest you grow weary of giving, I will ask that you remember the disappointment and, yes, the pain of your young, tough customers when they lift your beard and discover you're only a man in costume.

And while it may be many, many years before some of them, including the young boy with the colourful language, understand that you are but a stand-in for what is the best within themselves, it will serve both you and I, as well as owners of all businesses, large and small, to remember that for every scarred child there is another whose blinds have not been completely drawn.

May your travels be merry and bright