--- title: Christmas Wishes: Photos of Kids on the Phone With Santa, 1947 description: Ridiculously cute kids dial a phone number set up by FAO Schwarz and speak directly to 'Santa,' laying out their wishes for the holiday. canonical: https://time.com/3614785/christmas-wishes-photos-of-kids-on-the-phone-with-santa-1947/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-12-01T20:14:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:50.510Z og:title: Christmas Wishes: Photos of Kids on the Phone With Santa, 1947 og:description: Ridiculously cute kids dial a phone number set up by FAO Schwarz and speak directly to 'Santa,' laying out their wishes for the holiday. og:url: https://time.com/3614785/christmas-wishes-photos-of-kids-on-the-phone-with-santa-1947/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d593294917472d5/69876c0255a8594c9fa846e1/141202-kids-phone-santa-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2101 og:image:height: 1182 og:image:alt: Calling Santa, 1947 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Christmas Wishes: Photos of Kids on the Phone With Santa, 1947 twitter:description: Ridiculously cute kids dial a phone number set up by FAO Schwarz and speak directly to 'Santa,' laying out their wishes for the holiday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d593294917472d5/69876c0255a8594c9fa846e1/141202-kids-phone-santa-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Christmas Wishes: Photos of Kids on the Phone With Santa, 1947 > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Dec 1, 2013 8:14 PM UTC  Patricia Guinan promises to leave out milk and crackers for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, 1947. Patricia Guinan promises to leave out milk and crackers for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, 1947. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Dec 1, 2013 8:14 PM UTC **_This little girl is talking to Santa Claus, and so may any other girl or boy who telephones Murray Hill 8-2205 in New York between now and Christmas._** Thus reads a photo caption in a 1947 LIFE magazine story about some holiday subterfuge devised by the famed New York toy store, FAO Schwarz. The clever gambit involved an FAO-produced phone system on which children could dial that number (MU8-2205) and speak directly to Santa himself, laying out their wishes for the holiday: world peace, universal human fellowship, a train set, a bunny. You know, the usual. Here, LIFE.com presents photos from that article — as well as some other “Awww”-inspiring pictures that never ran in the magazine.  Calling Santa, 1947 Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Calling Santa, 1947. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Patricia Guinan promises to leave out milk and crackers for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, 1947. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Bann Kernan, who is 7 years old, squirms with delight as she asks Santa for a wrist watch." Moments later she gave the phone to her younger brother, Bennie, 5, who requested a train. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jo Ann Ward "began with aplomb by saying, 'Hello, Santa Claus. How you feel?'" The three-year-old wanted a doll and a boat. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After "making sure he could not hear and be disillusioned," Bann Kernan "whispered confidingly to the LIFE researcher" that there is "no Santa Claus," while brother Bennie remained blissfully unaware. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Elaine Jung is 6, wants a doll's house and carriage, also asked Santa to be sure not to forget her baby sister. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jimmy O'Brien, 4, asked for a bike and a sailboat. "When Santa asked where he lived," LIFE reported, "he said, 'You know where.'" Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Christopher Lange, the son of Poland's U.N. delegate Oscar Lange, "is nearly 8 years old," LIFE wrote, "and a firm believer in Santa Claus." He "showed his official background by requesting the badge of the profession, a briefcase, for Christmas." (He also asked for a paint set.) Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Calling Santa, 1947. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  "Santa and Mrs. Claus," LIFE wrote, "who sometimes wear red coats to keep in character, answer calls at the F.A.O. Schwarz workshop." Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  "Schwarz's President, Philip Kirkham," LIFE noted, "used to play Santa for the benefit of special customers' children by shouting good cheer up a dumbwaiter shaft." The first time he did it, employees thought he was "a little daft." Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Calling Santa, 1947. MARTHA HOLMES  Bann Kernan, 7, calls Santa, 1947. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Calling Santa, 1947. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Calling Santa, 1947. 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