Dear Santa: All 8-year-old Dora from Croatia wants for Christmas is “love and peace in the world.” And a diary. Is that too much to ask?
Just ahead of Saint Nick’s anxiously awaited sleigh ride around the world later this month, Reuters photographers made a trip of their own to ask children what gifts they hope to receive. Their responses were nothing short of adorable.
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Kacper Pempel / Reuters
Zofia, 8, from Warsaw, Poland: "Dear Santa, I would like to get a cat. But a Robopanda would be ok too. I hope to see you this time."
Jamal Saidi / Reuters
Lynn Habbouche, a 6-year-old leukaemia patient from Beirut, Lebanon: All Lynn wants from Santa is to recover and get an iPad.
Toru Hanai / Reuters
Natsuki Ariga, 9, from Tokyo, Japan: Natsuki wants to get comic books on Japanese and world history. "Santa gives me a present every year for working hard. That's why I practice Electone (Yamaha's electronic organ), abacus and track and field very hard," he said.
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Ints Kalnins / Reuters
Dana Augustane, 10, from Riga, Latvia: "I want to ask Santa to bring me a pyjama (sic) like my best friend Felicita has."
Marcos Brindicci / Reuters
Morena Fay, 9, from Buenos Aires, Argentina: "I want to ask Papa Noel (Santa Claus) to bring me an electric guitar this Christmas, because I love music and I've wanted one for a long time."
Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Emma Stanisic, 9, from Zenica, Bosnia: Emma wants a new phone or a tablet. For her brother she wants a toy, candy and a new frame for his glasses.
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Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
Dmitriy Kuchur, 5, from Minsk, Belarus: Dmitriy wants Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
David Arias, 5, from Santa Monica, United States: David wants a police motorbike.
David W Cerny / Reuters
Zofie Cizkova, 8, from Prague, Czech Republic: "I want all the dogs to love all the cats."
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David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters
Sandro, 6, from Tbilisi, Georgia: Sandro wants to get Captain America Lego set. He believes Santa can see his drawing and guess what he wants. He is waiting to find his gift under the Christmas tree.
Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
Onari Abigail, 8, from Managua, Nicaragua: Onari wants a castle full of princes and princesses.
Andres Stapff / Reuters
Benjamin Valeriani, 7, from Montevideo, Uruguay: Benjamin asked Santa for "many, many presents and a Titanic Building Block Kit from Lego."
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Umit Bektas / Reuters
Zeynep Akgul, 8, from Ankara, Turkey: "I want to live in Paris with my best friend Alya. I want a house in Paris from Santa. I want to live in France because I was there for holiday this summer. I like Paris, I like people there. Everything in Paris is the way I like."
Rebecca Naden / Reuters
Georgie Kidd, 10, from Tenby, Wales: Georgie wants a fox.
Marko Djurica / Reuters
Maxim, 4, from Belgrade, Serbia: Maxim would like to get a plastic dinosaur.
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Srdjan Zivulovic / Reuters
Pika Feliciana Kranjec, 4, from Kranj, Slovenia: Pika wants a small lollipop.
Marco Bello / Reuters
Yoselin Ortuno, 5, from Caracas, Venezuela: "Hello dear Santa, all year long I have behaved well at home and at school and I ask you to bring me a doll, a stroller and a bottle."
Jose Cabezas / Reuters
Sebastian Contreras, 8, from Santa Tecla, El Salvador: Sebastian wants a BB-8 robot.
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Henry Romero / Reuters
Matias Ugarte, 6, from Mexico City, Mexico: Matias wants a bicycle.
Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
Adina Serikbayeva, 7, from Almaty, Kazakhstan: Adina dreams to get a house for her Barbie doll. Writing on her drawing reads: "House for Barbie."
Mike Blake / Reuters
Taj, 10, from Encinitas, United States: Taj would like fruit trees for his new home and a leaf blower to help clean his garden.
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Ruben Sprich / Reuters
Olivier Bommeli, 8, from Bern, Switzerland: Olivier said he wants a jerboa.
Erik de Castro / Reuters
Jaedene Alyzxandra Medina, 5, from Las Pinas, Philippines: Jaedene wants a pet bunny because her mom won't allow her to have a pet dog or cat yet.
Jose Luis Gonzalez / Reuters
Alicia, 4, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: Alicia wants a winter jacket and clothes for her cousins.
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Darren Staples / Reuters
Isabel Lawson, 12, from Measham, Britain: "I would like a Nomination bracelet (charm bracelet) with a charm of the Spanish flag and pink bunny. A pink bunny was my cuddly toy when I was a baby and we went to Spain in our camper van this summer."
Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters
Palesa Vinger, 12, from Johannesburg, South Africa: Palesa would love for Santa to give her a pair of Nike sneakers. "My mother promised to buy me [sneakers] once I pass my grade, but I don't trust she will keep her promises," she said.
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
Jasmine Maria, 6, from Balham, Britain: Jasmine's wish is a Playmobil hospital. "I want to match with my Playmobil castle, so that those people in there, can go into the hospital," she said.
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Darren Staples / Reuters
William Lawson, 11, from Oadby, Britain: "My Grandpa who takes me to my rugby matches says I should ask for a set of golf clubs for him but I would quite like a new pair of rugby boots for Christmas."
Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Diana Zhaldak, 4, from Kiev, Ukraine: Diana wants a magical, musical house where she can play.
Rogan Ward / Reuters
Khanyo Mchunu, 13, from Embo, South Africa: Khanyo wants a house.
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Reuters Photographer / Reuters
Mila, 10, from Skopje, Macedonia: Mila wants her parents to be friends again.
Pilar Olivares / Reuters
Tom Alves, 10, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: "Now I prefer a computer. Before I wanted a video game, but on the computer I can do more things other than playing."
Denis Balibouse / Reuters
Clemence, 11, from Aran-sur-Vilette, Switzerland: "I've wanted a Newfoundland dog for many years, and even more since working with them during a summer course."
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Radovan Stoklasa / Reuters
Nela Ragulova, 6, from Trencianske Stankovce, Slovakia: Nela wants Lego construction toys.
Grigory Dukor / Reuters
Anna Krylova, 7, from Zagoryansky, Russia: Anna wants a Lalaloopsy doll.
Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
Isabella Grunewald, 5, from Hanau, Germany: Isabella hopes for a living bird as a pet and also a mermaid, a unicorn and an elf as fluffy toys because that is what she "likes most to play with at the moment."
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
Raphaela Bernard, 4, from Altadena, United States: Raphaela wants a fairy garden.
Guillermo Granja / Reuters
Camila Garcia, 2, a Venezuelan migrant in Quito, Ecuador: Camila wants a new bear.
Antonio Bronic / Reuters
Dora Stanzl, 8, from Zagreb, Croatia: Dora would like "love and peace in the world" as well as a diary.
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