Christianne Bengard Gillespie '04

Every parent comes to the time in their child’s life when they have to answer the long-asked question, “What’s the truth about Santa Claus?”  For years parents have struggled with the right way to answer, often straining to keep the “magic” alive or finally giving in to a half-truth that leaves their child wondering if the answer offered is trustworthy.

To address that often dreaded question, Christianne Bengard Gillespie '04, under her pen name, C.C. Bloom (no relation to Bette Midler’s character in the 1988 movie “Beaches”), has released a new book, “The Top Secret Truth About Santa Claus.” What inspired Bloom to broach this subject on behalf of parents? “I have four kids myself and have heard many conversations about the ‘man in red’ go completely sideways.”  According to Bloom, “Just about every family falls somewhere on ‘the Santa Claus Spectrum’ between, ‘We love Santa and want to keep the magic alive for as long as possible’ and ‘We don’t do the Santa Claus thing because it takes away from the real reason for the season.’  But regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, the question must be answered at some point.”

Christianne Gillespie (aka, C.C. Bloom) and family

After hearing many of these awkward conversations Bloom decided there had to be a solution.  “My goal was to tell the real truth to kids and adults alike while still keeping the magic alive.”  After lots of research on how the phenomenon of Santa Claus came to be, she put pen to paper.  “If you’re like my family and ‘A Visit From Saint Nick’ (also known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas’) is the traditional book your kids grew up on, then “The Top Secret Truth About Santa Claus” is the perfect bookend to the next phase of their childhood."

But this is no bullet point, “how to” book for parents.  Instead, it’s a fully illustrated, rhyming work of art that takes families through a historical account in a fairytale way.  Instead of children being stripped of the “magic” of Christmas, families will be inspired after learning the truth, knowing that the real magic lies in the simple acts of kindness exemplified in the story.

Offering solutions to the many problems around this conversation, the book tells the whole truth while inspiring kids to keep the magic alive by joining the TST Agency (Top Secret Truth) where they will keep the secret safe and start completing their own secret missions as TST Agents.  For further guidance for families, Bloom has created blogposts and printable tools for agents to come up with missions of their own and accomplish them along with their family.

As a fun bonus, Bloom wrote a Christmas song by the same title that alludes to the inspiration of the book without actually giving away the big secret you'll find in the book.  You can learn more about The “Top Secret Truth About Santa Claus” book and song at: www.TheTruthAboutSanta.com, on Instagram as TheTopSecretTruthAboutSanta and on Facebook as DirectorCCBloom.

“What,” the author asks, “will you do with the truth?”