Soon, children around the country will be dreaming of sugar plums as Santa Claus makes his way around the globe, but 8-year-old Cruz Pulido just may get a visit from Old St. Nick himself.
The Pulido family moved to Austin from Florida in 2020, when Cruz and his sisters — 5-year-old Juliette and 2-year-old Alia — claim they saw Santa Claus in their yard on late Christmas Eve last year. After hearing noise outside, the children looked through their living room window where they say Santa saw them, dropped his bag of toys and ran away. The family recovered the bag from their front lawn, filled with toys they had requested for Christmas.
You and your sister say you saw Santa Claus last Christmas Eve. Where did you see him?
We saw him in our old house in Rollingwood in Austin.
What were you and your sisters doing when you saw him?
My grandma came over and we were playing and then dad heard bells and so we went to the office and that’s when we saw him.
Did your parents or anyone else see him, including neighbors?
Yeah, there’s a lady across the street that saw him (and my parents).
What happened when you saw him—did he stick around to talk to you or did he leave? Where did he go?
He was chasing after a car and he dropped his sack
Did you see reindeer or elves also?
The elves came to our house to watch us, but we didn’t see reindeer because he was running around.
What did he leave for you for Christmas?
A hoverboard.
Do you plan to stay up late this year to see him again?
I’m gonna try to.
Do you have any plans to try to photograph him or take a video?
It’s almost impossible to take a video of him, though. He’s too fast. But I’m going to try to.
What are you asking for this Christmas?
A football helmet--the Miami Hurricanes football helmet.
How about your sisters?
My sister Juju wants a unicorn and my littlest sister Alia wants anything that’s princess-y.