In 2016, Eric Schmitt-Matzen, a mechanical engineer and professional Santa Claus from Tennessee, received a heartbreaking call from a nurse at a local hospital. A terminally ill five-year-old boy, with only hours left to live, had one final wish—to meet Santa. Schmitt-Matzen arrived in full costume within fifteen minutes. When he entered the room, the child lay weakly in his mother’s arms, barely responsive. Gently, Schmitt-Matzen whispered to him that he was Santa’s number one elf. The boy gave