Santa’s Sign-Language Elf Makes Little Deaf Girl’s Christmas Wish Come True!

Quick Smiles:

• A young deaf girl named Emily Andrews gets to tell Santa her Christmas wishes for the first time, all thanks to an elf who knows sign language.
• Emily’s mom, Tanya, gets to ‘be in the moment’ and enjoy her daughter’s interaction with Santa, instead of having to translate.
• The entire experience was made possible by the Airmyn Park Primary school, which found a sign language interpreter through Facebook.

Imagine being four years old and meeting Santa for the first time. Now, imagine being four, deaf, and meeting Santa for the first time, who, with the help of an elf, understands what you’re saying. That’s exactly what happened to Emily Andrews, a little girl who got to tell Santa her Christmas wish list all by herself, thanks to an elf who knew sign language.

The video of Emily signing her wishes to Santa is nothing short of magical. She asks for a doll, a pram, earrings, and a blue dragon. And guess who’s there to relay the message to Santa? Melanie Boyeson, the elf who knows sign language.

Emily’s mom, Tanya Andrews, was over the moon. She said, “It was just a magical experience. Emily being able to communicate freely with the elf and tell Santa what she wanted was just amazing.” She continued, “After the experience, I was in tears. It was so magical to see Emily’s face light up.”

Usually, Tanya would have to translate what Santa said to Emily. But this time, she got to step back, record the moment on her phone, and just enjoy it. She added, “A huge thank you to everyone involved for making this magical moment possible.”

Emily, who was born profoundly deaf, met Santa at a festive event held at her older brother Hugo’s school, Airmyn Park Primary, in Goole, East Yorkshire, England. The school heard about Emily and took to social media to find an interpreter for their festive fair.

Natalie Dodds, a school official, said, “Through the power of Facebook we found Holly the Elf, and she volunteered to visit our grotto and interpret for Emily.” Even Santa got in on the action, practicing a few basic greetings in British Sign Language (BSL), and was able to sign ‘Merry Christmas’ at the end of their meeting.

“It made Emily feel included and everyone became part of her world,” said Tanya. So, here’s to the power of inclusion and the magic of the holiday season!

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