This is the 2nd story in our Dear Santa: Real Questions, Real Answers series — where the questions are real, and so are the answers.

“Santa, how do you fit down the chimney?”

I don’t shrink.

The chimney has been saving room for me.

You see, whenever a family welcomes someone into their home, something unusual happens.

When they pull out an extra chair, share their dinner, invite a friend inside, or make space for someone who feels alone, a tiny bit of that welcome rises through the house.

The chimney gathers it between its bricks and keeps it there.

Then, on Christmas Eve, when my boots touch the roof, all those little acts of welcome wake up at once.

The bricks remember every time someone made room for another person—and for just a moment, the chimney does the same for me.

From the outside, it still looks small.

But on the inside, it becomes wide enough for my boots, my belly, and my bag.

Only Santa can use this stored-up welcome, so no child or grown-up should ever try to climb inside a chimney.

As soon as I reach the fireplace, the bricks settle back into place.

But the chimney remembers. Every time you make room for someone, your home becomes bigger in a way no ruler can measure.