by A boy in Kansas City asks how long Santa movies run, what the Great Plains are, and how a city can sit in two states
A Letter to Santa from Kansas City, Missouri
Dear Santa,
Hi Santa! My name is Hudson and I am 8 years old. I live in Kansas City, Missouri, a friendly city famous for barbecue and jazz. I love baseball and family movie nights. My question is: how long is the Santa Claus movie? My geography question is: what are the Great Plains? And my social studies question is: how can a city sit in two states at once? Thanks, Santa!
Love, Hudson (age 8)
Santa’s Reply
Ho ho ho, hello Hudson! Family movie night with a little barbecue sounds perfect. Now, there are actually several films with Santa Claus in the title, and they run different lengths, most somewhere between an hour and a half and two hours. For example, an older favorite called Santa Claus: The Movie runs about an hour and forty-eight minutes. So if you tell a grown-up exactly which one you mean, they can look up the precise time for you. Whichever you choose, I hope it fills your evening with cheer.
Your geography question: the Great Plains
The Great Plains are a huge stretch of flat, grassy land that spreads across the middle of your own United States, including the area near your Kansas City. Long ago, great herds of bison roamed there, and today the rich soil grows much of the nation’s wheat and corn. The plains are famous for their wide-open skies. Read more at National Geographic Kids.
Your social studies question: a city in two states
Here is a fun fact about your own Kansas City: there are actually two of them, sitting right next to each other across a state line. One Kansas City is in Missouri, and the other is in Kansas. A state line is simply an invisible border on the map, so a single community can grow on both sides of it, in two different states at once. Explore more at Britannica Kids.
Hit a home run for me, Hudson. Yours warmly from the North Pole, Santa Claus.
