One year when I was growing up Santa made a stop at our house on Christmas Eve. I remember hearing a loud thud followed by a knock at the door. Turned out the sleigh had to make an emergency landing because one of the reindeer was sick and Santa asked us for some cough medicine. While my dad went to go get it, Santa sat down on the couch with his seemingly empty sack and asked my older brother what he wanted for Christmas. A moment later he pulled out a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raphael mech suit action figure. Of course, when it was my turn, I asked for the same thing. I got the Michelangelo version.
My step grandpa's flawless Santa Claus impersonation, the reindeer thing, the magic sack, and my parents perfectly reading my stupid second sibling mentality had me sold on it for years.