Why this mom leaves cookies and a letter to Mrs. Claus — not Santa

One mom is leaving Santa high and dry this Christmas, offering cookies and a letter for Mrs. Claus instead, for her "behind-the-scenes" labor.

"Everything is for Mrs. Claus, henceforth," Penny Middleton, a mom in Connecticut, tells TODAY.com . "I am an intersectional feminist and I explained to my daughter ... 'Mrs. Claus usually hangs back to make sure everything runs smoothly but nobody really thanks her."

Middleton started questioning the tradition last Christmas Eve, when she stayed up to assemble a Barbie Dreamhouse for her now 4-year-old daughter Hadley Jude. "If you're a kid, you don't want to wake up and watch your parents hunt for batteries — it's kind of a bummer," she says.

Her husband was confused.

"I told him, 'She's not going to want to sit and watch you build it — she'll want to wake up and play,'" Middleton says. "He said, 'That's really incredible and I never would have thought to do that.'"

That's when Middleton realized: Moms usually set the expectation for Christmas magic. Furthermore, she pondered, why do children learn that one jolly man single-handedly executes Christmas, without the imagination, support, supervision and yes, micromanaging of Mrs. Claus?

Before going to sleep, Middleton and her daughter made a new tradition: They wrote a letter of appreciation for Mrs. Claus for her "behind the scenes" work and filled a plastic bag with cookies, with instructions for Santa to deliver the goods when he got home.

Santa got nothing.

"We've all been believing in this collective delusion," Middleton explained in a TikTok video , brandishing Santa and Mrs. Claus dolls. "You cannot tell me that this man ... organizes Christmas and goes around the world, makes a list and checks it twice, without the help of this woman."

Middleton added, "This guy? No, no, no ... This woman is making sure that the list is made and the list is checked twice."

Middleton, an actor and writer, narrated their imaginary conversation.

Mrs. Claus: "Um, listen hon. Every year, we talk about getting ahead of Christmas ..."

Santa Claus: "Yeah, I know, I'm going to make the list."

Mrs. Claus: "OK well, honey, it's the 23rd ... have you made the list?"

Santa Claus: (Sighs). "No, I didn't make it, but I mean, like, I know what it is. It's like, in my head ... I don't need to write it down."

Mrs. Claus: "OK, but you say that every year ... and also, listen: Did you get a replacement for Rudolph?"

Santa Claus: "What are you talking about? What do you mean a replacement?"

Mrs. Claus: "Sweetie, honey, his nose is red. I had to take him to the emergency room — he has COVID. I told you this a week ago!"

Santa Claus: "Oh no, I didn't. I didn't even know that his nose was red. I don't know, I just saw it glowing but I didn't really think anything about it. I dunno. Hey, have you seen my hat?"

Mrs. Claus: "Kristopher ... it's literally on your head. OK, you know what? I'm going to go ahead and re-email you the list because you know I digitized it about 35,000 years ago ... and then can you please just check it twice, OK?

Santa Claus: "Yeah, no I'm going to check it, I just, you know, it's not a big deal. I mean, what, it's like the 23rd, we've got two days before Christmas. God, you make everything a big deal."

Many people identified with Mrs. Claus on TikTok:

"Santa is out shoveling snow and painting the reindeer's barn on Dec. 23 with zero sense of urgency about the list."

"And who else packs his snacks for the road, a water bottle and snacks for the reindeer? I know it's not Santa."

"I told my son to take a pic with Mrs. Claus because she's really the one doing the work while Santa works one night a year."

"Santa is just another example of a man getting credit for the labor of women."

"One of the original girl bosses."

"Honestly, the cookies have always been for Mrs. Claus."

Middleton tells TODAY.com that she also writes a letter to her daughter, "From the desk of Mrs. Janine Claus" (one of Mrs. Claus' rumored first names) to open on Christmas morning.

The letter reads:

"Dear little friend, so small and sweet. Your cookies made my joy complete. In Santa's Village, tales now tell of a kind tot who does so well. Your tiny hands, a heart so kind, left sweet delights for me to find. In the North Pole's chilly air, you've shown how much you truly care. Thanks dear one, for being so grand. A kindness only you understand. Your cookies brought a special light, making Christmas oh so bright."