Is Santa Real? A Red Glove, a Guide Called Nicholai, and the Power of Belief

By Leila Briggs

This year for Christmas, I got us a new welcome mat. Not just any welcome mat...the welcome mat. It depicts Buddy the Elf screaming:

“Santa CLAUSE! I know him! I know him!”

Honestly, it’s perfect for our house. If you’ve ever been here, you know we already have a sign next to the living room door that says: “Welcome too our haunted house.”At this point, the sign has been up so long that it’s become less of a decoration and more of a mission statement.

It started as a Halloweenie thing. But sometimes we keep it up all year, because let’s be honest: we don’t really have an off-season in this house. We’re equal parts cozy, weird, spiritually curious, and one minor creak away from a full paranormal investigation at any given moment.

So. With that in mind…

Is Santa real?

I don’t know.

BUT I do have stories that make me think there’s something there. And by “something,” I mean a very specific, very red-gloved, very questionable something that traumatized me as a child and then kind of… helped me as an adult?

Let me explain.

The Red Glove Incident™️

When I was younger, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my bedroom window open. Then I saw a red glove - one with a white fur lining - bracing itself on the windowsill like whoever it belonged to was about to climb in.

I did what any reasonable tiny human would do.

I SCREAMED.

My parents came running, checked everything, searched outside, searched inside, checked the locks, stared out into the darkness. Nothing. No one. In fact, I don’t even think the window was open when they checked it.

And yet to this day, this is one of my most vivid childhood memories. It’s stamped into my brain in full color. The glove. The fur. The sense of “someone is coming through my window right now.”

Eventually my parents had to tell me that Santa wasn’t real because I was so weirded out by the idea that he thought it was okay to pass through my bedroom to get to the tree.

So that was childhood me: half magical, half horrified, and already suspicious of spiritual trespassing.

Fast-forward: Healing Journey Season

Many many years later, I’m deep in my own healing journey. I’m finding my people, traveling, doing lightwork, learning how to work with energy in grounded and practical ways.

And one night, I wake up sensing someone in the hotel room with me.

There’s no one I can see.

But the feeling is real - that unmistakable “presence in the room” sensation.

So I reach out with my senses and I’m met with a man who introduces himself as Nicholai.

Now listen. I have no idea if this man was actually St. Nick, Santa, a Saint-adjacent guide, or just a very festive spiritual visitor who wandered into my energetic zip code. But he hung around for a few years and helped me through some major parts of my healing and growth.

And here’s what I remember about him:

• He was very giving, sometimes to a fault.

• A big part of his growth and teaching was around compassion.

• He liked to make me laugh. Like... intriguingly funny. (Not always the case with guides, let’s be real.)

• And weirdly, he was obsessed with weather. We had so many discussions about weather.

  
  

After a few years, he moved on or I outgrew him. That happens. Guides align for seasons, and when the lesson’s done, the relationship shifts.

To this day I don’t know if Nicholai was connected to Santa or St. Nick.

BUT I know what I experienced. I know how supportive he was. And I know that the timing of his presence in my life mattered.

The Energy of Belief (aka Why Santa Might Be Real Anyway)

Here’s the thing I’ve learned from doing this work for so long:

Belief is a huge part of energy.

Belief shapes our perception.It shapes our reality. It shapes what beings, experiences, and possibilities we can interact with.

That’s true in spiritual living, and honestly, it’s true in physical living too. Mindset is energy. Perspective is energy. The stories we agree to live inside… matter.

So what do we do with Santa?

We take these ingredients:

1. Millions (billions?) of people believe in Santa

2. Belief fuels energy and form

3. From a grid perspective, alternate timelines and dimensions exist

4. Collective thoughtforms can become real in subtle realms

   
   

…and suddenly the question isn’t “Is Santa real in the way malls and childhood books say he is?” The question becomes: “Is there a Santa somewhere in the multiverse of human belief and energy?”

And to that, my answer is:

Yeah… probably.

Maybe Santa is a thoughtform. Maybe he’s an archetype. Maybe he’s an ancient spirit of giving that wears different faces in different timelines. Maybe he shows up as red gloves on windowsills when a kid is getting a little too close to the veil.

I don’t need to pin down the exact metaphysical taxonomy for it to matter.

What matters to me is this:

• Kindness is real.

• Generosity is real.

• Magic is real - especially the kind we co-create together.

• And the energy of “someone loves you enough to give” is a frequency worth protecting.

  
  

I don’t know if Santa is real.

But I do know I’ve met something that smells like St. Nick energy. And I do know that belief makes doors in the grid. Also, I do know that if Santa is real, he better knock next time.