Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he just sent you a text message to prove it.

Ronda Kaysen: That's right, Santa got an iPhone, and now he responds to those pleading holiday dispatches by text. It's a pretty convenient thing, and it'll only set you back about $4.

A new company cropped up this holiday season called TextSanta.net, allowing parents or family members to have a personalized text message from Santa sent to their Santa-loving kid. When you register a child, the company will donate $1 to March of Dimes. If you're feeling rather literary, you can write the message yourself, or, if you trust the bearded bearer of gifts, you can have him pen the missive himself.

Your kid doesn't have his own cell phone? No worries -- send the texts to the kid's mom or dad, suggests Text Santa. And why not? With the Post Office deciding this year to nix its famed letters to Santa program, there are scant options for connecting with the jolly man from the North Pole.

It was only a matter of time before someone came up with an idea as totally ridiculous as this one. A text message from Santa? What's it going to say? Der pal, mrry xmas, ur getN gud loot dis yr. I can only imagine the questions about Santa that it will spawn. Does Santa have a cell phone? How did he get Mom's number? Does he have a BlackBerry or an iPhone? Does he IM? And, more importantly, Is he on Facebook?

Boy do I miss the days of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. That seemed so much more reasonable.

Ronda Kaysen is a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, BusinessWeek.com, Architectural Record, Huffington Post, New York Observer and AM New York. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.