SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY -- A psychology professor from the University of Scranton has analyzed hundreds of letters to Santa to better understand what kids want for Christmas. What she learned may make parents a little less anxious in this tight economy. Jeff Chirico lets us in on the secret.

From Santa's ho-ho to a parent's oh-no. "I want Barbie Muskateers" "a DSI" "I want a new Bowzers game for my DS."

A Christmas list expert says making your little ones happy this holiday doesn't have to break your budget. University of Scranton psychology professor Carole Slotterback analyzed more than 12 hundred letters to old Saint Nick over eight years.

"We even had a letter to the Grinch" She wrote about her findings in her new book "The Psychology of Santa.” Slotterback says "the only ones with a lot of please or thank you's were the ones requesting live animals." Some drew pictures. Others tried to explain. "I'm really sorry I hit Jessica. I just got mad at her."

From the bizarre. "a bag of lettuce" To the touching. Shoes for mom. An angel for a sick grandma. "All that want for Christmas is mom and dad to stop fighting."

Relatively few asked for the year's hot toy parents clamor to claim. ”Slotterback says kids want a few toys sure, but what they really want for the holidays can't be wrapped in a box." "From reading the letters a lot of them would really just like to spend more time with their parents."

If money's tight, Slotterback recommends parents tell kids that and ask what really makes Christmas for them? "Maybe all they want is a tree, or a special meal. Play board games, make things together. That's all one young immigrant asked for. "I want the rest of my family in Russia to come to America. I haven't seen them in two months and I miss them so much." A lesson about the real meaning of Christmas from the words of a child.

Slotterback recommends borrowing holiday activity books from the library. She says they're packed with great ideas on how to spend quality time with your kids this season.

Here's an excerpt from "The Psychology of Santa"

Reprinted from "The Psychology of Santa" by Carole S. Slotterback, with permission from Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Published 2009 (2nd quarter), Chapter 4, page 86,  Copyright 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

"Children’s views of Santa are complex and multifaceted:  not just a 
bringer of presents, he is also a grandfather, a father, an authority 
figure, godlike, a social worker.  The requests made of him range from 
making it snow to watching over sick relatives, to making parents stop 
fighting.  The impact of world events, like the terrorist attacks of 
2001, and domestic events, like parents fighting, can be seen through 
the types of requests that children make.  Every year, thousands of 
children around the world write to Santa, and their belief, their 
missives, touch the lives of those who handle and answer them."