Want to keep your kids believing in Santa? This mom made a Santa DNA test kit.

Jack Perry, Providence Journal
·2 min read
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Like a lot of parents of young children, Christine Clow wanted to do all she could to keep the magic of Christmas alive and to keep her kids believing in Santa Claus.

Several years ago, with her 11-year-old daughter on the verge of joining the ranks of non-believers, Clow had a brainstorm. What if she could make a toy Santa DNA test kit that would sustain the faith of her daughter, Mackenzie, for at least another year?

"I wanted to keep Santa in my house as long as I could," Clow said.

The Santa's DNA Kit includes a certificate of authenticity and a children's story about a boy who used a DNA kit to prove that Santa is real.
The Santa's DNA Kit includes a certificate of authenticity and a children's story about a boy who used a DNA kit to prove that Santa is real.

Clow, who lives in Mansfield, Massachusetts, toyed with the idea but didn't fully develop the kit until January, when she read the story of Scarlett Doumato, a 10-year-old Cumberland girl who asked the town's police if they could do a DNA test to determine whether Santa was real. Scarlett sent the police a partly eaten cookie and remains of a carrot she'd left out for Santa Claus and his reindeer.

"It really got the fire started under me when I read that story," Clow said.

What is in the Santa DNA kit?

Clow, a mother of four, has since trademarked and patented Santa's DNA Kit and has had 1,000 of them manufactured and ready for sale in time for this Christmas. The kit comes with a test tube, test swab and solution that turns from red to green when it detects Santa's DNA.

The package, which costs $20, includes a children's book "Tim Proved Santa is Real," about a boy who took a DNA sample from a cup he'd left out for Santa and used a DNA kit to confirm a match with the one gene specific to the jolly old elf. The package also includes a certificate of authenticity from the desk of Santa Claus, confirming the test was done at the Science Lab at Beleaf.

Clow's company is Beleaf Toys LLC. Its motto is "Believe Longer."

Clow is selling the toys through the website santasdnakit.com. She's also arranging to sell through Amazon. She's been in touch with the reality television show "Shark Tank" in the hope of making an appearance. She plans to give 10 kits away to families who will agree to videotape their children using the kits. Clow believes the videos will help market the kits so she can produce and sell more next year.

Clow thinks the kit is a toy the whole family can enjoy.

"It's not just for the kids," she said. "It's for the parents, too."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Santa DNA kit invented by MA mom will keep kids believing in Santa