Even if you don’t recognize the name Taro Hakase, you’ve probably heard his world-renowned violin music before. Ever flown All Nippon Airlines (ANA)? Then you’ve heard him. Ever been put on hold? You’ve heard him. Every played Final Fantasy, watched anime, or heard of Celine Dion or Ariana Grande? Yep, you’ve heard him.
But this time around it’s not one of Taro’s masterpieces, but instead one made by his eight-year-old son Mantaro, that’s getting people excited online.
Taro Hakase and his family currently reside in England, where the tradition of leaving out goodies for Santa on Christmas Eve (as opposed to eating KFC and confessing your love) is very much alive and well. Leaving out treats for Santa is quite rare in Japan, so when Taro tweeted a picture of the veritable smorsgasbord his eight-year-old son created, it instantly took Twitter by storm.
▼ “My son made all this for Santa. Amazing.”
Think about the last time you left something out for Santa. What was it? Probably a cookie or two, maybe some milk, plus a last-minute suggestion list for gifts you want with a reminder of how nice you’d been to your younger sibling for the past six hours.
Mantaro’s creation is on another level. Aside from the usual cookies and milk, he’s got a carrot for the reindeer, three other alternative snacks in case Santa’s not feeling like cookies, some sort of bracelet thing, and even an apology letter saying he’s sorry that the bear cookies are a little bit broken.
▼ Taro, come on, get your kid under control. He’s making us look bad.
To be fair, Mantaro does make one request: for Santa to please sign his hat and fancy sheet of paper. But considering how nicely he asks on his assortment of neatly organized notes, I don’t think Santa will have any problem whipping out the old list-making quill pen and autographing it up.
Here are some reactions from Twitter:
▼ “Oh my god his son is too cute I’m crying.”
▼ “He’s so pure, is he an angel or something?”
▼ “So cute it’s making my nose run.”
▼ “I think when I was a kid me and my sister left Santa cookies, a letter, and a glass of wine under the tree.”
▼ “A few years ago my son left Santa a piece of cake and a can of beer too for some reason.”
While Santa most likely appreciated the occasional pick-me-up drink, Mantaro proves that nothing beats the traditional cookies and milk. A love of the Christmas season and all things winter must truly run in the family, or at least that’s what we can infer based on this picture of Taro dressed as Elsa:
▼ The cold never bothered him anyway.
Source: Togech, Taro Hakase
Top image: Twitter