A Newfoundland girl had an unusual request for Santa Claus — “Leave presents, take brother!”
Nine-year-old Jennifer Murphy left the message in the snow outside her St. John’s home on Dec. 17 with the help of her mother.
“We’re always about a good little chuckle,” Jo-Ann Murphy said, explaining the spray-painted message was “good-natured fun” and a bit of friendly sibling rivalry.
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Jo-Ann and her daughter were playing outside and had intended to build a snowman, but when they discovered the fresh snow was too icy, they decided to have a different kind of fun.
“I thought we should write, ‘This is a nice house, the neighbours are naughty,'” Jo-Ann said.
Worried the message could be misconstrued, Jennifer came up with the idea to roast her brother.
After crafting the message, Jo-Ann texted a video of the prank to her 13-year-old son Ryan, who replied with a “laughing” emoticon.
Jo-Ann said the neighbours thought it was a “hoot” too, including one who snapped a photo and sent it to a local radio station.
The message has captured attention around the world, and the video Jo-Ann shared on her Facebook page has been viewed more than 16,000 times.
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“It’s exciting when you see people sharing it,” she said, adding that her two children have had fun with all the attention.
Jo-Ann admitted she has received some less-than-festive responses online.
“I don’t mind trolling back. I don’t mind putting Febreeze on it,” she said, explaining that some people don’t realize it was a prank.
Here’s hoping there’s another snowfall soon to see how Ryan responds.