BY JUlIA NAGY

NATCHEZ — Santa checks his list twice and sometimes he visits families twice too.

When The Dart found Jeanette Britt Friday, her husband was already offshore, working on a drilling rig. Out of the 12 or so years he’s worked offshore, he’s only been home for two or three Christmases.

So, the family celebrated Christmas twice this year and Santa left a long note for the children, asking them to keep their first Christmas a secret.

“I was trying to figure out a way they could keep this a secret, so they couldn’t tell their friends,” Britt said. “I didn’t want the other kids jealous that Santa came here first.”

Britt found the idea on Pinterest, a social networking site allowing users to “pin” images to their pinboard.

For the Britt family, Dec. 16 was their Christmas. Jeanette’s husband Adrian left on Dec. 20.

Blake, the house elf, left the Britt children the letter from Santa the night before their first Christmas. Five-year-old Josh discovered the letter first and ran upstairs with his sister Anna Grace, hollering for their mother.

“Their eyes were big and their mouths were dropped,” Britt said. “They were just so excited they got a letter from Santa.”

On Christmas Day, Britt and the children went to her mother’s house for Christmas.

Anna Byrne said she thought her daughter’s Santa letter was a fun thing for the children.

“New traditions are fun,” Byrne said. “It brings back memories, and they really do get so excited.”