Santa's Nice‑O‑Meter
The run-up to Christmas, with a sprinkle of North Pole magic. One purchase, no adverts, no subscriptions.
What it does
- Report to Santa: grown-ups secretly report nice (and naughty) behaviour, as themselves or as the family's elf.
- Santa's Nice‑O‑Meter: children watch Santa's antique gold meter rise as they're kind and helpful, with Santa himself reacting.
- Christmas list: write a list for Santa together, and see each wish fill up and land in Santa's sleigh.
- Their own list: children can add presents to their Christmas list themselves, and you get a reminder to set the sizes and order.
- Letters from Santa: personal replies from the North Pole, mentioning your child, your elf and the things they've done. Let Santa write them, or write them yourself.
- Optional elf: choose the day your elf "arrives", so the app matches what happens at home.
- Christmas Eve Santa Tracker: follow Santa around the world, all the way to your own home.
Support
Need help, found a problem, or have an idea? Email admin@solcari.co.uk. Please include your phone model, and a screenshot if something looks wrong. We aim to reply within two working days.
Getting started: a step-by-step video
Everything from first setup to Christmas morning, in about six and a half minutes. Tap a chapter to jump straight to it.
Filmed on Android; the iPhone app looks the same. The narration is an AI voice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I write Santa's reply myself?
Yes. When you write a letter to Santa, choose ✍️ I'll write it myself under "Santa's reply". We start you off with Santa's own draft, and you can change as much or as little as you like: the greeting, the letter, the sign-off and a P.S. Or choose ✨ Santa writes it and Santa writes a personal reply using what you've told him. Either way, the letter arrives on Santa's parchment with his signature, so your child will never know who wrote it.
Can my child add to their own Christmas list?
Yes. On the Kids' View, your child taps Make my list to Santa (no PIN needed) to add presents, with a photo if they like, or take them off. About three hours after their last change, you'll get one reminder, and their new presents are marked "NEW" in your list so you can set the size and order. In Grown-ups → Settings you choose until when children can change their list (the default is 17 December), or turn it off.
I've forgotten my grown-up PIN
On the PIN screen, tap Forgot PIN? and answer the grown-up maths question. You'll then be taken to Settings to choose a new PIN.
We don't have an elf. Can we still use the app?
Yes. During setup, choose No elf. You'll report to Santa as yourself, and Santa will never mention an elf. You can switch an elf on later in Settings.
How do I stop the elf appearing until it arrives?
In Grown-ups → Settings, set your elf's arrival date. Until that day there's no sign of the elf in the app. On the day, the Kids' View announces that it has arrived.
Santa's letters don't pop up as notifications
Check that notifications are allowed for Santa's Nice‑O‑Meter in your phone's Settings. Letters always appear on the Kids' View when they arrive, even if notifications are off.
There's no sound
Make sure Sounds is on in Grown-ups → Settings, your phone isn't on silent, and the volume is up.
Santa's sleigh doesn't fly across the sky, or there are no sleigh bells
If your phone is set to reduce motion, the app keeps Santa's sleigh parked at the top of the Kids' View, and the sleigh bells don't play. To see it fly, turn this off: on iPhone, Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Reduce Motion; on Android, Settings → Accessibility → Remove animations (the name varies a little between phones).
The sleigh also doesn't fly all the time. Santa first flies over a few seconds after the Kids' View opens, then again about once a minute, so the sky is sometimes empty for a while.
The Santa Tracker shows my home in the wrong place
Add your town in Grown-ups → Settings → Christmas Eve, either with "Use my current location" or by typing it. Without a town, the app places your home using your phone's time zone.
How do the points work?
Nice reports add points and naughty reports take them away; every child starts at 0, in the middle of the meter. As a guide: 5 points for small everyday things, 10 for a proper good deed, 15 or more for something really special. The meter reaches the Nice List at +31 points and Super Nice at +104. Presents on the Christmas list need 20 (small), 40 (medium), 70 (big) or 100 (super‑special) points, and fill up from the top of the list. By default, a present stays in Santa's sleigh once it's earned; you can choose in Settings to let naughty points take presents back. The full guide is in the app: Grown-ups → How points work.
Can I use it with more than one child?
Yes. Add brothers and sisters in Grown-ups → Edit children's details. Each child has their own meter, list and letters.
How do I start again next Christmas?
Grown-ups → Settings → Start a new season clears reports, lists and letters but keeps your children, elf and settings.
Does the app collect my family's data?
No. Everything stays on your phone. There are no accounts, adverts or tracking. See the Santa's Nice‑O‑Meter privacy notice.
How do I get a refund?
Purchases are handled by Apple or Google, so refunds are requested through them: for iPhone at reportaproblem.apple.com, and for Android through Google Play's order history.