Christmastime is almost here, and that means kids are lining up with excitement at their local malls to meet and greet the jolly fellow from The North Pole. Three-year-old Mali Phoenix Williams-Cody, from the UK, was one of these children. And she got an early Christmas surprise at her local mall, the Cleveland Centre in Middlesbrough, when Saint Nick used sign language to discover her Christmas wishes.

Like many children, Mali was excited to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what she wished for. However, Santa was quickly told Mali had communication issues. “Sorry, she can’t talk very well,” Mali’s mother says in the video above.

Fortunately, that didn’t deter Kris Kringle from bringing the Christmas cheer. He asked Mali’s mother if she “can sign at all,” to which Mali’s mother responded, “Yeah, she does animals and things like that.”

As Santa started signing with Mali, asking her if she’d been good this year and whether she wanted a baby doll for Christmas, her face brightened up in excitement.

Mali’s father, Raymond Cody, told the NY Daily News that Mali isn’t deaf but her communication issues are due to a possible developmental delay. For this reason, she attends a nursery school for children with special needs, which is where she learned sign language.

"Our reaction was of amazement at the kindness and thoughtfulness of Santa to actually sign language to make Mali's experience so special for her and our family at this special time of year," Cody said.

British Sign Language isn’t the only language this Santa speaks. The Daily News reported he was also able to speak greetings in several different languages — that should be able to make any scrooge smile.