Just as in 1982, when the myth of waiting for Santa Claus was first addressed in "Gifted Child Quarterly," many districts all over the country are still waiting for Santa Claus to arrive with a sleigh full of presents. Unfortunately, Santa and his presents in the form of mandates to identify and serve, funding, teachers licensed in gifted education, materials, equipment, and an administrator with advanced work in gifted education to oversee the services rarely arrive. The notion that services cannot be provided without all these accoutrements is false, but the belief that it is true keeps districts from even attempting to provide services that do not require such provisions. Lack of six- or seven-figure grants is not a sufficient reason to ignore the critical areas in this field where research is still lacking. Perhaps a good approach is to consider what projects individuals might design if funding were not an issue. From that vision, identify research that can be completed with little or no funding. If research is to assist with informing the practice, then they must continue with cutting-edge projects that provide new insights, whether or not Santa arrives. To do otherwise is to render themselves stagnant as a field.