Mindy Kaling Worries Daughter, 7, 'Might Not Buy' B.J. Novak's Annual Santa Surprise: 'He's a Good Actor, but ... '

Mindy Kaling is striving to keep the Christmas magic alive for her kids, even if one of them might be getting a little suspicious about B.J. Novak's annual jolly disguise.

While promoting season 3 of her show The Sex Lives of College Girls on Good Morning America Wednesday, Dec. 4, Kaling reflected on how her longtime friend and former The Office costar "dresses up as Santa" every year for her three children: daughter Katherine "Kit" Swati, who turns 7 this month, son Spencer Avu, 4, and daughter Anne, 9 months.

"We create this whole thing where we’re making hot chocolate in the house, the doorbell rings and it’s him dressed as Santa," Kaling, 45, said of Novak, 45. "And he’s like, ‘Oh, the sleigh broke down, I need to come in and take a rest while we refuel!' "

"Then the kids get to meet Santa and he asks them if they've been good or bad," she continued. "Then he leaves, and they’re so excited. But the 7-year-old, it’s going to be interesting this year because I feel like she might not buy it. The 4-year-old, we’re not sure."

"They know him very well, especially. And he’s a good actor, but ... " Kaling added.

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And "so far," the Mindy Project alum said, she and Novak have "pulled it off" for the siblings — but now, "This is going to be the year where we hope the oldest one will be chill for the younger two."

Of Novak's technique, Kaling said, "He wears the pillow under the suit and [says] 'Ho, ho, ho, hello little children.' It’s a very funny character."

According to the actress, Novak is "taking a lot of inspiration from Michael Scott in a Santa suit," referencing their hit series The Office. "We seemed to always put Steve Carrell in this outfit — which felt like it was so funny to us, the writers, that we did it multiple times later," Kaling recalled.

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Related: Mindy Kaling's 3 Kids: All About Katherine, Spencer and Anne

Kaling's tradition of having Novak play Santa for her kids goes back to 2020, when she was unable to take Kit and Spencer to see Santa Claus at their local outdoor mall during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Never Have I Ever co-creator said at the time that she and Novak planned for him to be "asleep on the sofa" with a bag of toys as if he "needed to take a rest."

"It's so complicated why Santa was there, why he's taking a nap," Kaling continued. "But we're gonna do that. We're like, 'Will she know it's [B.J.] on some level?' We don't know."

"Just so you know, it's like, we're Hindu and B.J. is Jewish, so this is really ... like, cultural appropriation on our part," she jokingly added.

Good Morning America airs weekdays (beginning at 7 a.m. ET) on ABC.

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