The Missing Christmas Letter

We pulled into the parking lot of the post office. All of my kids walked to big blue mail box. Except the one who was frantically bouncing around in the back of the van. I knew that could only mean one thing. Trenton had lost his Santa Claus letter. He came to me in a panic. I told him not to worry, I was sure we would find it back at home. We checked all around the van to make sure he didn’t drop it at the post office.

When we got home Trenton flew through the house like a tornado. I told him that if he couldn’t find his letter to Santa that I would help him write another one. He just kept on searching the house. I felt sorry for him. I had already checked everywhere I could think of. I had no idea what could have happened to his Christmas letter.

We looked under the couch, in the stack of mail on the desk - I was running out of places to look. When my husband Drew came home he joined in the search for the missing letter to Santa Claus. He checked the driveway, the garage, and every inch of the porch.

Trenton sat on the couch looking as pitiful as a rain soaked puppy. I got out all of the stuff to make a letter to Santa. He said he just wasn’t in the mood to write another letter. He sulked off to bed. I decided I would try to talk him into it the next day.

The next morning he came running to my room. In his hand was a bright red envelope with silver and gold stars, it was his missing letter. He had put it in his stocking so he wouldn’t lose it and had forgotten. He could barely stay in his seat waiting for breakfast to be over. The letter never left his sight while he ate breakfast. After breakfast was over and cleaned up he tried his best to rush out the door.

He held tight to his letter until we made it to the post office. He looked a little reluctant to drop it in the big blue box. On the way he told me that he hadn’t really been all that worried. I smiled remembering his frantic search the night before.

Later that week the kids’ letters from Santa arrived. Trenton was so impressed that his letter came on the same day as everyone else’s. I told him to never underestimate the magic that can found at Christmastime. I was glad we had a happy ending after the missing Christmas letter.

Special Delivery – Sent By Santa

       

When my husband Drew and I were dating in college we had be apart one year for Christmas. Our relationship was still in that freshly in love glow. When we said our good byes we both promised to call each other whenever we could. I went home to spend the holidays with my family and he stayed on campus because of work.

I was glad to be home. I have a real close family so it was hard to be away from them for so long. My mother and I talked for hours in the kitchen while we baked and cooked the Christmas dishes that brought back the joy of childhood days. I helped my little cousins write letters to Santa Claus. It felt so good to be home surrounded by so many people who I love. Still I couldn’t quit thinking about Drew.

We talked to each other as much as possible. Drew was working extra hours so that a man he worked with could spend more time with his family during the holidays. He said that he was fine. There were a lot of guys on campus that couldn’t get off of work to go home. I was so glad that he at least had people around him. It drove me crazy to think of him being all alone on Christmas.

My four year old cousin Alice was my shadow that Christmas season. One night before she went off to bed she asked me what do reindeer eat. I promised that if she went to bed I would show her the very next day. She made me pinky promise no matter what I would tell her. The next morning she was ready to know about the reindeer. Somehow I got her to wait until after breakfast. I tried to call Drew real quick to let him know I would be busy outside with Alice and I would have to call him later but I wasn’t able to reach him. I assumed he was working extra hours again.

I took Alice outside and handed her a small paper bag. I told her that it was enough food for one Christmas. I loved seeing her face light up with joy. I told her that it was special reindeer food from Santa. I showed her the bowl that we had always used for the reindeer. It was bright red with sparkling green jewels around the rim. I told her on Christmas Eve it would be her job to feed the reindeer.

Alice told me to wait outside because she had a Christmas surprise for me too. When she came back she had an envelope in her hand that said “sent by Santa” across the front. The card inside told me to go look in the driveway. I ran through the house, and standing in the driveway was Drew, the man I am still crazy about today.

Sometimes You Find Gifts From Santa When You Least Expect Them

 A few years back we had a massive snow storm hit our town two days before Christmas. Almost everyone’s power was knocked out.  The frigid temperatures and ice were making the job of repairing the lines nearly impossible. Our family was luckier than most because we had a generator running and a warm fire blazing in the fire place. All of my kids were writing letters to Santa by the light of the fireplace. The news reported that it could be over a week before they had power restored to everyone.

I couldn’t help but worry about Emily, the young mother who lived down the street. I knew that her power was out. She was new to the area and had mentioned that she had no family nearby. There was no way I would be able to relax until I knew that this woman and her four year old little girl Kendra were alright. Driving was out of the question so I put on my snow clothes and went on foot. Emily opened the door to her apartment chattering her teeth. At once I told her to pack up Kendra and come to stay at my house. It took us awhile to maneuver in the knee deep snow. Once we were in the house I placed Emily and little Kendra in front of the fire. Kendra hid behind her mom and watched my kids work on their Christmas letters. It brought joy to heart to see this women and her child warm and at peace on this cold night.

Everyone in our family loved having little Kendra around. My girls helped her make a letter to Santa. The glitter sprinkled across the card gleamed in the light of the fire. While Kendra became the center of my kids’ attention Emily got a chance to sit back and relax. After they finished with the letter they showed Kendra how to make cotton ball snowmen. It was a surprise to me how grown my kids seemed compared to Kendra. The smallest thing would just light up her face.

It was clear to me that the power wouldn’t be restored before Christmas. I wasn’t sure how I was going to come up with enough gifts for Kendra to open on Christmas morning. My youngest daughter went through her toys and found several that would make nice gifts. I decided that I would give Kendra the clothes I had bought for my niece I could replace them later. Emily cried when we showed her the gifts.

On Christmas morning Kendra was so excited to find gifts from Santa. We had a wonderful Christmas that year. Not only did we get the chance to share our home and hearts with these two wonderful people but we also made new friends for life. It is clear to me that this terrible snowstorm turned out to be a wonderful gift from Santa.

Santa’s Reindeer And Christmas Letters

I bet some of you out there have wondered how Santa’s reindeer spend their time when they're not flying across the world helping Santa to deliver gifts to children everywhere. After much research and I will now share with you the secret life of Santa’s reindeer at the North Pole.

Santa’s elves tend their warm and cozy stables and they keep plenty of fresh hay in each stall. All of the reindeer have their own bowls made special for them. Dancer’s bowls are shiny gold with sparkling music notes all around the side. In the bowls is their food that Mrs. Claus makes using Santa’s magical reindeer food recipe. On the wall all of their bells and harnesses are displayed waiting for the next Christmas Eve.

They love to play with all of the other wood creatures who live at the North Pole. Mrs. Claus watches all the animals play from her kitchen window while she bakes her pies. When they play hide and seek the little white snow bunnies always win. Sometimes hidden in the snow the animals find gifts from Santa Claus. They are usually small little treats that Mrs. Claus made especially for them.

The reindeer have important work to do for Santa all year long. Santa’s mailed is delivered to a special cart that the reindeer pull. When a bundle of letters arrives at the North Pole it is the reindeer’s job to make sure all the mail gets to Santa’s office. Santa’s small elves would have a hard time moving all those letters in so much snow. Without the reindeer Santa would have a hard time answering all those Christmas letters.

The reindeer love to practice to fly. They fly over the tall pines and glide right above the frozen rivers and lakes. It takes practice to fly around city skyscrapers and mountain peaks, even with Rudolph’s light leading the way. They have races in the sky and the elves watch and cheer from the ground below. When the reindeer land in the fresh snow a cloud of sparkling white rises up from under and around them. The reindeer disappear for a moment until the snow cloud settles again.

When Rudolph receives letters from children all of the other reindeer help him to write letters back. They take the letters to a special mail box that says letters from Rudolph in gold writing. These letters get delivered the same as letters from Santa Claus.

As you can see, the reindeer have plenty to keep them busy at the North Pole. While they like being at home at the North Pole the thing they love the most is that magical flight they take each and every Christmas Eve. Making children of the world happy is part of the magic of reindeer.

Santa’s Little Helpers The Elves Make The Nice List Every Year

Santa’s elves live in world of magic, toys, and tasty treats. Everything that an elf could ever need can be found at the North Pole. All of Santa’s elves help him with toys, letters and treats.

Everyone knows that the elves help Santa to make all of the toys that he delivers on Christmas Eve. An elf can have a toy made in the same amount of time it takes you or me to snap our fingers twice. So as you can see elves can make toys super fast. An elf’s greatest joy is knowing that on Christmas morning a child will find a gift from Santa that was made by him.

Toys aren’t the only job that the elves help out with at the North Pole. They can write just as fast as they can make toys. Some elves get to help answer all of the Children’s letters to Santa. They even make the paper and envelopes that Santa uses. Beside Santa’s giant shiny red and green mailbox is the stamp maker that the elves invented. It makes special stamps that make sure each letter finds its way safely to the right boy and girl it was intended for.

Elves help Santa with his nice list by reporting both naughty and nice behavior to Santa. Parents or a teacher who needs to get a message to Santa will sometimes have a conversion about it with an elf. At the end of each day the elves have to roll Santa’s long nice and naught lists back up and place them in their special golden box.

The kitchen at the North Pole is enormous. Long before you make it to the door of the home the frigid Northern air is filled with the warm smells of cinnamon and sugar.  Mrs. Claus teaches her helper elves all of her secret recipes, like Santa’s chocolate chip cookies, Picture perfect gingerbread houses, and even magical reindeer food.  The elves love wrapping the candy in colored cellophane and foil.

Santa’s stable also gets help from the elves. They take care of the reindeer for Santa by feeding them and making sure that their stables stay warm. Santa’s sleigh must be polished so that it will gleam like a comet in the Christmas sky. In early December the bells worn by the reindeer must be tested to be sure they ring true.

All of the twinkling lights that light up the North Pole must be checked every now and then. Every year right before Christmas the elves come up with a new light display. Lights cover almost everything that doesn’t move at the North Pole. It really is an amazing sight to see.

This year I will be leaving these hard working little guys a special treat out for Santa Claus to take back home with him. They’ve certainly made my nice list!

Nice Certificates And Unexpected Gifts From Santa

One Christmas my kids wanted us to decorate the small pine tree growing in our backyard for the wildlife that lives in our yard. We first had to figure out what we could put on the tree. We made a list of the animals that live around our yard - both real and imaginary. Next we had to do a little research to find out which animals hibernated and what they ate. The kids decided they would hang small cloth bags from the tree full of reindeer food. They used puffy paints to write the names of all nine reindeer on the bags.

We strung a garland using popcorn, cranberries, and ribbon. It looked beautiful when we weaved it through the branches of the tree. The boys smashed white bread into balls that they covered in peanut butter and then rolled through bird seed. We tied ribbons of green and red around seed balls so they could be hung in the tree. My youngest son scattered seed and sliced vegetables around the tree for the ground eating animals.

While we were tying ribbon to slices of apples the kids had an idea to write a letter to Santa to ask if he could bring something for the animals for Christmas. We finished decorating the Christmas tree and snapped a picture to send to Santa with their letter. They worked together to make a card to send to Santa. On the front of the card they drew a picture of the tree with animals all around it. It turned out pretty cute.

Two days later the kids received nice certificates for being so thoughtful of the small creatures that lived in our yard. The kids were very proud that Santa had sent something so special to them. My youngest daughter couldn’t wait to show her friends down the street what had come in the mail for her.

Our family loved watching the animals feeding at the tree so much that we decided to continue decorating it throughout the winter. Every morning while they waited for me to make breakfast they would look out the back windows at the animals who had gathered that morning. A few times at night we saw a raccoon snacking on apple slices. Before we had decorated the tree I had no idea that there were so many animals surrounding my home.

On Christmas morning my oldest son looked out the window and saw a package under the tree wrapped in shiny red foil. They kids rushed outside to look at the present. The tag said Merry Christmas from Santa in beautiful golden writing. Inside the box the kids found a bird house and bird food. In the bottom there were ears of corn and fresh apples.

All You Need Is Santa’s Workshop Address To Create The Perfect Snow Globe

When I was a little girl there lived a woman down the street we called Mrs. Tilde. She was a sweet older woman. She lived alone and had no children of her own. When I would see her out on the street she would stop and talk and ask how I was. I liked to help her while she worked in her garden. I love spending time with her and she seemed to enjoy my company just as much.

Mrs. Tilde had an amazing collection which she displayed in her huge bay window at Christmas time. All the vines and plants that normally filled the window were replaced by rows of gleaming snow globes. One year she invited me in and wanted to know if I wanted to learn how to make snow globes. She told me that she had Santa’s workshop address and that she sent a letter to Santa asking him and his elves how to make snow globes. While she was talking she laid out the supplies we would need on the table in front of me.

She sat out a variety of jars for me to choose from. I choose a slender old olive jar. Next we looked through all the plastic figurines she had collected over the years. She said that she received a letter sent by Santa. Inside the letter Santa’s elves gave her instructions on how to make a snow globe. She had a story to go along with each figurine. Some she had picked up while she traveled to far away places and others she had found at yard sales. She picked up a small cottage covered in snow she told me that it was a gift from Santa Claus.

I decided to use a figurine of a group of three snowmen standing around a Christmas tree. She showed me how to glue the snowmen down to the lid using a hot glue gun. We filled the jars with water then dropped two teaspoons of glitter in the water. Mrs. Tilde screwed the lids on tight. Lastly she sealed the lid with the hot glue. She handed me mine and told me to flip it over. I was as proud as could be as I watched the glitter swirl around the snowmen.

I remember going home that night and writing a letter to Santa asking him put Mrs. Tilde on his nice list. I still see Mrs. Tilde when I visit my mom. Now it is my daughter who helps in Mrs. Tilde’s garden. Last year at Christmas my daughter came in proudly holding a homemade snow globe. It brought me joy to know that my daughter just like me learned the magic of snow globes from Mrs. Tilde.

Christmas Stress And Santa’s Nice List

It is easy to get caught up in the rush of the Christmas season. For moms it can sometimes seem a little overwhelming. There is so much that needs to be done and done by you. Here I will hope to show ways to relieve holiday stress.
Shopping is one of the major causes of holiday stress. Try to avoid shopping in the evening or on the weekends. These are the busiest times of day for stores. When you do go take a list and mark off each item as you purchase it. Don’t drive yourself mad trying to find the season’s must have item. I keep an envelope in my purse to keep track of receipts. The most stress free way to shop is online in the comfort of your own home.
At home you can take a long bath to help ease the stress. I get away with this by having my older children help the younger ones to write letters to Santa. If you don’t have older children have your husband help out. Light some holiday scented candles and let the water wash away your stress.
Couples sometimes disagree on the amounts of money being spent on the holidays. Before you begin shopping sit down together decide what you can really afford. There is no sense in putting yourselves in debt over Christmas.
Take time to do activities with your kids. You can do something simple like decorating a bowl to put reindeer food out in. We like to bake and decorate cookies as a family and deliver them to friends and neighbors. My kids like to make pretty cards to give to their teachers. Every year I help the kids write a letter to Santa.
When you bring home the gifts you buy wrap them so that you don’t have a pile to wrap at the last minute. Buy an inexpensive plastic tote to keep your tape, tissue paper, scissors, and gift bags together and handy. If you have gifts that are going to different places wrap the gifts for each place in a different color.
If you must travel during the holidays be sure to bring something to keep your child entertained. If you will be in a car for any extended time pack a few snacks and drinks. You are setting yourself up for frustration if you take nothing along for the ride. Look online for game ideas the whole family can play in the car. Put on some Christmas music and see how many songs you all know.
Take a deep breath and remember that you are building holiday memories your children will remember for the rest of their lives – and if it helps at all, I have it from someone of authority that moms always rank high on Santa’s nice list.

A Letter To Santa Can Provide A Shopping Guide

During the holiday season I try to help others as much as possible. The mothers’ group I belong to collects clothes and shoes throughout the year. At Christmas we get a list of twenty families that need help for the holidays. I believe that every child should find gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. The families on our list will get clothes for the entire family, gifts for the children in the house, and Christmas dinner.
When we receive the names of people we are to help we contact them. Our first step is to find out what they need for Christmas. We have even brought in Christmas trees to decorate homes when had to. At one house we visited the kids had never even had a Christmas tree - that about broke my heart.
All the children in each family write a letter to Santa. This way we have a real sense of what each child really wants. This will be the fourth year I have volunteered with the group. We have laughed over the funny letters to Santa and cried over the sad ones. Over the years I have kept in touch with a few of the families that I have met. Nothing is more gratifying than being able to help these parents provide Christmas for their children.
We go through all the clothes and shoes we have collected and divide them among the different families. We try our best to provide a new coat and gloves to every child. Inside the pocket of each coat each child receives a letter from Santa. Specific toy requests are usually the hardest to fill so we just do the best we can. We deliver the gifts to the parents before school is out for Christmas break. The dinner is either sent or picked up the week of Christmas.
Every member of my family has helped to make these families’ Christmas season brighter. My oldest loves to help me shop discount racks and yard sales. My sons are always ready to help when I have a heavy load to carry. I think by seeing just how lucky they are my children have gained a respect for the things they have in life. I really believe they are and always will be better people because of these experiences. I know I’m blessed to have the life I live and the least I can do is to help make another parents’ Christmas that much easier.
This Christmas when you are stressing over things being perfect at your house take a moment to look around at all you have to be thankful for. If you get a chance this year help out in whatever way you can. With the way the economy is going these days there will be plenty of families who need help with the holidays. Call churches in your area or local shelters, they will be able to lead you in the right direction.

A Christmas Without Magical Reindeer Food Just Isn't As Magical As It Could Be!

My daughter Sally has always been fascinated with Santa’s reindeer. She writes a letter to Rudolph every year. I think she is more excited about her letters from Rudolph than she is about the ones from Santa. When the kids pick out their ornaments each year she has always picked a reindeer. Without a doubt Rudolph is her most favorite Christmas show - she watches it over and over.
One year she wanted us to buy her a reindeer. I told her that they only liked to live in places that stay real cold – places like the North Pole. She looked at me as if I had lost my mind. She decided that if I wouldn’t listen than she would just have to ask Santa. She checked the mailbox everyday for her letter from Santa. She was disappointed when Santa wrote that it would make his reindeer sad for one of them to move away. He asked her if she would mind leaving out some of his magical reindeer food. She takes the job very seriously she even convinced me to buy special bowls for their food and water.
We spend Christmas Eve at my mom’s house. Sally is always in a rush to get home to put out the food for the reindeer. On the way home we drive and look at all the houses lit up with bright colors. Sally stares up into the sky hoping to see the silhouette of nine reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh. At home the kids all get to open their new pajamas and house shoes. After the cookies and milk have been left out for Santa everyone but me and Sally go to bed. She fills one bowl with water and the other with reindeer food.
We take the food out into the middle of the yard. She explained that the food needed to be there so that there would be room for all the reindeer. Before we go in she gazes up to the sky one last time trying to see the red glow of Rudolph’s nose. When I tuck her into bed she tells me she is going to be listening for the sound of hoofs on the roof.
Christmas morning after we open presents and have breakfast Sally and I sneak out back to see if the reindeer ate their food. Sally proudly collects the empty bowls. On the ground Sally always finds a gift from Santa. On the gift there is a short note thanking her for putting out the food and water for his reindeer and it says that he hopes she will be his helper again next year. Feeding the reindeer is without a doubt Sally’s favorite part of Christmas.