A surprise for Christmas

It was the beginning of yet another cold December when the Pips were busy with their Christmas preparations.

Geff Pip, his wife Emily and children Galt, Jim and Cherry lived on Howwood Hill. It was the same place where Geff’s father and grandfather had once lived.  Howwood Hill was one of the coldest places in the world, especially around Christmas.

Galt, Jim and Cherry were given the responsibility of decorating the Christmas tree, while Geff and Emily were busy inviting people for their Christmas Eve party. The children enjoyed this time of the year because school was closed for a whole month.

There were bells, stars, cotton, lights and lots of interesting baubles to decorate the Christmas tree.  After decorating the tree, it was time to set up the crib. Carefully, with delicate hands, the children unwrapped the miniature pieces for the crib. Soon the crib was ready and looked beautiful. The children were happy and so were their parents. Another reason for their happiness was the fact that Granny would be visiting them soon. Granny would come every December and bring many presents for the family.

It so happened that one December when Jim was eight years old he asked Granny to get him a toy car as a Christmas present. He was delighted when Granny got him one. But one day the toy car wouldn’t move. Jim checked the remote and the batteries, but could not find the problem. Jim was not disheartened. Instead, he fetched a screwdriver and began operating on the toy car. All parts of the car were strewn about but the problem was not discovered!

Jim was sad because he was unable to put back the parts of the car, but his gloom did not last long thanks to Galt and Cherry who cheered him up and made him forget about the toy car.

Now the family was desperately awaiting Granny’s arrival. As night fell, the family said their prayers and soon was sound asleep. The next morning, they were surprised when they saw that Granny had arrived much earlier than expected. Their happiness knew no bounds.

Granny had bought sweets as well as presents for the family. Days passed quickly with Geff going off to work, Emily busy with Christmas chores and the children playing in the snow and visiting the neighbours. Soon it was time for the Christmas party.

Granny was a sport. She happily agreed to dress up as Santa Claus and entertain the children and the adults. But tragedy struck! Granny sprained her leg and could not walk. The doctor advised bed rest. As the news spread that the Christmas Eve party would have to go on without Santa, a pall of gloom descended on the children.

They knew that Santa was the biggest attraction during Christmas and the party would not be the same without his spirited Ho-Ho-Ho! They ate the sweets and chocolates and they devoured the delicious milk shakes, but they looked a little sad. The clock was ticking and soon it was nearly midnight, when the children saw someone approaching the house. It was Santa Claus!

The children couldn’t believe their eyes. Just as Santa stepped in, the clock struck twelve and people were greeting each other for Christmas. Soon Santa began distributing presents and sweets to everyone present there.  A little boy called Brad asked Santa why he’d decided to visit the Pips that night.  Santa told Brad that he knew poor Granny was not able to walk, and so had decided to give them all a surprise. After a short while, Santa had to leave but he promised that he would come again next year.

Soon after Santa’s departure, people began to return to their homes and finally the house was quiet.  The children began opening their presents to see what Santa had given them.

Everyone was quite happy with what they got — sweets, dolls, clothes, socks — but when Jim opened his present he could not believe his eyes! He had been given a beautiful toy car, identical to the one that Granny had given him years ago. Jim was happy and promised to take good care of the car this time. It was not a coincidence that Jim got the car. After all, it was a gift from Santa Claus who knows what each and every child wants!