“Be sure to wrap up warm in-between your deliveries,” his wife called, as he set off on his gift-giving around the village. Christmas was Nicolas’ favourite time of year. The freshly fallen snow and the snap of cold on his nose were all part of the season he loved so much.

           The villagers were poor and many families relied on handmade donations and clothes - not that the children seemed to mind. A small wooden doll, or a spinning top, provided hours of entertainment. Nicolas and his wife, Elizabeth, loved giving. They loved the thought of cherry-tipped noses and broad smiles the children had when opening their surprises on Christmas morning. Nicolas loved it so much that, for the whole year; in preparation for this one day, he and Elizabeth whittled blocks of wood into small toys which they wrapped up in old paper and delivered late on Christmas Eve to the villagers' homes.

            Over a period of ten years, the small village of Jubilee grew so much that the present-giving couple struggled to produce enough gifts to go around. There was little work for anyone and Nicolas felt lucky to have saved a little for his old age. But with so many children, the money would surely run out if the village continued to grow. 'What would the children do if I stopped giving presents?' he thought.

            One evening, Nicolas and Elizabeth Clause sat around their kitchen table, whittling pieces of wood; a pile of shavings gathering at their feet.

            “It’s two days until Christmas, Nicolas,” Elizabeth said, without looking at her husband. “We hardly have enough gifts made to go around the smaller children let alone the older ones. What are we going to do? It’s getting harder every year, and we’re not getting any younger. My hands are painful from all the work, and I know your own are not much better. We can’t continue forever.”

            “Well, we can’t afford to hire anyone,” replied Nicolas. “We’ll just have to do our best until we can do it no longer.”

            Elizabeth smiled, and by candlelight, they finished the trinkets they were working on before retiring to bed. Kneeling at their bedside, as they did every night, they prayed for strength in their quest to bring a little joy to others.

          The following morning, sunshine filled their tiny bedroom. With a yawn and a stretch, Nicolas kissed his wife on the cheek, slid his feet into his slippers and made for the stairs. Seconds later, he rushed back to the bedroom. “Elizabeth! You better come and see this.” The excitement in his voice caused Elizabeth to leap from bed.

            “What is it?”

            “Just come down stairs and see!” said Nicolas.

            Fastening her dressing gown, Elizabeth followed her husband to the kitchen. The battered table could not be seen for mounds of aeroplanes, boats, dolls, trains and spinning tops.

            “Who would come into our home at night and leave so many presents?” Elizabeth stammered, dumbfounded.

            “I have no idea. There is no way we can pay for all of these.” Nicolas said, turning a well-crafted horse in his hands.

            “Oh look,” said Elizabeth, picking up a tiny scrap of paper. “There’s a note.”

Dear Mr and Mrs Clause,

For many years we have been admiring the charity work you do for the children of your village. We, the elves, would like to help you to continue.

We noticed that this year you were a little short on the number of toys needed, so, we have helped by making the rest.

You have enriched so many young lives in your village. You are both true inspirations. We elves believe that every child in the world should be able to feel just as special as those in your village feel every Christmas morning when they open one of your gifts.

If you accept our help we could make this dream a reality.

We will return tonight to discuss this with you both.

Keep up the good work!

ELVES x

            “It sounds kind of mysterious to me,” said Mrs Clause. “What do you think?”

            “Is it even possible? I mean, every child in the world… I’m only one man.”

            Both curious, they waited until the dead of night for their generous visitors to return. A solitary candle burned in the window as the couple huddled beneath a blanket on the sofa. Soon, they fell asleep.

            The sound of hushed voices woke the Clauses from their slumber. The candle left in the window had been replaced with multicoloured fairy lights. Around the table were a number of men; no higher than Elizabeth's knees, wrapping the presents they had left the morning before.

            “Hello?” said Nicolas. At the sound of his voice, the talking stopped.

            An elf stepped forward. “Mr Clause, my name is Patch. How are you sir?”

            “A little confused,” Nicolas answered. “I think I must be dreaming. I have never seen elves before.”

            “No dream, mister Clause. We are perfectly real.”

            Nicolas, having stood, decided to sit down again. “My, oh my. All this seems hardly possible. You wrote of delivering a gift to every home around the world, but, how could we even begin to manage such a task? There is no way we can make that many toys on our own, and then there is how to deliver them all in one night…”

            “All very good questions, Mr Clause, though, if you believe in magic, anything is possible. There are many hundreds of elves just waiting to help you make the dreams of children come true. Myself and my fellow elves will be the ones to help you make enough presents to go around. Delivering to every child in one night; now that is a more exciting job. In Lapland; our home, we built a sleigh that is pulled by reindeer that can fly across the night skies. On Christmas Eve, time slows down and the night will last for as long as it takes you to complete your work. Just think of those little faces, lit up with delight, as they open their gifts left under their tree by you.”

            Nicolas Clause lowered his head. “I am getting so old and coming to the end of my life.”

            Patch took Nicolas by the hand, saying, “Yes, you are old. You also have a long white beard and silvery hair. But no matter what the future holds, in the hearts and minds of children everywhere, you will live forever.”

            The Clauses looked into each other's eyes ,wondering what the other was thinking. Patch's idea sounded amazing.

            “Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve,” said Patch. “We have our special sleigh and reindeer with us, so you can see for yourselves how this would all work. You and I will fly around the world and bring happiness to billions of children. We will be home for breakfast. After that, you can decide if you would like to continue doing it every year.”

            The following night, Elizabeth kissed her husband goodbye as he climbed into the loaded sleigh with Patch, the elf. Wishing them a safe journey she watched them ascend into the night sky as their long journey began.

            True to Patch's word, they were both sat around her table eating breakfast at sunrise. All their sacks were empty, every chimney visited, every good boy and girl left a little something under their Christmas tree for when they awoke.

            “So?” asked Patch. “Did you enjoy it? Will you continue doing what you both do best?”

            “I think that we will you know,” yawned Nicolas, his mouth full of pancakes. He was exhausted but extremely content in the knowledge that no child would go without this year. “Seeing twenty children smile and play is all well and good, but, being able to do the same for every child worldwide doesn’t get any better than that!”

            “From now on you will be known all over the world as Santa Clause, Father Christmas or even Saint Nicolas. Elves will always be at your side to help bring cheer to children for as long as the tradition stays alive.” Patch and the other elves raised their glasses of milk in a toast to Mr and Mrs Clause. “Tomorrow we begin work on next year's gifts!”

            After that first night, Santa Clause began his yearly flight to all the homes around the globe, bringing about a little pleasure to everyone young and old. The other days of the year are spent creating the perfect gifts that you find under your Christmas tree. So, when you hang up your stockings, remember how hard the Clauses and the elves work, maybe leave them a cold glass of milk, a cookie and a carrot for the reindeer, by the fire, as it is hungry work delivering to billions of homes all in one night.

The end

Claire Atherton©2009

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Category: Children's Stories