Petey's Best Christmas Ever

Well, I thought I would share with you a story that I wrote many years ago for Michael when he was 8 years old.  He never liked to visit Santa and he no longer believed in him anyway. I made up this story in hopes of putting the magic as well as the true meaning of christmas into his little heart.  Hope you enjoy it as much as he did!

Petey’s Best Christmas Ever

　
     Once there was a little boy name Petey who lived with his mother and father in a little house. They didn’t have much. His Dad worked on a farm and his Mom ironed clothes for some of the nearby neighbors. It was Christmastime. Dad wasn’t working much these days and Mom was lucky to get any ironing jobs this time of year.
    So, Christmas wasn’t looking very good this year. But Petey was 8 years old now and it seemed that the last few years were like this not to mention the kids at school were now spreading the rumor that there really was no Santa Claus anyway. So, Christmas was more about the lights and the tree and the little nativity scene that sat in their living room each year

     Mom tried to be extra nice and loving with Petey he knew she felt so badly that they didn’t have much to give. Each night for the last week before Christmas the family would sit by the Christmas tree and tell Christmas stories about people who were much more unfortunate than they were. Still Petey would dream about Santa and that one gift that he knew he would never get, the superman action figure that all the boys at school seemed to have except him. But still Petey and his family loved each other and they enjoyed singing Christmas songs and reading stories. They were together and that’s all that mattered anyway.

     On Christmas eve this year after Petey had taken his bath and put on his PJ’s he went into the living room to dream by the big Christmas tree. He loved how the bright lights twinkled and he loved the many beautiful colors of Christmas. That night as he sat there and stared at the tree he fell asleep and he had a dream. He dreamed that he woke up to see a short, chubby little old man in a red suit and white beard coming out from behind his Christmas tree, busily doing something. So, Petey asked the little man,”are you Santa?” the little man turned to look at Petey and nodded as he quickly went back to work. Then Petey asked, “what are you doing”? Petey could see that he had something in his hands that sparkled and shined and he was sprinkling it on everything!”…“Oh, I am spreading the Christmas spirit”, said the cute little man.  Petey watched him as he sprinkled the “Christmas Spirit” all over the tree, all over the Christmas decorations and especially on the nativity set that sat on the table in the living room. Then Petey watched the little old man slowly bow his head and close his eyes and just stand there.  Petey thought it was very interesting how he just stood there like that in front of that nativity set that Mom always fussed over, for what seemed like forever.  Then suddenly Santa lifted his head, opened his eyes, and walked over to the family picture and there he sprinkled the rest of the dust. Petey continued to watch Santa as he quickly hurried over to the fireplace, and then he turned to look at Petey and with a wink he was gone! Petey rubbed his eyes and wondered what happened to the cute little man. Then Petey woke up.

     Petey ran into his parents bedroom as he could see the sun just starting to come up. He had a feeling of excitement and his heart skipped a beat as he exclaimed “It’s Christmas, wake up!” He ran into the living room with a big grin on his face and his parents followed behind him. Petey was so excited as he handed his parents some paper made gifts he had made at school and they smiled with pride at his hard work. Petey did get some much needed new socks and a clean white t-shirt that made his old ones look brown. The family hugged as they each expressed their love for each other. Petey felt warm inside and felt a special feeling unlike any other he had felt on Christmas in years past. Then Petey had a great idea, so he asked his Mom and Dad if he could gather up all of his old toys and clothes so that they could give it away to someone in need. His parents happily agreed and they agreed to go after breakfast. After quickly eating Petey went into his bedroom to change his clothes. As Petey took off his pj’s he noticed something very strange…some kind of sparkling, shining dust fell from them and he wondered…was it really a dream?

     Now Petey was even more excited as he hurried to find his old toys and gather his old clothes that he was anxious to give away. He put everything in a big bag and ran to meet his parents in the living room once again to leave for the shelter where the needy children lived. But as they went to walk out the door, something caught Petey’s eye ..there was one more gift sitting under the tree that he had not noticed before and it had his name on it. It said to: Petey from: Santa. The little boy ran over and picked up the gift and quickly opened it and his eyes opened wide with delight when he saw the superman action figure that he had only dreamed of getting. Petey hugged the toy and then gently placed it back under the tree. Then without hesitation, he and his parents left with the big bag of toys and clothes that Petey couldn’t wait to give away to the needy children.

As the family left for the shelter a long glow of “Christmas Spirit” trailed behind them. This was the best Christmas ever!

Merry Christmas!!