The Christmas Santa Went Bananas On A Tropical Holiday

One Christmas, Santa decided to take a break - once he'd made all the toys that he could possibly make. He checked all the presents were under the Christmas tree in their place and asked one of the elves to lend him his suitcase. His Wellington boots were no longer needed. The house was quite tidy and the garden, weeded. He bought a ticket for a package deal and made sure that there was nothing lying around that the thieves could possibly steal. Christmas in the North Pole was cold, so he headed off towards the Sun. He hadn't used his suntan cream for a while, so went to look in the bathroom cabinet to see where it had gone. The big date was drawing near. One by one, on the calendar, Santa Claus marked off the days with holiday "tropical" cheer this year. Soon, he booked a taxi, once his packing was all done and wrote a list of jobs for everyone. He checked Mrs. Christmas had locked the door and that the coals in the fireplace weren't burning anymore. Santa asked the Christmas fairy to make sure that the door was shut, there was milk for the cat and the mince pies were in the oven, where they should be put. When Christmas day came around, Santa was nowhere to be found. No - one to drink the Christmas sherry, to put up the decorations, or to be merry. This year, none of the Christmas cards got written at all. The Christmas tree remained in the attic and there was no tinsel in the hall. The stockings were shocking ... empty inside. The door of garden shed was left open wide. All Winter, the robin redbreast was hungry - he hadn't been fed for a week. Nobody came to the kitchen window, when he whistled with his beak. Outside, the pond had iced over by the garden shed and on the bird table, there wasn't any bread. The pots and pans were piled high in the sink, unclean - this was the most boring Christmas that the grotto had ever seen. Even the fairy lights were on the blink ! There was no - one to kiss underneath the mistletoe. No - one to water the plants and to clear the footpath of snow. When the carol singers came to call, no - one had taken in the milk and there were letters piled high in the hall. "When will Santa get back home ?", asked the Christmas fairy to the garden gnome (but he didn't know !), hoping that Santa hadn't lost which way to go in the snow. They waited for another week, then through the window took another peek. They saw that now, Santa Claus was a well sun - tanned chap, on the settee, taking a nap. There, by the fireplace, as usual, fast asleep, Santa Claus was snoring, amidst a pile of presents in a heap. The elves couldn't wait to see what he had brought, from his faraway holiday trip, though for Santa it was only a cold that he had caught ! Hundreds of elves knocked at the window and cried through the lock ... though Santa Claus kept snoozing till it read just past two on the old, grandfather clock. When, eventually, he sleepily opened his eyes, they all got an incredible surpise - there were presents for everyone (as well as mince pies !).

Christmas Hols

Add the letters H - O - L to complete the words. __ __ __ iday __ __ __ istic w __ __ __ e __ __ __ d __ __ __ der __ __ __ low __ __ __ y __ __ __ ocaust __ __ __ ier w __ __ __ eness

Presents Galore !

Below is Santa's Christmas shopping list. Match the Christmas presents to the right person - what did Santa bring for each of the people living in the grotto ?

the elf - a new sc __ __ f the hobgoblin - some mince p __ __ s Christmas fairy - a new w __ __ d Mrs. Christmas - some new slip __ __ __ s Frosty the snowman - a warm hot chocol __ __ __ Rudolph and the other reindeers - a new bell for the sl __ __ gh the robin redbreast - a bird t __ __ le the carol singrs - a new s __ ng book

© Jacqueline Richards 2008

Answers : holiday ; holistic ; whole ; hold ; holder ; hollow ; holy ; holocaust ; holier Answers : the elf - a new scarf the hobgoblin - some mince pies Christmas fairy - a new wand Mrs. Christmas - some new slippers Frosty the snowman - a warm hot chocolate Rudolph and the other reindeers - a new bell for the sleigh the robin redbreast - a bird table the carol singrs - a new song book